Atlantic Crossing - First time

[BobnLesley]

Choice of boat is...not at important as you might think. An experienced and cautious sailor in a less-than-ideal boat stands a better chance than a newbie in the 'perfect' yacht. ...Get a boat, get to know it, get used to fixing it when it breaks.

Wot E Sed.
People/crews cross oceans, boats are just the tools they use to do it and like rebuilding an engine you'll get better results from a skilled/experience mechanic using basic tools than having it fixed by a novice, even if he's got a full set of Snap-On/factory-special tools to play with.

 

[SailingEd]

I don't think any of your boat choices are wrong, they're all capable with the right gear, but the gear will cost more than £10k if it has nothing to start with and maybe £50k for a good example with decent equipment might be a hard search especially in the current market of decent boats selling within hours of listing, Layout is key, as you will live and breath all of that sq footage for long periods at anchor etc.

anyone who tells you about needing a manky old long keel boat is a bit old school, i can tell you after viewing many disgusting manky old boats, i certainly dont need one! many of the once great HR's and Moody's are unloved and ill maintained cesspits, and quite aptly named MAB's due to their old man bodged together shed vibe, with the level of DIY skills out there i would not be surprised to find a seacock held in position with bluetack, but of course a nice HR or moody boat is exactly that... a nice boat, i just never saw a nice example for sale though, and instead brought a 2001 production boat with bolt on keel after a year of searching!

many will tell you my keel will fall off or ill sink in the process but i'll be sure to send them a post card from the Bahamas in my modern keeled floating caravan.

Good luck!

 

[LadyInBed]

Twenty odd years ago I changed my boat to one that was capable of doing an Atlantic crossing, added bits over the years and did a few solo Biscay crossings and thoroughly enjoyed summers in Spain and Portugal. I think I have now left it a bit late to do an Atlantic circuit (I'm 73) with all the hassles of finding somewhere to sit out the hurricane season.
As to which boat, I would suggest looking at boats that have already done Atlantic crossings as they should already come with all the bits and pieces that, as a novice, you might not think of.

 

[dslittle]

As to which boat, I would suggest looking at boats that have already done Atlantic crossings as they should already come with all the bits and pieces that, as a novice, you might not think of.

Following on from this, it would also be a good idea to consider boats already in the Caribbean - you might be surprised at how many people ‘give up the dream’ after an Atlantic crossing and sell a a very good price!!!

 

[ronsurf]

Hey, I'm very new to sailing, the better half and myself want to live off the grid and explore the world so we have decided to dip our toes in and buy and boat, but, which boat.......

I don't what this to be a "my boat is best" thread but I've Googled "learner cruiser and Atlantic crossing cruisers" and also read threads with confusing results.

Some backgroud. I've sailed before but the better half has only stepped on a cruiser once. We will be taking courses to ensure we have at least some idea what to do and also spend quite a few months sailing around the Med before crossing the Atlantic but, the question still stands, which boat??

The Bavaria 42 has come up few times in Google searches but reading a few threads this doesn't seem to be the general consensus. I know they're mass produced, that in itself has pros and cons.

I've looked at a Contest 38s, Dufour 35 (recently viewed), Bav 42 & Rassy. Budget is circa £60k but would like to get a boat for around £50k and spend the remaining getting her ready.

So, what tips can any of you sailors give to try and point me the right direction. I also understand there is a perfect answer. I do like the spec of some of the second have Bav 42's, they have solor panels, bigger F/W tanks and some of the additionally bought nav equipment will certainly come in handy.
I was hoping to start around the Med next year but been told it'll take roughly 1 year to prep for the crossing of the pond.

Charter something in the Med first and see how you get on. Try a bareboat charter.

The easiest part of your plan is buying the boat. Someone will always take your money in exchange for a boat.

Also make sure you are comfortable with the thought of being responsible not only for the boat, but your partner as well. Their life is your responsibility as skipper and you need to be comfortable with that thought if they ever get injured or worse.

 

[geem]

Reading all the above posts it obvious we all have different ways of going about things. If it was me in the OPs position I would buy a small old boat. Doing it up would teach me everything I needed to know about boats. I would sail it in the UK for a couple of seasons. I would cut my teeth on a smaller easily handled boat than the one I would ultimately fit out and sail to the Caribbean. The advantage being I can find out if I like it without a huge investment. If the wife hates it I can probably single hand it. If I hate it I can sell it without having spent a fortune fitting out a larger boat. I can bash this little boat about a bit until I am competent and confident to manage a larger vessel.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Ive seen a lot of long keeled yachts whos rudders are hung on the keel but have never seen one with a skeg hung rudder ? sort of defeats the object?
Are you getting confused with long fin and skeg hung?
Not sure how wanting a boat that has superb directional stability and a comfy sea motion is stuck in the past ? Guess island packet and rustler have got it wrong?

Some of you should read "the boat they laughed at" .. the guy who is a yachmaster instructor bought a 42ft ferro boat to live on for £1500 and then sailed from essex to the caribbean and back.. View attachment 126253

Not the best example, this guy owes his life to lady luck ........

