Best for singlehanding

[Lee_Shaw]

Purrleez...

Pretty much any boat sub 40 foot, it's mainly how they're set up than any particular set of attributes per se.

That said, the Folk Boat derivatives are popular for mainly coastal sailing, for extended offshore sailing, larger, similarly shaped boats seem to be prefered.

It can't be overstated though, that virtually any boat is suitable if set up correctly.

 

[Topcat47]

+1 for the nic 26

 

[Ludd]

?????

 

[Lady Campanula]

I reckon that's very perceptive.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Like everyone else - mine of course, a Dragonfly 920. Most of the miles I have sailed have been on my own. I downsized from the previous boat specifically for this reason.

Very easy and predictable to manoeuvre, steers as well in reverse as forwards with a steerable engine. Float decks are pontoon height and no guardrails, so tieing up or picking up a mooring is dead easy. Light enought to push around by a quick shove. Standing headroom. An easy to use rig. The sails are of a size that they are easily handled. An exceptionally light helm so works really well under autopilot. Always level which reduces fatigue.

And the best attribute of all for single handed coastal sailing - in summer I can sail 150 miles during daylight hours on a good day. No fighting to stay awake all night from lack of sleep.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

John Passmore "Flipped" his off of NE Scotland took off by a Helio

Yes but in horrendous weather and wasnt he asleep down below at the time. In any event, it formed an excellent life raft whilst a mono would have sunk.

I've had both cat and mono - mono at the moment. Safety is one reason for chosing a cruising cat. Ride, comfort, ease of handling.

 

[Blueboatman]

Ironically I would say that one of the most useful attributes for a singlehanding boat is the ability to let the skipper get to sleep ( for all thos 15 minute catnaps) very easily and comfortably and with absolute faith in the boats ability to keep on keeping on.
So anything that slams, leaks, sails on its ear or stuffs berths away from midships is out, imho.

 

[TQA]

Ironically I would say that one of the most useful attributes for a singlehanding boat is the ability to let the skipper get to sleep ( for all thos 15 minute catnaps) very easily and comfortably and with absolute faith in the boats ability to keep on keeping on.
So anything that slams, leaks, sails on its ear or stuffs berths away from midships is out, imho.

Lot to be said for a centre cockpit boat where you can sleep in the cockpit. I could do this on my previous Ryton 38 but not on my current 44 foot aft cockpit boat although thinking about it I could kip on the floor of the cockpit.

 

[fishermantwo]

I single hand 99% of the time. 30 foot fin keel and skeg/rudder and tiller steering. Well known ex ocean racer with 5 Sydney Hobarts and others behind her. Delightful to sail with a motion at sea that is very reassuring. Her sister ship won the Sydney to Hobart years ago and is the smallest yacht to do so and the only time it has been won by a yacht not designed by a professional.

The boat has to have that feel to it.

 

[jonic]

I once spent a very happy week on the Norfolk Broads single handing a 30ft classic broads yacht whilst swotting up for my dayskipper.

It was heaven, no mod cons and the best attributes were several bottles of wine and a fishing rod.

 

[prv]

+1 for the nic 26

I like them too. Was definitely on my shortlist before the scheme of sharing KS with my dad came along.

Got a bit of a soft spot for gaff rig now though, and unfortunately (unlike a certain other forumite ) I don't think grafting a gaff rig onto a Nic26 would be a particularly good idea.

Pete

 

[suse]

?????

Me too

S x

 

[tomski]

What about a Dufour Arpege...obviously with the right setup but my only doubt about her is the fin keel with bulb...

 

[D'eau!]

Best single-hander

It's got to be the Sadler 26 I bought earlier this year. I've put in sooo many hours and so much money into preparing her, that if our relationship sours my naiscent sailing career will end abruptly and she'll be back on the market!

 

[Tranona]

What about a Dufour Arpege...obviously with the right setup but my only doubt about her is the fin keel with bulb...

That should not make any difference to the ability to singlehand. Just about any cruising boat can be configured for shorthanded sailing. I single hand my 37 footer with few problems once out of a marina and did 000's of miles in my 26 footer.

As the responses here suggest the key things are to set up the various controls for the boat to minimise effort and to plan what you do in advance avoiding risky situations if possible.

Note from your other posts you are looking to buy a boat to sail back to Australia. Not sure how much experience you have, but would suggest that a worn out old boat such as you are looking at (irrespective of its sailing characteristics) is perhaps not the best starting point. Not to say that it can't be done in a small boat - one forum member recently did it in a Contessa 26, but it is a marginal existence and you will find even with a boat like the Contessa you need a budget 3 or 4 times the asking price for that old Dufour to get a sound boat and kit it out for the voyage. So it pays to start off with a better condition boat as the cost of kit is related to size and the cost of new boats, not to your purchase price. So a more expensive better equipped, better condition boat will probably be cheaper in the long run.

 

[tomski]

All fair points..my experience is average I'd say, Aus-NZ run, a few runs on the Bass strait (Melbourne - Hobart - Melbourne etc) a run to Lord Howe Island from Sydney, bit of coastal along the east and west coast of Australia and a few runs in the channel here in UK ( longest about 150miles) with a mix of old and newer boats (though last been at sea about 5 years ago sadly)....I guess I'm inspired by the Jester challenge and knew (lost contact over years) a few people that have extensively sailed less than 30footers (my aussie offshore trips were on a 27 and 29foot old yachts also)...so appreciate small yacht big drink issues...the other (and rather personal) view is that old yachts tend to be a lot more solid than new ones...hence my thought pattern is if I buy a cheap old yacht, change rigging, sails and other bits and pieces then I will have an old boat with new fittings where it counts and therefore possibly better than buying something for 15k....or is that a false way of thinking...?

 

[Tranona]

The problem is always keeping the refit budget under control. New parts are priced in relation to new boats - so a suit of sails and new rigging for a 30 footer won't leave you much change out of £3000 and so on.

You are right that you will need to buy an older boat - not because they are necessarily better built - there are some horrors out there, but because very few boats of that size and style have been built recently. However, as you will discover there is an enormous variation in condition, quality and equipment that is not reflected in the selling prices. So a good example of the kind of boat you are looking at might be £10k, a poor one £6k - but the cost of bring the cheap one up to the same standard will likely be far more than the £4k difference.

Boats that are "cheap" are usually priced like that because nobody wants them - for whatever reason. Does not mean you cannot get a real bargain, but they are few and far between. One such boat which might have suited has just changed hands in our club for peanuts - never seriously advertised because of low value and owner being ill. However, in the water and working, not lying forlorn in a yard gathering bird poo and mould!

So, suggest you start looking at the higher end of the price spectrum and get a feel for what extra you get by paying a bit more.

 

[Boots]

That will be me and my Contessa 32.

 

[westhinder]

That will be me and my Contessa 32.

Another great singlehander would be the Rival 34: steady, trackingstraight, well mannered. Once you find out what she will do in reverse, you can take her everywhere and she'll look after you.

 

[jwilson]

No teams of 'outlaws', no rugger club outings, no hordes of hangers-on....

.....just you and your book-at-bedtime. And very occasionally, one of your mates.

What kind of boat, and what attributes....?

An old-style S&S Swan 36 that had been forgotten to be commissioned and launched when new and left in a shed since 1970. Failing that a She 36 is similar condition.

Realistically, as new old boats are somewhat difficult to find, a new or newish Arcona 34 or 37 with a proper inboard autopilot. And even my present Sun Odyssey 35 would be OK, again given a new and better autopilot than a wheel ST4000+