Best singlehanded, bluewater sailboat (not "caravan on keels")

Depend where you're going to be spending most of your time, if its in F('s then a Vancouver or smilar, if its in harbours, then something that's easily parked is an advantage.
 
Another vote for the Halcyon 27. Long keel sensible design capable of blue water cruising and available at sensible prices.
Daughter had one for a while and I fell in love with it,fantastic for singlehander. Comfy cockpit with room to sprawl out in the sun and workable interior too.Hers had a separate heads, nice galley area and choice of forward berth or single in the saloon. The baby stay gives a good option for a cutter rig.

If the day ever, god forbid, comes when I have to single hand that's the one I would go for.
 
Bianca 27 is a classic, good for cruising anywhere. Lots in Denmark.
If you go to Sweden, Allegro 27 is equally sturdy and widely available.
Somewhat larger if you wish that is Allegro 33, Vagabond 31 (I own one) and OE32. All long keeled robust blue water boats. I know for a fact that mine is well built and handling a gale in relative comfort.
 
There's also the Nicholson 26, solidly built affordable as not many were made and unlike the 32, there's not an active community of owners and wannabees out there. I sail mine single handed and have a huge downwind sail (not a spinney). You'll find they have enough wood trim to keep you happy. Mine sails like a Witch. Bit of a swine under power in reverse, due to the long keel and as it is deep there's a big cut away at the bow and it won't take the ground level, even when against a scrubbing grid. It's got two quarterberths which are excellent sea berths. Mine has twin gas bottles, a sea toilet, cooker with oven and is comfortable for two. It's OK with three, if a bit tight so it helps to be good friends. If you want to sail with four, it really has to be family. I don't have a windvane fitted but some do. For long distance cruising, it's a must as electric ones drain the service battery too quickly.
 
Vertue (available in wood and GRP), Twister (available in wood, GRP and composite - avoid composite), Nichoilson 26, Invicta 26. What's your price ceiling? Would a Rustler 31 be within range? Unless you are young, fit and experienced I would suggest, if you are looking at boats uner 28ft that you stick to boats with a bit of substance that can look after themselves and ride out a big blow. Mini Transat types ned to be sailed and worked every inch of the way. Typical modern GRP boats are not substantial enough. I would hesitate to cross the Atlantic in a small Etap. There are a great many sturdy cruisers from the seventies and eighties that can be picked up for jnot much money that would do a god job for you albeit quite slowly.
 
Trapper 500/ 501's

are a well kept secret, and a bargain secondhand, especially the fin keel models which are very expensive to moor on the South UK coast; another good boat worth looking at is the Contessa 28.

Folkboats and derivatives like the Varne, Folksong etc offer a very seaworthy boat for a relatively very low price, while the trendy ' Nordic ' jobs ask silly money, for a boat without even guardrails or pulpits !
 
Another vote for Vancouver - later 28s from about 1994 onwards had lewmar opening coachroof ports. They have plenty of dorade vents too.

Victoria 26 and 30

Halmatic 30
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
Excellent sea boats, good blue water reputation, good price. http://www.rivalowners.org.uk/noticeboard/forsale/forsale.htm
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plus 1 - I reckon my 1974 Rival 32 was tougher than any pontoon! I sat in a F9 thinking "was this what I was scared about - this is comfortable." And I solo'd the north atlantic in her. not too bad in reverse. easy to reef and set spinnaker etc

minuses: narrow cockpit and very hard on the bum (even with some cushions that I'd made!) quarter berth best used as sail locker. poor layout of galley. more weathercock at anchor than a real weathercock!!!

but I'd buy her back and do it again :-)
 
some of the older HR designs are good value mini blue water cruisers that have the nice wooden interior - the HR26

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...wanwick-marina/United-Kingdom&boat_id=2508244

But ideally you want an HR Monsun a bit like this one ready to go bluewater but sold already - http://www.percussion.nl/

These are more common in Denmark, Holland and Scandinavia but are scattered because they were designed for the job. There's an article on the HR website about one that has been round the world three times. GRP with nice wood interior ...Food for thought anyway
 
Homeward Bound said:
Thank you very, very much for these recommendations, particularly for the Jester Challenge, which I didn't know of but hits the nail on the head, and apologies if I get a bit philosophical here. Please also excuse me whilst I read up on them for a while, you've given me a lot of homework. I do not know anyone else who has the yearning for this. The Val Howells reference is what it is about, I guess, and the stuff about "those who abhor the rules, regulations and general 'nannydom' that threaten our freedoms" and "the lack of expectations on others" all resonates very well.

