Choosing a single handed, live abord

[BluePeter]

Currently I have a half share of a Najad 331. I love her, she's beautiful, fast and easy to sail and gives me a wonderful 'pride of ownership' - but she's not set-up for sailing without a minimum of two on board, so she's up for sale.

My plan is to find another boat that I can (own) and sail single handed, so the current SWMBO (happy to be on board but she's not a sailor) and I can head off to the Baltic, next spring, living on board for the summer and probably over wintering her there.

My current choice of replacement is a Vancouver 34 Pilot, but it's a long time since I've been on one and never actually sailed one. But they have a good solid reputation and seem to me to be designed for short handed sailing. And most seem to come already with both autopilot and wind vane, electric windlass, etc. And I think they are quite pretty too!

Can anyone see any holes in my plan or perhaps suggest any other boats I ought to be considering.

I always look forward to hearing your personal prejudices.

BluePeter

 

[RAI]

Look at the boats that are used by the Scandinavians in the Baltic, if that's where you want to sail.
They have a short sailing season. If you want to live aboard in the winter, or even just Spring and Autumn, I suggest something with a wheelhouse, like the Nauticats.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Currently I have a half share of a Najad 331. I love her, she's beautiful, fast and easy to sail and gives me a wonderful 'pride of ownership' - but she's not set-up for sailing without a minimum of two on board, so she's up for sale.

My plan is to find another boat that I can (own) and sail single handed, so the current SWMBO (happy to be on board but she's not a sailor) and I can head off to the Baltic, next spring, living on board for the summer and probably over wintering her there.

My current choice of replacement is a Vancouver 34 Pilot, but it's a long time since I've been on one and never actually sailed one. But they have a good solid reputation and seem to me to be designed for short handed sailing. And most seem to come already with both autopilot and wind vane, electric windlass, etc. And I think they are quite pretty too!

Can anyone see any holes in my plan or perhaps suggest any other boats I ought to be considering.

I always look forward to hearing your personal prejudices.

BluePeter

Apart from being bog ugly, I used to own a V34C they are well found boats almost certainly not as quick as your Najad but will give you lots of comfort and shelter in the Baltic. It will be getting a bit long in the tooth and will like as not require a bit of money spent on her, most will have spent a lot of time at sea as opposed to marinas.

 

[npf1]

If it's an option, it may be cheaper to set up the current boat for singlehanding.

By the time you've paid brokers fees on selling, then some updates/repairs on the new boat, you'll probably have spent £10k or more. And for that sort of money you could have easily added roller furling, a decent autopilot and probably a few other things to make the Najad a better fit to your new criteria.

 

[BelleSerene]

What are the challenges to single-handed sailing in her?

 

[Tranona]

Almost any respectable boat of that size can be set up for single handing. You just need to think through what your limitations are and then work out how to minimise or eliminate them. For me that leads to a fractional rig with small headsail, in mast furling, all sail controls operable from the cockpit and main and jib accessible from behind the wheel. Plus of course a good autopilot and for berthing a bow thruster.

Unless you fancy old lumpy boats there is really no need to buy something like the Vancouver. As suggested they are getting to the age when they become money pits. More modern designs are faster, easier to handle and have more space for a given length. While a deckhouse of some sort may extend your sailing season, the choice is limited unless you go nearer to 40' and by their nature, single handing is more difficult to arrange (plus buying one really hits the pocket!).

Of course, budget is a major factor. If it was me and I could afford it I think I would buy the other half of your current boat. I can't believe it would be difficult to improve the ease of sailing single handed. It is only a relatively small boat. I have no problems with my Bav 33 which is the same displacement and sail area. You just need to systematically work through your sail handling gear and improve it. For example, the one thing that was not good on the standard boat was the jib furling line, so I replaced it with Harken blocks, leads and a ratchet block accessible from the wheel. Transformed the action and now furling is one handed. Obviously you won't be able to go to in mast (and probably would not want to) but upgrading blocks, cars, using Dyneema etc can transform reefing.

Hope this helps.

