Choice of boat for RTW

[snowleopard]

A friend is planning a RTW cruise and has asked my advice on a suitable boat. He is planning to do the World ARC (let's not discuss that here!) and has been advised by the organisers that boats under 40 ft are too slow to keep up with the fleet. I couldn't persuade him that he should go for a multihull; I did talk him out of his first choice: an Island Packet. He now seems to have settled on a Moody 45 and is actively looking for one. He will be sailing with just himself and his wife who is fairly experienced.

Any thoughts?

 

[Clancy Moped]

Najad 440?

 

[noelex]

Cruising full time is hard on a boat, especially RTW.

A tough, well built boat is a sensible choice. A Moody 45 would be appropriate.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Friends of ours have bought a Malo 43 to do the trip.

 

[dunedin]

I think there might be a big difference between the optimal boat for doing an independent round the world trip vs doing World ARC. The latter tends to go at some pace - and a slower boat will always have less time to enjoy the locations than a faster boat.

A Moody 45 or Malo 43 might be nice for an independent RTW, but would certainly be in the slow category for World ARC - which has lots of much bigger and faster boats. See entry list here - World Cruising Club

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I think there might be a big difference between the optimal boat for doing an independent round the world trip vs doing World ARC. The latter tends to go at some pace - and a slower boat will always have less time to enjoy the locations than a faster boat.

A Moody 45 or Malo 43 might be nice for an independent RTW, but would certainly be in the slow category for World ARC - which has lots of much bigger and faster boats. See entry list here - World Cruising Club

I had thought that. Maybe it’s a budget thing. The ideal boat for ARC would be pretty expensive. 50ft cat, 60ft mono?

 

[noelex]

The time taken for an offshore passage is not just the time taken to complete the voyage.

It is the time taken to complete the voyage plus the time taken to effect repairs. By this criterion some "fast" sailboats are slow.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Many of the accounts I hear of world ARC are from people who regret being rushed from place to place. No time to explore properly. (But you’ve asked not to discuss this bit so I’ll leave it there.)

Whatever boat they choose, whether it’s new or older, things are going to go wrong and need maintenance and repair. Buying a newer boat definitely doesn’t change this from what I hear. Buy what they can afford leaving plenty of budget for the unexpected. Nothing wrong with a Moody 45

 

[LittleSister]

Nothing wrong with a Moody 45

Aren't they a bit temperamental?

 

[Bajansailor]

I couldn't persuade him that he should go for a multihull

Maybe you need to try to persuade him a bit more...... has he been multihull sailing, or is he just inherently prejudiced?

 

[Wansworth]

First define why they want to sail round the world.Speed and land comforts aboard probably create most repairs.i suggest a very simple equipped craft and say use it for a six months before setting off…….a nice 45 foot gaff rigged ketch with square sail,pleanty of deck space under the awnings between the masts ,apparently most time is spent at anchour!

 

[E39mad]

So many boats that are able to do it - depends on what they like, most likely their budget and their preferences once at anchor but for monohulls could look at:

Southerly 42 or 46/47 - swing keel gets you into areas others can't especially when at anchor
Hallberg Rassy/Najad/Malo
Amel
Rustler/Bowman
Oyster (the obvious British choice)

....and many many more

 

[14K478]

A friend is planning a RTW cruise and has asked my advice on a suitable boat. He is planning to do the World ARC (let's not discuss that here!) and has been advised by the organisers that boats under 40 ft are too slow to keep up with the fleet. I couldn't persuade him that he should go for a multihull; I did talk him out of his first choice: an Island Packet. He now seems to have settled on a Moody 45 and is actively looking for one. He will be sailing with just himself and his wife who is fairly experienced.

Any thoughts?

Tell him to buy a nice new Oyster and hire a crew. That seems to work.

 

[capnsensible]

Tell him to buy a nice new Oyster and hire a crew. That seems to work.

