Buying boat with no sailing experience. How feasible is my plan?

[Doge]

if you are into the bitcoin you will have noticed it has recovered from it most recent dip , up masssively since its big dip year or so ago ,, hang in there and if it does explode as some say it will in a year , maybe less , then you can afford a much bigger / better boat this time nxt year .. good luck
ps,, and buy a catamaran

Yeah BTC is doing well! I hold other crypto too. Cardano has been my star performer over the last few months. Though it's dipping a bit at the moment. Also I hold a little Tezos and Algorand which have both done well. I'm hoping DOGE will pump soon. I think it will now AMC are accepting it. Also it's one of the cryptos Verifone will be facilitating payments for.

DogeCoin To The Moon ? !!! (Guy Crashes Bitcoin Miami Conference 2021 by Stripping on Stage) - YouTube

I'm not a fan of cats. I just don't like how they look. I'd rather buy an older but sturdy boat and have enough left over to kit it out and find my adventures than spend too much on a newer boat.

Right now I'm thinking a Vega or Contessa 27. This review of the Sabre 27 recomends that sort of hull shape for what I want to do.

Sabre 27 boat review (yachtingmonthly.com)

 

[cherod]

Yeah BTC is doing well! I hold other crypto too. Cardano has been my star performer over the last few months. Though it's dipping a bit at the moment. Also I hold a little Tezos and Algorand which have both done well. I'm hoping DOGE will pump soon. I think it will now AMC are accepting it. Also it's one of the cryptos Verifone will be facilitating payments for.

DogeCoin To The Moon ? !!! (Guy Crashes Bitcoin Miami Conference 2021 by Stripping on Stage) - YouTube

I'm not a fan of cats. I just don't like how they look. I'd rather buy an older but sturdy boat and have enough left over to kit it out and find my adventures than spend too much on a newer boat.

Right now I'm thinking a Vega or Contessa 27. This review of the Sabre 27 recomends that sort of hull shape for what I want to do.

Sabre 27 boat review (yachtingmonthly.com)

from what i can see all the crypto go up or down together ,, good luck with yours
cats ? you just have not seen enough yet , ( they are not all Lagoons or FP )

 

[shaunksb]

Bitcoin is legal tender in El Salvador now too.

Why not buy a Vega from El Salvador?

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[Doge]

Why not buy a Vega from El Salvador?

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Would save me converting into fiat I suppose. But I think I'll wait a few years before going there. Imagine what everyone have a currency as deflationary as BTC in their pockets is going to do for their economy. It'll be the Dubai of Latin America.

 

[Doge]

from what i can see all the crypto go up or down together ,, good luck with yours
cats ? you just have not seen enough yet , ( they are not all Lagoons or FP )

Proper boats just look so much better though. Nobody ever pushed the frontiers in a catamaran. They're holiday machines not adventure machines. I bet you wouldn't catch Jarle Andhoy in one.

 

[syvictoria]

Proper boats just look so much better though. Nobody ever pushed the frontiers in a catamaran. They're holiday machines not adventure machines. I bet you wouldn't catch Jarle Andhoy in one.

You can say that about a lot of monohulls too.

James Wharram Designs | Unique sailing catamarans, inspired by the canoes of the Polynesians

 

[Doge]

You can say that about a lot of monohulls too.

James Wharram Designs | Unique sailing catamarans, inspired by the canoes of the Polynesians

And how far did Polynesian canoes ever get? It's the sailing equivalent of glamping.

 

[syvictoria]

And how far did Polynesian canoes ever get? It's the sailing equivalent of glamping.

Sorry, I didn't realise that you are actively trying to rough it! My point was that these cats go far and wide... and on a budget.

Edited to add: Not a Wharram, but:
Journal of the Alleda eBook : Corridan, Philip: Amazon.co.uk: Books

 

[Kelpie]

Given that you can buy a well equipped circumnavigation-capable 27ft boat for under £10k, I think the appeal of a DIY wooden cat no longer makes any sense.