Whilst becalmed in the Mid-Atlantic, I went for a swim and using goggles inspected Gloria’s bottom. I kept it to myself when I noticed a rather large hole in the keel section. It was plugged with Essex MUD! I exchanged the Essex mud plug for cement once I hauled her out in Grenada.

The Boat They Laughed At - Ocean Sailor Magazine

 

[Rappey]

this guy owes his life to lady luck ........

Or it shows the boat and equipment is not that relevant, the skills and ability to repair anything is far more important ?

 

[Concerto]

Not the best example, this guy owes his life to lady luck ........



The Boat They Laughed At - Ocean Sailor Magazine

Max Liberson was not a beginner with boats as the sea was in his blood for most of his life. The OP is does not have the same skills like being an RYA cruiser instructor.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Max Liberson was not a beginner with boats as the sea was in his blood for most of his life. The OP is does not have the same skills like being an RYA cruiser instructor.

How does a man with that level of experience find himself mid-atlantic, kept afloat by a mud plug in the bottom of his boat? Shockingly poor boat preparation IMO.

 

[Rappey]

Isn't that a similar scenario to a keel falling off and then saying why didn't you have it checked before you set out, and ditto with rigging ? These things happen, it's luck, in this case bad luck.
An area of cement missing from the keel on a ferro boat is unlikely to compromise the boat in the short term.
The whole point of his boat was to prove an apparently worn and tired cheap boat would be more capable than people thought and not about what he may have done wrong

 

[Laminar Flow]

I would support what Geem said, that you buy a smaller clunker, learn, fix, sail and see how that works out.

At this stage it is important to find out how your partner will take to sailing and, equally, how you two will get along in a small space and as a team. This is no touchy feely nonsense, I'm not given to that, but simple reality as the large number of single & solo sailors on this forum attest to, as well as a fair number of reasonably priced boats available for sale in various corners around the world.

Living aboard, cruising, coastal cruising and blue water long distance sailing may all seem related, but in truth they are not.
For simply living aboard a boat makes a cramped, inconvenient home. I have done it as a single on a 30 footer and as a couple and later a family on a 50'.
Ironically, for a liveaboard cruising boat, one that is constantly moving, you can pretty much forget about all the interior must-have amenities/designs the boat shows like to suggest you need. On a traveling boat, all you will be doing down below is sleeping, cooking, using the facilities, a wee bit of navigation and fixing things that broke. Providing the space allows you to do all these activities comfortably, safely and successfully, nothing else matters, but you will want a large sheltered and shaded cockpit to live in.

Which brings me to my next point as some have already suggested that a boat is not likely to float unless it has a water maker and God knows what other gadgets onboard: The more complex, sophisticated, high strung or large a boat is, the more maintenance, upkeep and repairs it will require in areas of the world where there may not be the resources to do it. Just getting urgently needed parts trough customs in a country that doesn't speak your language can be an adventure on it's own, and not to mention, expensive. Gadget collecting, invariably, leads to the type of towering stern scaffolding often seen on some "real" blue water cruisers; a fine solution if you are thinking of reducing your AVS or like to focus your maintenance to a more defined area to cut down on the commute to the tool box. Keep it simple, really.

You will be anchoring, lots. Harbour dues in the Med are numbing - the number of times I tied up in port in four months with a large boat I can count on a crippled hand. After that we did not tie the boat to a dock, other than to bunker fuel or water until we reached the West Coast of Mexico. Spend some of your hard earned cash on decent ground tackle with a selection of different anchors.

In the context of anchoring you are going to need a good dinghy, it has to be big enough to handle a load, seaworthy enough to get you back to the boat if the wind starts to pick up, light enough to be carried up the beach and over the rocks or to be hoisted on deck over night in dodgy areas.

I will not tell you what boat to buy, except that the smaller it is, the greater it's displacement needs to be and the lighter it is, the larger/longer it must be. That's so you can carry all the supplies, spares, tools, dinghy, anchors and all the other junk, including your partner's rock and shell collection, you will be adding on the way. Just note: as time goes on the boat will not be getting any lighter, unless your partner quits on you, which takes us nicely back to my first point. As far as keels are concerned: well it doesn't really matter, just stay away from extremes and think about what happens, not if you hit a coral head (or equivalent), but rather "when" you hit one.

Enjoy the adventure.

 

[Tranona]

I simply mean speed and accomodation are now the primary desires for many buyers. Everything else is secondary.

That is too simplistic. buyers look at what is available and make a decision based on their perceived needs. As Bob was saying liveaboards/ocean cruisers spend most of their time stationary and modern boats are generally better in this type of usage while still being perfectly capable of safe and comfortable long distance sailing. I guess this is based on 20 years of doing just that with his Bavaria 49 - just like hundreds of others who make similar choices.

 

[Tranona]

Interesting that the OP has not returned to comment on the received wisdom from other posters on this thread.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Interesting that the OP has not returned to comment on the received wisdom from other posters on this thread.

