Choosing a boat

[Grayson]

Hi All

I'm after some advice. Me and my girlfriend are taking a year off work to cruise the med. If we feel confident then we will cross the Atlantic to explore there too. I'm finding it difficult to decide on the right type of boat with so much conflicting information and opinions out there. My budget is small so with this in mind i have been looking at Nicholson 32 and Contessa 32 however despite everyone's high opinion of these i'm not sure i could live on this for a year +. Now, after some research i like the look of the Westerlys and in particular the Discuss 33. I wondered if some experienced sailors could give me their opinion on the suitability of this boat for comfortable living and also an Atlantic crossing given that it's fin keel/ keel bolts and age etc (1978-82 with my budget) I'd also appreciate suggestions on alternatives.

Thanks in advance

 

[Strolls]

Welcome to the forum.

I think you might get better results asking this on the Scuttlebutt sub-forum - it's a bit busier.

I think they'll love to help you on there, and you'll get plenty of opinions. Probably worth stating your specific budget.

 

[Tranona]

Hi All

I'm after some advice. Me and my girlfriend are taking a year off work to cruise the med. If we feel confident then we will cross the Atlantic to explore there too. I'm finding it difficult to decide on the right type of boat with so much conflicting information and opinions out there. My budget is small so with this in mind i have been looking at Nicholson 32 and Contessa 32 however despite everyone's high opinion of these i'm not sure i could live on this for a year +. Now, after some research i like the look of the Westerlys and in particular the Discuss 33. I wondered if some experienced sailors could give me their opinion on the suitability of this boat for comfortable living and also an Atlantic crossing given that it's fin keel/ keel bolts and age etc (1978-82 with my budget) I'd also appreciate suggestions on alternatives.

Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum

Not sure how much you have though this through. Cruising the Med starting from the UK is simply not possible in a year off work. You only effectively have 7-8 months and while it is possible to get there in that time it is not possible to do any meaningful cruising, let a lone get back to the UK. If you do want to cruise there in a season then you need to buy a boat already there - but you will not have time to do that and bring it back to the UK.

Much more sensible if you want to try cruising and living on a boat to cruise the Atlantic coast of France and Spain. Plenty of challenge in that, and possible to get down the the rias and back in a long summer.

As to choice of boat, really any cruising boat is capable of doing it, and you will get as many recommendations as people who offer them. The Westerly is probably better for living on and a very capable boat. The challenge is not choosing a boat, but finding one in good enough condition within a limited budget. Important to have good gear and particularly a good engine as wherever you go you will do a lot of motoring if you want to see places. Most of the boats you will see will be 30+ years old and almost certainly for sale because the owners can't face or can't afford the work required to get them up to a decent cruising standard. So expect to spend anything up to as much again on preparing the boat for your trip.

Don't want to sound too negative as clearly people do cruise on modest budgets, but there are probably far more shattered dreams than successful ones. Scan down this forum and you will see a lot of experience of cruising on all budgets which will give you a flavour of what is possible.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Not sure how much you have though this through. Cruising the Med starting from the UK is simply not possible in a year off work. You only effectively have 7-8 months and while it is possible to get there in that time it is not possible to do any meaningful cruising, let a lone get back to the UK.

That seems fairly pessimistic. Of course I suppose it depends which bit of the Med one wishes to go to, and how leisurely a pace one wishes to adopt. I am pretty sure that deliveries even from the UK to the Croatia generally take less than seven months. Google tells me that it's about 1000nm from Land's End to Gibraltar, and even the slowest boats in AZAB seem to do each leg in about ten days.

 

[[27631]]

your 10 days hasnt allowed for weather..from lands end down the west coast of Portugal...in your dreams in the size of boat the OP can afford...be lucky to do it!

 

[JumbleDuck]

your 10 days hasnt allowed for weather..from lands end down the west coast of Portugal...

Of course. But seven months for ten days' of reasonable weather?

in your dreams in the size of boat the OP can afford...be lucky to do it!

There was a time when a Nicolson 32 or a Contessa 32 were thought to be reasonably sizeable and seaworthy boats. Both are too big for the Jester Challenge, which goes a damn sight further than down to the Med.

