Does a 'forever boat' really exist?

Tim Good

Tim Good

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How many of you have found your ideal boat?

Or had you found what you thought was your 'forever boat' and only found 5 years later that you wanted something else due to size, function, speed etc?

Is a 'forever boat' a just a dream in the eyes of men who constantly seek to improve / upgrade?
 
It probably depends on your outlook more than the boat.

Searush, for instance has had his boat for ages and seems to think it ideal for him.

I, on the other hand, can always see the dream just over the next hill.
 
northcave said:
How many of you have found your ideal boat?

Or had you found what you thought was your 'forever boat' and only found 5 years later that you wanted something else due to size, function, speed etc?

Is a 'forever boat' a just a dream in the eyes of men who constantly seek to improve / upgrade?
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When a man's dream becomes reality, then it is no longer a dream, but a man needs to continue to dream.
 
only if your needs never change

mine do all the time

so if you never leave your own patch and do not have a growing/shrinking family then you might as well keep the same boat until you drop off the perch

I myself bless the blokes who like to buy new boats every few years - it helps to keep the supply of good second hand ones topped up which in turn keeps the flow of old seventh hand ones available for me to buy

D
 
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Our Trader 44 was our forever boat so when Mr Maybh suggested selling it a few years ago he got short shrift from me

After 14 years of ownership I would find it hard to part with her but perhaps it is time for head to rule heart

May
Xx
 
I can't see us ever replacing our current boat - it's perfect for us in almost every respect. The only thing that could tempt me would be the eight foot longer version of the same boat, but those extra eight feet are going to cost us a hell of a lot of money, so I think this one is going to see us out!
 
We are like many others I expect. When you buy the boat its all great and better than the last one, so what else could you want. But... as you get more experience, grow a bit older and wiser, understand boats that bit better, gather more specific knowledge and sail on other boats, your views change. Us for example - we were novice sailors (still are in many respects) and went for a typical AWB Bavaria 36C as it was comfortable, affordable and easy to handle. But since then, I have done some racing, sailed on other boats and now want different things. Our next one will be a cruiser/racer for sure, not just a cruiser. Having been on J boats and X boats now and sailed with peops who really know how to dial a boat in, I can see where my Bav lacks in performance. Don't get me wrong, I still love the boat we have, but would like a different slight bigger and faster one. But then as someone has said.... a man must always have his dreams.
 
Vonasi said:
Our boat is a forever boat. I've sunk so much time and money into her over the years that I could never sell her.
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Same here.
If we were to sell now (after 8 years of ownership) we would take such a massive financial hit, we'd struggle to recover.
The only way what we've done makes is sense is to sail her till we're both too old/decrepit to get any use out of her.
And then, she'll probably go to one of the children.
 
We've come over from the dark side. We had a 40ft tart trap of a boat, really nice but we needed a change. We knew nothing about saily boats and went looking for a Rassy as folk spoke well of them. Beside the Rassy at the used boat rank was a Nauticat. We liked the pilot house windows so, to be honest, bought her because we liked the light and airy saloon. Very foolish but we knew no better. A decade on we realise that we were very lucky as we bought a boat that we've grown in to and suits us now in just about every respect. We've refitted extensively and, like others above, couldn't afford to replace her with something that offered what she does now so she's a keeper.
 
I'd like to say a word for the Twister

I have had a Twister for 17 years. A good-looking boat, capable of withstanding any bad weather I might be careless enough to get caught in, with room enough for two people to live in comfortably for a couple of months at a time. I'll admit it would sometimes be handy to have a boat that could be steered astern but not being able to has never caused any significant problems.

If I ever felt inclined to sail round the world I would be quite happy to do so in a Twister.

I have no real reason to want to change her.
 
parsifal said:
I have had a Twister for 17 years. A good-looking boat, capable of withstanding any bad weather I might be careless enough to get caught in, with room enough for two people to live in comfortably for a couple of months at a time. I'll admit it would sometimes be handy to have a boat that could be steered astern but not being able to has never caused any significant problems.

