Cruising Virgin...

[Guest]

Hi, firstly I confess to being having spent 10 years motorboating, including live aboard for a year in London, but have now seen the light and am returning to sail.

I 'plan' to cruise towards the med for the rest of 2002, starting in June hopefully, and then who knows.

Have read a few of the threads in here and it seems that there are a lot of great people out there.

So my question is WHICH BOAT ???

Current faves are Hallberg Rassy 42, Beneteau 44CC, Moody 44CC
I want a comfortable and safe boat but with decent performance.

Advice gratefully received and repaid if I can !!

Regards

Steve

 

[Boatman]

At the risk of getting flamed, of the 3 you listed the only one is the HR42, a great sturdy boat (may not as fast as others) but will always look after you even in some of the worst weather. Classic swedish craftmanship.

 

[HaraldS]

I'll second this. Out of the three there is no question. HR's are a completely differnt league and the new 42 is a great boat. I looked at HR's quite extensively and really liked them, though I ened up with a Najad. Kind of the same league and built on the same island.
Also if you buy a boat there, I recommend you pick it up there, the sailing on the Swedish west coast is fantastic. I did a large tour of western Sweden, Norway and some Denmark in the first year to break in the boat and sailed her back to the yard for some more features. That turned out as a real good plan.

 

[MedMan]

You don't say how many crew you intend to sail with or how often and how many visitors you plan to entertain. If you intend to sail two up most of the time - you and the First Mate - 42ft is on the large size. Many harbours in the Med are small and shallow and manoevering stern-to in a cross wind can be a touch tricky. If you don't need the extra size for a specific reason, bear in mind the fact that most Marina fees in the Med are banded, one of the bands very often being 10 to 12 metres and the next being 12-14. Stepping over the 12 metre mark will cost you a lot, lot more not to mention all that extra scraping and painting at antifouling time.

Good luck

David

 

[ccscott49]

I tend to agree with medman, (Dave) the mooring costs do not favour 42', but if you want to be comfortable, I think it's fine. I would go for the HR, solidly built, nice finish and worth evry penny, not as fast as some, but will look after you. Theres a multitude of things you will; need to think about, but a good boat is the first step!

 

[Gerry]

We had some marvellous guidance when looking for our boat. Got to know the chap who was looking for us by sailing with him and he came up with boats that would suit our capabilities and dreams! Short list of Bowman, Hallberg Rassy and Najad. Have to say he really got it right and has helped a number of others find the right boat for them.Maybe you already know a lot and have a better idea of what you want but from the list you talk about it seems to me that you need to do a lot more serious thinking about your future plans. Where do you want to sail,how capable are you and crew, do you envisage having guests on board frequently, how much money have you got,etc...
Anyway good luck! It took us two years to find the right boat but we are really glad that we waited for the right one....

 

[tcm]

For a long long trip, full of gear, performance won't be great.

I would say that a june-onwards med trip will naturally be fantastic, but could also be fabulously expensive mooring-wise. For example, around where we are in S of France, a 42footer can pay £50 a night. But, there are lots of quiet anchorages, so all you need is a decent anchor, a long kedge to line up out of the bay and the very best rib/ternder that you can find for pottering around, shopping and so on that will get you ashore as dry as poss. Note that lunchtime marina stops are normally free of charge, good for niping in, topping up with diesel, shopping, off again. Without airconditioning, you won't want to be staying in the marinas anyway.

Not sure if it is still for sale, but there's a 44' boat whose kit list makes useful reading on
http://www.shantooti.co.uk/

 

[Guest]

Thanks Everyone !!

Wow 6 replies inside of a day, what a great forum.

I know in my heart that the HR is the best boat, its perhaps just a little staid for my liking and expensive. The new 43 is even more lovely, and expensive, so I think it will have to be a used 42.

As for the advice on boat size this is interesting, are there any boats that you guys would recommend on the lower side of the 12m line ??

I plan to use the boat for cruising as a couple, sometimes singlehanded, and often with guests who may or may not be sailors. So the criteria are comfort for 2-4, ease of handling and strength and safety when the going gets tough.

Thanks again for the replies to date, maybe we'll meet in a bar one day and I can repay your kindness.

Steve

 

[Guest]

Re: RIB/Tender

Hello, and thanks for your earlier reply.

On the tender front I have a 3m lightweight rib which I used as a tender on my previous powerboat, where it sat neatly on the bating platform.

I guess that this would be a good tender for a sailboat also but where would I keep it ?, it has steering and a permenantly fitted engine so is heavy to lift, probably about 100kg. Are davits an option on a sailboat ??

Steve

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Hello
Do not worry about the size of the boat I have had a36 -39- and now 44ft does not seem any harder to park or sail the bigger yacht I sail on my own or with the wife and two children .remember each week you stay on board the boat will feel smaller.I sail in Greece and there is no extra charge in most of the ports, regarding size ,and when the port police get to know you no charge at all .I think Billskip who posts on this forum sails a 48ft on his own cheers Bob T

Bob T

 

[ccscott49]

Re: RIB/Tender

Davits are OK on a sailing boat. Your tender sounds ideal for you, but I would probably go for a tender I could strip right down and stow away for long distances, I bought the zodiac futura 2C, almost as good as a rib, fitted steering, seats, 30hp motor etc. and it can be stripped right down and stowed away. I think that would be more suitable for a 42' yacht. IMHO

 

[Guest]

Re: Size not length

Interestin comments on boat size from people but I would make the piont that the only people who measure a boats size by length are the marina dockmasters. LWL and displacement are much more importantant. Larry Pardy also make a good piont when he says boats are sold by wt! Around 6-10ton on a water line of 27-32ft give a massive chioce of good sea boats. Try a look on the boat serch on this site if you havent already done so as there is currently lots of stuff much cheaper than the HR but still good, if often a little older. Anyway its fun looking!

Roly, Voya Con Dios, Glasson, Lancaster http://www.voya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk//MW1/Intropage.htm