 

[syvictoria]

Given that you can buy a well equipped circumnavigation-capable 27ft boat for under £10k, I think the appeal of a DIY wooden cat no longer makes any sense.

Yes, but think about all that extra space for storing fish!!!!

 

[Doge]

Sorry, I didn't realise that you are actively trying to rough it! My point was that these cats go far and wide... and on a budget.

Cats are more expensive relative to boats that can do the same. I'm just not interested in them. I'll stick to 1970's fiberglass boats until I can afford a steel hull with watertight bulkheads.

Plus its the image. No serious adventurer ever had a cat.

Also have you seen that miserable film on iplayer at the moment? It's about a guy who tries to sail around the world in a trimaran and just seems to immediately become depressed. He lacked foresight and self understanding but the daft boat didnt exactly help.

 

[Kelpie]

Plus its the image. No serious adventurer ever had a cat.

You should read "Children of Cape Horn". First cat to sail the South Pacific and return via the horn, completed the journey with two children aboard, one of them still breast feeding. I'll never complain about the watch schedule again.

Also have you seen that miserable film on iplayer at the moment? It's about a guy who tries to sail around the world in a trimaran and just seems to immediately become depressed. He lacked foresight and self understanding but the daft boat didnt exactly help.

It's true, trimarans are clinically proven to cause depression. Colin Firth was doing alright until he was stuck by the prospect of having to antifoul three hulls.

 

[cherod]

Cats are more expensive relative to boats that can do the same. I'm just not interested in them. I'll stick to 1970's fiberglass boats until I can afford a steel hull with watertight bulkheads.

Plus its the image. No serious adventurer ever had a cat.

Also have you seen that miserable film on iplayer at the moment? It's about a guy who tries to sail around the world in a trimaran and just seems to immediately become depressed. He lacked foresight and self understanding but the daft boat didnt exactly help.

Have you ever heard of the Polynesians ,,, there is plenty if info should you choose to broaden your knowledge base ?

 

[Doge]

Have you ever heard of the Polynesians ,,, there is plenty if info should you choose to broaden your knowledge base ?

Well I just read James Cook's comments on the topic and so take your point. However it was Europeans in boats that found Polynesia and not the other way around.

 

[cherod]

Sorry, I didn't realise that you are actively trying to rough it! My point was that these cats go far and wide... and on a budget.

Edited to add: Not a Wharram, but:
Journal of the Alleda eBook : Corridan, Philip: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Yes a winderful read , ( just managed 20 minutes just now ) tho , with its being 1994 vintage , wonder how relative it would be nowadays with all the brexit schengin and cov - antics in place , and such a small simple catamaran , didnt know that any of them had actually done a circum

 

[cherod]

Well I just read James Cook's comments on the topic and so take your point. However it was Europeans in boats that found Polynesia and not the other way around.
[/QUO thousands of years later

 

[cherod]

I notice the bitcoins are up again slightly today after a small stumble yesterday , an upward trend which hopefully will continue . If ( as some have suggested ) you can travel the world in a sub £10k boat then i hope the upward trend continues as you journey will be perhaps somewhat “ glamping “ but just without the glam bit . ? . And while you are waiting for the bonanza you can study up on catarans ??

 

[BurnitBlue]

@Doge ... an excellent thread and very entertaining. You have rung a lot of bells here; Panama Canal; local waters, training; Shengen; Magellan Strait; bit-coin financies; fishing on board; and now catamarans.

A breath of fresh air. Well done doge.

Incidentally I agree with most of your opinions and admire your persistant determination to stand your ground with your take on various elements. I hope it lasts and best of luck. I believe you have the breadth of outlook to succeed.