 

[AndrewB]

The Discus 33 has a good reputation as a long-distance cruiser. I believe one did a North Atlantic cruise to Greenland and round the North-West Passage a few years back. Strong. Good compromise Med + Transat. No reason why there would be special problems with the keel bolts on the fin keel version though of course you'd have that checked in the survey. A boat that old is always going to need a fair amount of ongoing maintenance, so hone up your DIY skills.

PS Re the above: check out http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/cruising-guides/adventure-guide-sailing-storms-28445.

 

[Tranona]

Of course. But seven months for ten days' of reasonable weather?



There was a time when a Nicolson 32 or a Contessa 32 were thought to be reasonably sizeable and seaworthy boats. Both are too big for the Jester Challenge, which goes a damn sight further than down to the Med.

The OP wants to cruise the Med - not see how many miles he and his partner can travel.

Suggest you read the many blogs (and threads here) of what people actually achieve - or even try it yourself. Then you will see that my advice is realistic.

 

[AndrewB]

The OP wants to cruise the Med - not see how many miles he and his partner can travel.

Suggest you read the many blogs (and threads here) of what people actually achieve - or even try it yourself. Then you will see that my advice is realistic.

Tranona, I read the OP as meaning he planned a year out for the Med, then if that went well a Transat later.

A worthwhile cruise of the Med starting from the UK could definitely be done by a couple with some previous experience during a year's sabattical. Also an Atlantic circuit can be comfortably done in a year.

I do agree though this would be too ambitious if Grayson and his partner have limited experience. In that case I'd recommend they buy a boat out in the Med and take it from there.

P.S. Long distance cruising can be planned on the basis of about 100 miles per 24 hours. UK to Greece in 8 weeks is quite practicable provided you are prepared to keep moving - not that I imagine that is what Grayson intends.

 

[JumbleDuck]

The OP wants to cruise the Med - not see how many miles he and his partner can travel.

Correct. Assuming that he is planning to buy his boat in the UK, he has to get it to the Med. You say that takes around seven months. Can you point me to a couple of blogs which back that up?

 

[jordanbasset]

The trip down to the med was one of the best parts of the journey, it would be a shame to rush it. Brittany is worth a couple of months on it's own as are the Rias, then the Algarve. If you just want to cruse the med then it is of course possible to get down there quickly, even then I would allow a month. As for the med the Spanish med coast is not the best place to cruise. By the time you get to the Balearics it gets better and the further east you go better still, IMHO of course.
But if you do want to cruise the med I would suggest buying a boat already there, some where like Greece, plenty of choice and good prices and you have great cruising areas relatively close to you,
An idea of what you would get here
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/core/li...&fromPrice=1000&fromLength=30&slim=quick&No=0
Don't forget those are asking prices, am sure you could do a deal on some of them

 

[[27631]]

The OP wants to cruise the Med - not see how many miles he and his partner can travel.

Suggest you read the many blogs (and threads here) of what people actually achieve - or even try it yourself. Then you will see that my advice is realistic.

+1... I agree totally with Tranona's view.

 

[[27631]]

The trip down to the med was one of the best parts of the journey, it would be a shame to rush it. Brittany is worth a couple of months on it's own as are the Rias, then the Algarve. If you just want to cruse the med then it is of course possible to get down there quickly, even then I would allow a month. As for the med the Spanish med coast is not the best place to cruise. By the time you get to the Balearics it gets better and the further east you go better still, IMHO of course.
But if you do want to cruise the med I would suggest buying a boat already there, some where like Greece, plenty of choice and good prices and you have great cruising areas relatively close to you,
An idea of what you would get here
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/core/li...&fromPrice=1000&fromLength=30&slim=quick&No=0
Don't forget those are asking prices, am sure you could do a deal on some of them

However I totally agree with the above also.

 

[Boo2]

That seems fairly pessimistic. Of course I suppose it depends which bit of the Med one wishes to go to, and how leisurely a pace one wishes to adopt. I am pretty sure that deliveries even from the UK to the Croatia generally take less than seven months. Google tells me that it's about 1000nm from Land's End to Gibraltar, and even the slowest boats in AZAB seem to do each leg in about ten days.