Think of it as a 'Punk Yachting' approach. I hope to head eastward not westward and go and pay respect to Yoh Aoki (Yoh Aoki) with whom a friend studied. If you don't know of Yoh, can I introduce you to his wonderful story ... (see link).


The Albin Vega (Albin Vega) I was not aware of and reviews very well ... with a surprising turn of speed, and the added advantage of having a built in bath if one wants! I also get the Corribee and have looked a junk sails on a couple of yachts. The Elizabethan 30 had already come on the radar, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this at all or want it to be about that.

Yes, old GRP did score more highly and I know how wrong the priority of materials is (... but then wood does have the advantage of providing for a Viking send off!). I guess if you are going to spend a long time staring at something it ought to be nice to look at, and wood is warm, but I don't see myself living with this for a long time so that does not matter. I'm looking for a one-off experience, and it's similar question to, "why ride a vintage Triumph when a modern Honda really does do every job better?". It's true but a Honda also lacks something.

Please shoot me down in I am wrong here but I'm just starting to notice how different nations/cultures craft their boats differently and am trying to think outside of my box. A lot of the 70s/80s British stuff and later which I see have gone on in a sort of Abigail Party/Austin Allegro direction (how cutting can I get!?!) and a bit pedestrian for what I am after. You know, it's all 'wife and two kids' which I have not got ... "why go touring the Highlands in a two-door open-top sports car when you can take a caravan and make tea and toast all day?". I know it is wrong to generalise but older designs seem to tend to be narrower. Are broader beams a compromise to fit more space in? I'm not looking for space.

I do get something like a Falmouth Cutter (Falmouth Cutter, they are expensive enough and old Bristols way beyond my budget). I kind of see them as a kind of (v. competent) Morris Oxfords of the waves and old fashioned British. I guess I like the Folkboats just for their more stripped back and slightly racier nature and one of the most appealing so far I looked at was an open interior FB with a wood burner in it. It had a feel of a real ship. I'm start to wonder what more trad. Baltic or Asian sailboat would be like.

Someone else wrote here, there don't seem to be many boats made with singlehanding in mind. I guess a few of you are going to think I am nuts but I'll refer back to the Jester guys and Aoki. It's not just about getting there, it's about having a particular sort of experience that is getting rarer and rarer in this world.

Perhaps I need to find one of these good boats that has had already 'the caravan' ripped out of it. If I see one more boat that 'the wife' made matching cushions and curtains for ... and I am afraid secretly yearned for net ones too ... I'll scream and set fire to it.
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I get the impression that you find mass produced boats all rather alike and therefore rather dull.
Unfortunately physics dictates a certain basic design- much like it does with any vehicle. If you want to end up with something different, it will invariably cost more, or introduce some sort of compromise.

To be honest, it's quite amazing that today anybody can go out and buy a potentially world-girdling boat for around £10k, if you are willing to make certain sacrifices. This is only possible because of a boat building boom in the 70s, which has left the second hand market awash with cheap GRP boats which will never rot.
 
Homeward Bound said:
I'm looking for a singlehander with good long distance bluewater capacities and am willing to accept low head heights and spartan facilities, e.g. single bunk but more storage/tank space. (However, I am headed off to warmer places and would prefer some ventilation, meaning that some of the more airless low-profile cabin designs are out). In terms of preference, I'd say; wood, steel, GRP (... or if it has to be GRP to have a lot of wood in the cabin) with an inboard engine and a proper head not a portapotty.
.
Click to expand...

The other consideration is that boats of a single type can vary a lot. Take our Halcyon 27, totally rebuilt by previous owner for Atlantic circuit, so is totally different to a standard Halcyon 27.

Exterior, small cockpit, large lazerette, 2 x 4 inch cockpit drains ( boat took a wave mid Atlantic, owners then realized how long standard drains took to empty cockpit ) , structural upgrades, windows bolted to outside of cabin sides, windvane steering. Interior every cubic inch is storage, vee birth with pilot berth, large chart table, large galley with full gimbled cooker, plus numerous minor mods, including hidden compartment for documents and passports.

So should the OP be looking at blue water yachts for sale, rather than which of the many standard yachts can do blue water ?

Brian
 
I would recommend a Jaguar 27 fin keel. Built like the proverbial s*it house, sails very well. nice and roomy with a large cockpit, originally designed in USA but built in UK with UK equipment. Easily sailed single handed and you should get one in the range of 9-12k. But it's GRP I'm afraid but one of the nicer designs(in my opinion).
 
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