 

[Avocet]

Suitability of small yachts for ocean passages

I notice in this thread a lot of the boats mentioned aren't listed as racing cruisers but just as cruisers. How important is this distinction in terms of seaworthiness in tough conditions? Also I notice the Sabre 27 has a bilge keel? Would make cleaning the underside much easier and cheaper if I could just park it on a beach but from what I gather it would make it less suited to tough conditions. Is this a fast rule? I wonder because the Sabre looks to have a lot of keel relative to many fin keels like the Saddlers.

We've had a Cutlass 27 for 30 years now, so I can give you some pointers as to what to look for, if you're interested. As others have said, don't get too hung-up on keel design. The Cutlass long keel is pretty much characteristic of the type, which means you get a lovely, sea-kindly "slicing" motion through a chop. They don't slam at all. Your tillerpilot will have a pretty easy life if the sails are trimmed correctly (I've been able to hold the tiller in a Force 6 with one finger). They don't make much leeway, as you might expect, and you will never have to worry about keel bolts. At night, you won't be disturbed by slapping noises of wavelets against the hull - particularly in the after cabin, as there isn't one!

But then, of course, you get the long-keel downsides too. Astern under power, Avocet has never gone the same way twice. You develop coping mechanisms, but marinas are not where a long-keeler excels! You have a big, underwater wetted area too. Cutlasses are faster than they look, but only because they are very narrow in the beam. Space below is poor. I've been on 25 footers with more useable space below. (Headroom better than the Contessa though). They are well laid-up, and I've hit a few rocks in my time, without anything more than gelcoat scratching to the encapsulated keel. The laminate is monumentally thick! They don't take the ground well, of course. You can dry out alongside, but they have a tendency to fall on their noses. This isn't a big deal as they can "hang" off their samson posts (Cutlasses are very strongly laid-up with good scantlings). Some had hull reinforcements for drying-out legs, but I've never bothered trying. They do have one weak point, which is right at the bottom trailing edge of the keel. The rudder, bottom bearing is a big bronze block, bolted through the fibreglass with a single large bolt. There's no ballast at the back of the keel, it's just a very deep sump, right to the bottom. Needless to say, it is an absolute pig to get to! If you dry out on the back of the rudder, it can pull the bolt head through the fibreglass, at which point, you fill up and sink in the usual way! It happened to Avocet's previous owner. He salvaged the boat and the design was modified so that the fibreglass was locally reinforced and the bronze block was tapped to take FOUR bolts. It's been fine for the last 30 years...!

 

[noneother]

Also I wonder about fishing from a small sailboat. It looks as though its not ideal. Lots of ropes and things to get in the way of casting. Is it possible to fish for bigger fish like tuna from a small sailboat?

I'm looking at the Albin Vega mainly and the Sadler 26. My main concern is seaworthiness but also speed. I'm not so concerned about headroom inside and things like that. As I say I intend to cross the Atlantic. After that I plan to go through the Panama canal and across the Pacific. Is there other boats that would fit the bill? My maximum budget is 10k but if I could get something cheaper it would be great.

I also am similar, but what I do know is Seaworthy can mean any boat but every where I have been reading you should probably be aiming at a 30+ feet boat purely from a safety parameter if you want ocean going otherwise the boat you may want is more suited if you are a "Coastal Skipper" which basically means if you follow the land then you, OK. Not to say it cannot be done with your chosen size of boat, but the person doing it needs to have experience which neither of us do. If I get a boat and I have to transport it I would have 2 others who obviously know what they are doing and have them mentor me on the way, while I cook. Here is what you need before you are considered safe on a sailboat at least legally; RYA Sail Cruising Training | Courses for beginners and professionals , RYA Sail Cruising Training | Courses for beginners and professionals , RYA Sail Cruising Training | Courses for beginners and professionals . Anyways, most of this will cost money, but if you have 10,000 budget , at least 10-25% should be spent on sail boating courses, not that everyone does this as stated above, at the very least bring someone with you for your crossing across the Atlantic, just in case, don't forget insurance and check the berthing prices before where ever you wanna go and a survey isn't such a bad idea either. If you need a travelling partner send me a message...