+1. With an appropriate crew you could get to the Med in the following legs with approx sailing distances and times include resting/waiting time :

Brighton - Guernsey 130 4 days
Guernsey - Ushant 130 4 days
Ushant - Coruna 350 14 days
Coruna - Lisbon 340 14 days
Lisbon - Portimao 150 4 days
Portimao - Gibralta 200 4 days

Total 1300nm in 44 days

So that would be a month and a half. Of course Gib is probably not most people's idea of cruising the Med but Ibiza is only another 400 odd nm further on...

Boo2

 

[Tranona]

Correct. Assuming that he is planning to buy his boat in the UK, he has to get it to the Med. You say that takes around seven months. Can you point me to a couple of blogs which back that up?

For blogs see the sticky at the top of this forum.

The 7 months refers to the usable part of the year if cruising to the Med. Leave April as crossing Biscay or going through the canals is either dodgy or impractical before that and most Med sailing activity shuts down by end October. So you could get there if you pressed on and see a small part of the Med, but not if you wanted to get back. Getting back round the outside is a challenge, best done in spring/early summer.

All sorts of scenarios are possible - leaving the boat out there and then doing the Atlantic the following year is common - which might be on the OPs mind. However, jumping in and buying a near 40 year old boat on a limited budget and expecting to do a significant "tour" in a year is very ambitious. If sailing IN the Med is the objective, as others have said makes sense to buy a boat already there. If the objective is cruising from the UK then you have to be realistic about what can be achieved in what is effectively one summer season.

 

[Boo2]

...most Med sailing activity shuts down by end October.

Slightly OT, but what's the sailing like in the Med between Oct - April, Tranona ? Is it possible to get some in without it being the masochistic undertaking it would be in the UK ? Obviously it will not be all F4 winds and sunshine but is it too bad to be worth bothering with ?

Boo2

 

[NornaBiron]

Slightly OT, but what's the sailing like in the Med between Oct - April, Tranona ? Is it possible to get some in without it being the masochistic undertaking it would be in the UK ? Obviously it will not be all F4 winds and sunshine but is it too bad to be worth bothering with ?

Boo2

It's perfectly possible to sail in the winter months in the Med, BUT you have to be prepared to wait for the right weather and have the next bolt hole in mind. As an example, we have been hoping to leave Symi to head for Nisyros, in Greece, (only 30 miles) for several weeks. We 're not on a time schedule so have waited for good weather to cross and for a good weather window to be at our destination before moving on again. We finally got to Nisyros yesterday.

Since October 2015 we have sailed Symi-Nisyros-Tilos-Halki-Crete-Halki-Symi-Nisyros. We've had some lovely sailing weather but the key is to not be in any rush.

We've only seen three other yachts out sailing since Christmas.

 

[Tranona]

Slightly OT, but what's the sailing like in the Med between Oct - April, Tranona ? Is it possible to get some in without it being the masochistic undertaking it would be in the UK ? Obviously it will not be all F4 winds and sunshine but is it too bad to be worth bothering with ?

Boo2

First, the Med is a big place and conditions vary. Western Med and just outside in the Algarve has better weather in the winter so more possibilities of sailing. East is different and Adriatic and around Greece are cold and wet. However, perhaps more importantly many boats, probably the majority in the east, are owned by non residents so are simply not there to use their boats. The main cruising grounds in Croatia, Greece and Turkey go into hibernation in the winter except for the small number of people who live on their boats all year round. Greece (at least the islands) does not wake up until Easter and shuts down at the end of October.

So if you are there on your boat you might get more opportunities for the odd day sail than in the UK, but not reliable enough to say take a week out. Better in the western Med, at least for living aboard as warmer and more shore life.

 

[SHUG]

We sailed to the Med in 2006 and spent five years as liveaboards. Since then I have been back often and sailed on friend's boats.
If I was doing it again I would buy in the Med in Turkey or Greece. If you are planning for a relatively short time it might be worth trying an ad. offering to lease a boat for a year. Otherwise go for an ex-charter boat. There are massess of Bavarias for sale but the risk is that there will still be masses for sale when you want to sell!
Good luck

 

[Wansworth]

Frankly its a bit much, coming on here as a Newby and wanting to go to the Med and beyond........ you have to be more humble. Err people have been on here years and not got beyond the harbour entrance.......