 

[lpdsn]

IIRC the Najad 331 had reefing lines led to a winch on the mast. It had an in-built handle, which I always thought was neat. I can't remember anything else that was a significant handicap to single-handing, but it was a good while since I've sailed one.

They're a nice boat. Sedate but with a bit of speed and capable of handling weather better than most boats that length.

I'd be another one advocating thinking again about what mods to make to the Najad to suit single-handed sailing. If you sell you might find there's quite a bit you miss about the old boat.

 

[gertha]

Shipman 27 is a pretty boat, made in the Baltic.
I would look at boats for sale in north Germany or Sweden or denmark and save the hassle of single handed to the Baltic.
Most people sailing the Baltic are in older 27 to 37 feet boats but no one sells as no one likes the new tubs.
So finding the right boat will not be easy.

Simpn

 

[doug748]

Friends of mine had a Vancouver, the pilothouse was nice at anchor and the midships cabin is very snuggly. They thought it comfy and well put together but found it a handful in a marina and were pleased to fit a bow thruster.

Seeing as you are asking.... personally, I would stick with the Najad. As npt1 has said, dealing costs alone are high and you will end up with a boat you will still want to spend money on. Modern boats are going to look very basic indeed to your eye and the stout performance of the Vancouver might not suit if you hit on a light Baltic summer.

 

[Daydream believer]

Stick with the Najad if you can. I have seen some Vancouvers & some look tired & would need lots of money spent on them& sailing abilities are rather poor compared to more modern designs.
You can set the boat up to make it really easy to sail single handed:-
Spend some money on better running rigging. Discuss this with a good rigger if you can. A knowledgeable one will set it up far better than you might do yourself. Get all the controls back to the cockpit including reefing. Have the main set for slab reefing single line & a good stack pack system so the only reason you go on deck at sea is to unzip or to aid the main dropping into the bag.
You might also consider a better quality jib with shorter foot to make tacking easier. This will perform better in heavier winds without having to be furled too soon & not necessarily loose much in lighter wind if well cut. You might find that a wind vane is a good investment.
Move items such as plotter, echo sounder, log GPS, radar etc into positions that can be seen & adjusted from the helm & so that you do not have to go below to read them. Have jib winches near to hand. Have mainsheet adjustment by the helm & not on the cabin top as in some boats. Try to avoid a mainsheet track across the cockpit that means you have to jump over it to move about quickly when moving from helm to controls on cabin top. Either have it behind the helm position or set in the floor or on the bridge deck but with the sheet tail lead aft near the helm but so you have a clear cockpit.
Remember you have no crew to get to the controls so you have to be able to move about easily in the cockpit. Have hooks for rope coils so you do not have loads of loose ropes all over the floor to trip on- & use them

 

[alteredoutlook]

Buy your new boat in the Baltic - not only will you avoid having to do the delivery but it will probably have all the features you want:
stern anchor and stern windlass
bow ladder to get you ashore
cockpit tent
boat heating
holding tank

And forget about live aboard all year round - its flippin cold! I can't imagine SWMBO wanting to


Tha Vancouver is slower than slow. Do as other have suggested and buy out the other's half share - at least you will know all its faults.

 

[BelleSerene]

Almost any respectable boat of that size can be set up for single handing. You just need to think through what your limitations are and then work out how to minimise or eliminate them. For me that leads to a fractional rig with small headsail, in mast furling, all sail controls operable from the cockpit and main and jib accessible from behind the wheel. Plus of course a good autopilot and for berthing a bow thruster.

Unless you fancy old lumpy boats there is really no need to buy something like the Vancouver. As suggested they are getting to the age when they become money pits. More modern designs are faster, easier to handle and have more space for a given length. While a deckhouse of some sort may extend your sailing season, the choice is limited unless you go nearer to 40' and by their nature, single handing is more difficult to arrange (plus buying one really hits the pocket!).

Of course, budget is a major factor. If it was me and I could afford it I think I would buy the other half of your current boat. I can't believe it would be difficult to improve the ease of sailing single handed. It is only a relatively small boat. I have no problems with my Bav 33 which is the same displacement and sail area. You just need to systematically work through your sail handling gear and improve it. For example, the one thing that was not good on the standard boat was the jib furling line, so I replaced it with Harken blocks, leads and a ratchet block accessible from the wheel. Transformed the action and now furling is one handed. Obviously you won't be able to go to in mast (and probably would not want to) but upgrading blocks, cars, using Dyneema etc can transform reefing.