It's always the same with these threads. The forum regulars get more milage out of them - by recycling old arguments - than the OP does.

 

[geem]

First comment:- If you are going to live on the boat, then 95% of your time will be spent living on it, and not sailing it. So first and foremost, choose a boat that you are happy and comfortable living on (typically the bigger the better). Even when you are sailing, 90% of your sailing will be simple day passages. You will probably do one long passage a year at the most, so don't buy a heavy, hot, cramped boat just because it's being marketed as a "blue water" yacht.

Second comment:- Almost any boat 36ft and up is perfectly capable of crossing the Atlantic. Do not be put-off production boats. The build quality is perfectly satisfactory for cruising. Ignore the people stuck in the past who insist on long encapsulated keels and skeg-hung rudders.

Third comment:- as others have said, take your time to learn about sailing and to understand what you REALLY want/need before taking the plunge, as buying the wr

I would support what Geem said, that you buy a smaller clunker, learn, fix, sail and see how that works out.

At this stage it is important to find out how your partner will take to sailing and, equally, how you two will get along in a small space and as a team. This is no touchy feely nonsense, I'm not given to that, but simple reality as the large number of single & solo sailors on this forum attest to, as well as a fair number of reasonably priced boats available for sale in various corners around the world.

Living aboard, cruising, coastal cruising and blue water long distance sailing may all seem related, but in truth they are not.
For simply living aboard a boat makes a cramped, inconvenient home. I have done it as a single on a 30 footer and as a couple and later a family on a 50'.
Ironically, for a liveaboard cruising boat, one that is constantly moving, you can pretty much forget about all the interior must-have amenities/designs the boat shows like to suggest you need. On a traveling boat, all you will be doing down below is sleeping, cooking, using the facilities, a wee bit of navigation and fixing things that broke. Providing the space allows you to do all these activities comfortably, safely and successfully, nothing else matters, but you will want a large sheltered and shaded cockpit to live in.

Which brings me to my next point as some have already suggested that a boat is not likely to float unless it has a water maker and God knows what other gadgets onboard: The more complex, sophisticated, high strung or large a boat is, the more maintenance, upkeep and repairs it will require in areas of the world where there may not be the resources to do it. Just getting urgently needed parts trough customs in a country that doesn't speak your language can be an adventure on it's own, and not to mention, expensive. Gadget collecting, invariably, leads to the type of towering stern scaffolding often seen on some "real" blue water cruisers; a fine solution if you are thinking of reducing your AVS or like to focus your maintenance to a more defined area to cut down on the commute to the tool box. Keep it simple, really.

You will be anchoring, lots. Harbour dues in the Med are numbing - the number of times I tied up in port in four months with a large boat I can count on a crippled hand. After that we did not tie the boat to a dock, other than to bunker fuel or water until we reached the West Coast of Mexico. Spend some of your hard earned cash on decent ground tackle with a selection of different anchors.

In the context of anchoring you are going to need a good dinghy, it has to be big enough to handle a load, seaworthy enough to get you back to the boat if the wind starts to pick up, light enough to be carried up the beach and over the rocks or to be hoisted on deck over night in dodgy areas.

I will not tell you what boat to buy, except that the smaller it is, the greater it's displacement needs to be and the lighter it is, the larger/longer it must be. That's so you can carry all the supplies, spares, tools, dinghy, anchors and all the other junk, including your partner's rock and shell collection, you will be adding on the way. Just note: as time goes on the boat will not be getting any lighter, unless your partner quits on you, which takes us nicely back to my first point. As far as keels are concerned: well it doesn't really matter, just stay away from extremes and think about what happens, not if you hit a coral head (or equivalent), but rather "when" you hit one.

Enjoy the adventure.

It's nice to read a post from somebody else who has actually been there and done it. There are lots of people that sit in their armchairs and tell people how they should do it but haven't done it themselves.

 

[ronsurf]

Interesting that the OP has not returned to comment on the received wisdom from other posters on this thread.

There's usually at least one post a year from someone wanting to buy a boat and sail away for ever. I often wonder if it's the same person.

Or someone that's lucked into some cash and figures that buying a boat is similar to buying a 4x4 for some adventure.

 

[Skylark]

There's usually at least one post a year from someone wanting to buy a boat and sail away for ever. I often wonder if it's the same person.

Or someone that's lucked into some cash and figures that buying a boat is similar to buying a 4x4 for some adventure.

There aren’t enough of these threads. I learn so much from those that don’t need an open mind because they already know what’s best for everyone else ???

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Do the courses, get an ICC, charter in the Med, then buy a smaller boat, (27-30 ft), in which to gain experience of coastal and offshore passages, and boat maintenance, something to make your mistakes in, before considering a boat suitable for a transat. You wouldn't , after all, jump into a relatively new, large SUV or 4x4 pickup immediately after passing your driving test, but would rather tootle around in something smaller and expendable for a year or two.

 

[Concerto]

Definitely seems that snaps404 is a Sunday afternoon dreamer or troll. No appearance since the first reply.