If I ever felt inclined to sail round the world I would be quite happy to do so in a Twister.

I have no real reason to want to change her.
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Judging by your avatar, she seems to be well armed.

My current boat, an HR34, was bought as a long term project and is now in its 15th yr. There was a brief time when we were younger when we though of getting a bigger one, but when I saw the acres of antifouling on them out of the water I came to my senses and appreciated the comfort and ease of use of what I already had, where every trip is a delight.
 
I have never had a perfect boat, they are all a compromise. That balance of length, internal volume, layout and cost all vary according to your time in life and earning power.

Through choice I recently acquired an old Westerly Fulmar. I could have bought a newer one or a brand new boat of a similar size, but I could not justify the investment. I love sailing and I love working on my boat. So I can always find something to do in any weather or time of year.

I now have a preference for something that tends to sit in the water, rather than on the water, and can still make a good turn of speed, yet still be easily handled on my own (Lewmar 43ST's are greatly over size for the genoa!). I did not want a current racing boat as you need too many crew. I did not want a modern cruising boat as I dislike the trucated bow and broad transom, frequently with double rudders, and light weight composite construction.

So for a more suitable boat I had to go for a much older boat, even now I can say the Fulmar handles beautifully under sail and power, and comes from a popular and respected builder. There will always be a demand in the future when I come to sell in about 10+ years time due to anno domini. I calculated that it was far cheaper to improve an older tatty boat (my renovation budget is very generous) than buy a new boat and only slightly more than buying the newest best maintained example. The Fulmar is certainly considered to be a modern classic that will cost me less and probably give me more pleasure per £ than any other boat. Even with only a small portion of the work completed she is now being noticed for all the right reasons. Long may it continue.

So I now have probably a forever boat, but that was not my dream.
 
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Like some others on here we are lucky to have our forever boat. Having had our previous boat for around 20 years we knew what we wanted. The previous boat was a 31' bilge keeler. The first few years of ownership saw her out on the water every weekend during the season - we would think nothing of finishing work on Friday afternoon, an eight hour trip to Anglesey and anchor around midnight so we were on station for the Saturday morning. During those years we got to know the Irish Sea very well and dried out frequently which was easy due to the high tidal range.

Then each summer we would have a 30 hour slog up to the Scottish west coast (again not wanting to waste any of our precious fortnight). Then we had a few years of hacking the boat up and basing her in Scotland for the summer until the inevitable happened and we realised we preferred the 6 hour drive rather than the delivery trip so we moved her up there permanently.

After a couple of years we realised we were rarely drying out (partly due to the smaller tidal range) so the decision to move to a fin keeler for improved sailing performance was an easy and logical one. At the same time we decided we wanted more space so started to look for a westerly Conway. Got the first one we saw because she had a new engine and have never looked back.

For us she is for keeps :)

Edit : it could be said that there is a different boat for different stages in your life. As said earlier our first boat was 31' (a modest size these days). As we were in our early thirties and the boat was not particularly expensive we did not treat her too preciously. As we were youngish and a bit foolhardy we took that boat into the most ambitious/crazy places. Into tiny deserted harbours, rocky inlets etc. Never stupid (imo) but we did things and visited places you could/would never do in anything larger or more expensive. Nowadays creature comforts are the priority and although we rarely visit marinas we do tend to cruise more sedately so having a bigger boat with deeper draught is perfect.
 
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I am a full time liveaboard and have a New Bombay Trading Company Explorer 44. I looked long and hard at what was available and this was the best fit for me. Sails well even to windward with the board down and the accommodation does not shoehorn 8 berths into 44ft. It has the biggest shower I have seen on a boat of this size. I am 6'3" and hate banging my elbows.

At age 68, me not the boat, I know this is my forever boat. I hope to keep sailing her in the Caribbean until the day the reaper comes calling.
 
My Hallberg-Rassy 352 was almost a forever boat - I kept her for 19 years. Only sold her this year because the demand for maintenance was increasing and my appetite for doing it was decreasing!
 
We found Tomahawk....

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