Hope this helps.

A working autopilot is a game-changer for single handing, holding course while you reef or adjust sail quite apart from liberating you from the helm on long passages.

A bowthruster is entirely unnecessary on a boat of anything like this length. Especially if she goes astern and has some prop walk as the Najad will.

 

[Tranona]

A bowthruster is entirely unnecessary on a boat of anything like this length. Especially if she goes astern and has some prop walk as the Najad will.

That depends on where you berth. For me being able to get in and out of my tight berth on my own without any drama is the difference between sailing and not sailing on many occasions. So, one cannot be dogmatic. As I said earlier, you go through the things you need to do single handed, determine what is inefficient or a barrier and find a solution. So, if berthing single handed in a wide range of conditions and types of berths is not a problem for you then fine. But if it is a bow thruster can help.

Definitely the best "extra" I specified on my new boat as it gives confidence if things go pear shaped you have the facility available. In practice I use it less than I thought I would, but it enables me to turn the boat on the spot to reverse into my berth and then if the wind blows the bow off while I am attaching the stern lines, a small burst brings it back in.

 

[LadyInBed]

Do as other have suggested and buy out the other's half share - at least you will know all its faults.

There's a lot to be said for that. Making it Solo friendly wouldn't be too much of a job, and a lot cheaper than selling and buying.
On the other side, the benefits of a Pilot House when sat in a Marina or at anchor are that it's easy to see what's going on around you, and a nice deep centre cockpit is a very safe environment, but I'm biased!

 

[Uricanejack]

Buying a boat in the Baltic which is already set up and equipped to sail and live on in the Baltic in comfort would be wise.

Bugger that, Sailing to the Baltic would be more fun with lots of cool places to stop and see on the way. Would be my opinion. I make no claim to be wise.
Personally after enjoying a nice fast boat. I think I would be frustrated by a much heavier pilot house boat.
It comes down to what's more important to you. The sailing or the comfort in the dock. My prejudices would eliminate a Vancouver from the equation.

You like the Najad? Before you decide. Try taking her out by yourself for a short sail. You might find after getting used to it you would not have to make to many changes. If you are not comfortable taking her out by yourself right now. Try finding an experienced single hander who is an instructor to tag along and give you a few tips about single handing.

Other question to ask yourself. Forget the single handed sailing.
Would or Could you be comfortable living on the Najad?
What would you need to live comfortably on the Najad in the Baltic.
Can you afford to by out the other half of the Najad? And do what you need to make it comfortable?
If I was going to the Baltic, Does it have Heat?

I don't know much about Najads. Are they not built in the Baltic or someplace close by. Like Sweden.

Edited. and added
I just looked up Najad 331 on Yachtworld. Wow nice boats. Way out of my budget. I can see why you love it.To me its a no brainer if you can keep the Najad, Keep the Najad.

Which ones yours? Never mind.
I'm guessing not the Hamble one is has furling main and jib. It looks like its ready for short handed sailing. Main sheet and traveller are forward of on the coach roof. The Sheets led aft. The traveller might be minor irritant single handed.
The other two have furling jib and battened mains. one has a tiller the other two are wheels. Wasn't sure from pictures exactly where the main sheet and traveller were. Or the reefing arrangements. Lazy jacks? Set up a single line reefing to cockpit if you want. Or not. A lot of this is personal preference.

All you would need is a little bit of coaching to improve your confidence. To single hand any of those three boats. As they are. Some modifications to make it easier or suit personal preference have already been suggested. I think all three had all the creature comforts. Hot and cold water Heating fridges. Wow. And Auto pilots.

Single handing is not hard. Its mostly about planning one step at a time, one or two steps ahead.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a Vancouver in comparable condition and ready to go.

 

[jonic]

I think I would be inclined to look at keeping the Najad as they are a wonderful cruiser for their size. I sold a really nice one a few years back. But I can see your thinking re the V34 Pilot. Sold a few of those too, as well as the classics.