We had the misfortune to arrive in Shelter Bay marina, Panama, behind an oyster rtw rally. They took up a lot of space in all ways and added to the already numbing wait for a canal transit.

My Co skipper on the yacht we were delivering coined the term 'an ostentation of oysters'....

 

[Buck Turgidson]

We had the misfortune to arrive in Shelter Bay marina, Panama, behind an oyster rtw rally. They took up a lot of space in all ways and added to the already numbing wait for a canal transit.

My Co skipper on the yacht we were delivering coined the term 'an ostentation of oysters'....

but you wouldn't say no if one fell in your lap would you?
Ive been hankering after a 45 - 47 for some time.

 

[Tomaret]

A friend is planning a RTW cruise and has asked my advice on a suitable boat. He is planning to do the World ARC (let's not discuss that here!) and has been advised by the organisers that boats under 40 ft are too slow to keep up with the fleet. I couldn't persuade him that he should go for a multihull; I did talk him out of his first choice: an Island Packet. He now seems to have settled on a Moody 45 and is actively looking for one. He will be sailing with just himself and his wife who is fairly experienced.

Any thoughts?

There’s a Bowman 57 for sale that did the World ARC a few years ago. I’ve done a North Atlantic circuit on her and would happily go further. The owners did an West-East crossing in her two-handed as well as the trip from the UK to Las Palmas.

 

[Roberto]

It seems to me that boat requirements for "RTW" are somehow different from those for "ARC World rally"

 

[ashtead]

Not so long ago around 2014 I guess a new moody45 did the ARC . At the time the dealers BSIwere not the current ones at Hanse and I believe he joined the owner -I guess if your friend wants to learn more re new moody 45 he speaks to boat sales international -they might try to sell him a Farr nowadays but worth a try as I guess they are fairly knowledgable.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

IMO when joining something like the RTW then reliability is the most important factor. This boat is being bought to do a job, and just as you wouldn't buy an old car to run as a taxi, it doesn't make sense IMO to buy an old boat if you intend to run it to a fixed schedule. Charter companies who also expect their boats to run 24/7 don't buy old boats, firstly because it's not what their clients want, but more relevant to the RTW, older boats are unpredictable from a maintenance prespective.

Look at the RTW fleet from the last few years, check them all out on Yachtworld, and pick something that your friends feel they can handle given their preferences and ability, and that they can afford and live on comfortably. Just try and avoid a dumpster from last century as they can have serious hidden structural issues that will only manifest themselves once the hard sailing starts - quality control, materials, and structural engineering has improved immensely in the last 30 years, and many design lessons have been learnt - so if your friend has to buy older, then do the due diligence and research on the specific boat in question to avoid serious problems. A sample of one owner who claims his boat is perfect is nice, but not helpful. Get on the owners association web site and ask pointed questions.

Good example is the YouTube channel, Sailing Fair Isle, - a gorgeous boat, bought because it was a solid and well built, but where they discovered that the mast compression post was sat on a piece of teak on top of their water tank, and it was gradually sinking into the bilges.

Another typical example of last century learning experiences are Island Packet and a few other manufacturer who used to glass in their chainplates, which then corroded over time but the corrosion was invisible, so there is a cut off date where the design was changed. This kind of information is essential to know if buying older boats.

Chainplates - Mack Yacht Services

Fundamentally, if your friends have to drop out to fix anything other than auxilliary systems then the RTW rally will be a washout. The major consideration in my opinion is to get something strucurally sound and where everything from chainplates to keel attachment are accessible and can be thoroughly inspected. The older a boat is, the more likely it is to have experienced trauma, hidden parts of the boat will be degraded or corroded (for example iron in an encapsulated keel expanding due to corrosion and splitting the laminate), or there may have been inadequate repairs, Everything about an old boat will be aged, corroded, and worn unless an example can be found with little use and a previous owner to whom money was no object.

 

[HenrikH]

If speed and reliability are important for the selection, Swan yachts score higher than most. Since the days of black and white:
View attachment 169281