Good solid long distance cruisers, remarkably well designed in terms of stowage and load carrying capacity.

We have just taken on one of the relatively rare 36's (not ready yet) and her owner single-hands her.

http://www.jryachts.com/boat-details?boatid=1418305

Our main page still has some details and pictures of a sold 34 Pilot as well as a sold 38.

 

[[3889]]

Something like an Etap 35 or Starlight 35 can be singlehanded without much effort and offer insulated hulls and more living space than the Vancouver, which I've always thought of as an ocean passage maker.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I think I would be inclined to look at keeping the Najad as they are a wonderful cruiser for their size. I sold a really nice one a few years back. But I can see your thinking re the V34 Pilot. Sold a few of those too, as well as the classics.

Good solid long distance cruisers, remarkably well designed in terms of stowage and load carrying capacity.

We have just taken on one of the relatively rare 36's (not ready yet) and her owner single-hands her.

http://www.jryachts.com/boat-details?boatid=1418305

Our main page still has some details and pictures of a sold 34 Pilot as well as a sold 38.

V36 best Vancouver built. Very different to the rest, worst by a long chalk the V38 pilot an absolute dog of a boat. There you have it an unbiased and unprejudiced opinion

 

[BluePeter]

Wow, thanks for all the posts. It's interesting to see that the consensus is I should upgrade my Najad rather than even think of getting a Vancouver.

I have several concerns with my Najad. First is that she's tiller steered (and our tiller pilot has never felt 100% reliable in all conditions and not sure if there's a cure for that). Then there's the big main - currently raising, lowering and slab reefing all mean someone going forward and ideally someone else tailing in the cockpit (and steering). I'm not sure where I would hide a holding tank, but beyond that her accommodation is cosy and reasonably spacious, but why spend six months at a time in a beautiful part of the world if I can only see it all from the cockpit (nobody mentioned to mossies!)?

Considering the Vancouver34P, my last criticism of the Najad (and most of the other suggested boats) is cured by the pilot house - nice on a mooring and useful on passage for both steering and for SWMBO to see out from. And they seem to have lots of storage and usually come reasonably ready for single handing. Do I understand Petehb thinks they're "bog ugly", really? I wonder what he objects to about them. But I can see with their long keel they might need a bow thruster for all those Scandi box moorings - the similar size Najad certainly doesn't. And whereas our realistic top speed on the N331 is around 7kts and I expect that's probably a knot faster than the V34 (Alteredoutlook: are they really "slower than slow"?), would I worry about that pottering around for six months?

It's surprised (or even worried!) me that I haven't heard from any Vancouver owners, extolling the virtues of the marque - perhaps they're all out sailing the world rather than answering emails?

As for the other boats you've suggested, I've now looked at them all, thanks but unless I'm missing something I can't see that they offer me anything over the potential of my Najad 331. That's perhaps with the exception of the Nauticat 331 (all the other Nauticats are too big), but although I know them to be excellent boats, I think the Nauticat looks put me off. And they're not cheap either.

But if I do get another boat, I will do it here, rather than in the Baltic, to get to know her, load her up and then next spring enjoy the getting there.

Two things for me to do now: talk to a good rigger (who do you recommend on the Hamble?) about altering my boat and then going to look at one of the several V34's that are on the market at the mo (Jonic: the one you've just sold looked a beauty!).

Thanks again guys.

PS It's my idea that I will winter the boat (undercover!) somewhere in the Baltic (any suggestions, or perhaps that's a question for the CA forums) and fly home. That's easier and probably cheaper than bringing her back and parking her on the South Coast.

 

[TQA]

I am a wrinkly who single hands a 44 ft cutter. I have no special adaptations but do have a good autopilot and a an electric anchor windlass.

Slab reefing on the main at the mast and a roller furling genoa. The staysail is hanked on.

I mostly anchor out or use a mooring but if faced with lots of tight marina berths I would fit a bow thruster. Midship cleats already fitted and can be a godsend.

I am not suggesting you go for a 44 ft but don't be too concerned about size.