Long term on a Sadler 29

[Tranona]

A bigger boat has somewhere to esape to.
When we were looking for our first boat with a view to ending up in the Med, we were advised to get the biggest possible so we didn't end up killing each other. We took the advice and are still happily living aboard, but for us it matters that we can retreat to our own quiet corner from time to time.

My sentiments exactly. Some people are quite happy living in close proximity to others with the minimu "clutter" around them. We like the option of having our private space - plus the fact that at 6'3" and weight to go with it, confined spaces are not a good idea!

In some ways I admire people who can live in a minimalist way whether on land or at sea, but it is not for me.

 

[pragmatist]

We loved our Sadler 29 though we found it a bit cramped for more than a week or so - but perhaps you are tidier than us ! It came with a "vertical-style" windlass which worked well and didn't take up too much foredeck. We had, I believe, 5 or 10m of chain and then 20-30m of warp which worked well and we anchored a lot (though mostly in shallow water on the East Coast). We now have all chain on our Rival 41 and really need the electric anchor winch to handle it so I would be interested to know why vyv cox regards all chain as essential. I wonder in a boat of the weight of the Sadler if such a lot of chain in the bow would affect her balance. But it may be, since I know nothing about Med mooring, that vyv has excellent reasons for the all chain recommendation.

I would also have thought that the twin-skin of the Sadler would help keep her cool - it certainly helped us keep warmer than the previous or subsequent boat tho, having a bimini I can see would be a must. We are currently considering changing the forward-facing windows on the sprayhood to zip-out ones to allow shade but a through draught. Might be worth a thought.

Ours had a 15 gallon flexible water tank and hand-pump only with no water heating. We currently have pressurised water (so it is easy to be wasteful), 150 gallons in 2 fixed tanks, calorifier and immersion heater. Given the limited space on the Sadler I wonder, barring the port side of the forecabin (our tank was starboard side) where you could fit more water. I love having hot water and it maybe, given the price of gas, that using kettles to heat water would be more expensive than a calorifier.

Anyway I wish you a wonderful time in a wonderful boat (still look at Sadler 29s with a very fond eye).

P

 

[vyv_cox]

We now have all chain on our Rival 41 and really need the electric anchor winch to handle it so I would be interested to know why vyv cox regards all chain as essential. I wonder in a boat of the weight of the Sadler if such a lot of chain in the bow would affect her balance. But it may be, since I know nothing about Med mooring, that vyv has excellent reasons for the all chain recommendation.

I would also have thought that the twin-skin of the Sadler would help keep her cool - it certainly helped us keep warmer than the previous or subsequent boat tho, having a bimini I can see would be a must. We are currently considering changing the forward-facing windows on the sprayhood to zip-out ones to allow shade but a through draught. Might be worth a thought.

We have all-chain for a number of reasons, the first being stability at anchor. Boats on rope warps tend to move around to a far greater extent than those on all chain, for example in a small windshift the rope boats will be moving well before the chain ones, and collisions can occur. The second is behaviour of the boat in strong winds. All boats tend to sail around the anchor to some extent but those on rope do so far more. This constant movement through up to 180 degrees puts a good deal of stress on the anchor, increasing its tendency to drag or break out.

This is the third one

With stern-to berthing there is a strong likelihood that another boat will get your warp around his prop. (see the Italian thread currently running!) This mobo has my rope lazy line around his. The man at the dinghy has a carving knife in his hand and was all set to cut the rope if I had not stopped him. If I had not been on board at the time he would have cut it and gone, leaving me free to smash against the wall or another boat. I have seen a chain around the prop of another boat but at least cutting it was out of the question.

So far as the insulation on the Sadler is concerned, unfortunately there is none in the deck, so the blazing sun causes the interior to get just as hot as any other, similarly constructed boat. In this respect there are many boats, with balsa or foam-cored decks, that would be cooler.

 

[pragmatist]

Vyv - don't dispute the bit about the problems of warp with stern-to mooring - not something you get a lot of on the East Coast. And yes you do wander around more with chain and warp - but in many years of anchoring the Sadler, sometimes in busy anchorages, we did not come to grief. The style of windlass we had coped with both chain and warp so it may be something they can consider changing later if they choose.

 

[red beard]

I have sailed the med for a few years and would say unless you can afford to stay in marinas all the time the only thing to worry about is power. Get a generator (controversial I know) and 3 times as many solar panels as you think you will need. I specialise in helping people prepare for long distance cruising so give me a pm if you need anything.

 

[somerset]

I would not worry too much about gear.I would strongly recommend cruising the Channel for a season to see how you and your SWMBO get on in a confined space.We did that and found it was not a problem for us on our Kelt 850 so we laid her up,spent the winter in rented accommodation in Spain(did a bit of recceing in a hire car),came back to the UK and went for it via the canals.This also had the benefit of allowing us to see how we coped as a couple living abroad (sounds silly perhaps but there is a world of difference between a few weeks holiday and an extended stay).

As well as allowing you to dip a toe in the liveaboard water you may well gain an idea of what sort of boat you want.

We did not have a fridge which was a major pain so if it is practical to fit one on your 29 footer then it would be as well to do it.

If you decide to go south an awning is a must as is a bimini of some sort (we had a large parasol designed to swing from the back stay which we bought in France.It packed away like a small tent and could be adjusted to allow for the movemenet of the sun relative to the course steered,left the cockpit uncluttered when stowed and saved weight.

One thing you might wish to look at is your cooker which is probaly going to get a lot of use unless you eat ashore a lot.We had to buy a new one and it was more expensive than in the UK.

A large pressure cooker saves on gas and means you can cook you spuds and veg all in one go.

A small gas barbecue is a must IMHO since cooking down below is unpleasant in the Med.

Beyond that a plank ( 2 for fendering in the canals) and as a passarelle in the med.

IMHO it is as well to work out what you need as you go along rather then try to anticipate that sort of thing.

If you are going via the canals you will most likely meet someone on the Seine coming the other way who will be looking to offload his mooring stakes along with advice on stopping places etc.

Just give it a go as soon as you can.You never now what is round the corner!

There are plenty of chandlers etc about and I found the service much better than most places in the UK.

 

[Slow_boat]

Thanks for all the answers, folks.

Having spent this season cruising for a couple of weeks and weekends, I have found I can't keep swmbo off the boat! Trouble is, she keeps wanting to go out on a gale just for the fun(?) of it. As I've told her, been there seen it done it and got the T shirt, we've nothing to prove and any fool can be cold wet and frightened.

We are very at ease in each others company and don't need other people and she's even becoming a useful hand on the boat. The first few seasons were like single handing with a passenger. We're used to camping and biking so don't need much to stay happy and sane.

Seeing as we don't intend doing much more than day hops, I reckon we don't need much more than the cruising gear we've got at present, updated, plus navtext, a couple of planks and a bimini. We should be able to get food shopping for fresh stuff every few days, so no problem there. Not sure where I'd fit a fridge compresser anyway, the fuel tank takes up the fore end of the cockpit locker. A couple of flexi solar panels can lay on deck or the upturned dinghy for power (I worked out for 2x 85 ) if we do find somewhere to put a fridge.

So, the feet are back on the ground, we'll go in what we've got for three months then hope to find somewhere cheap to leave the boat on the Atlantic coast of Spain or Portugal, and re-evaluate needs and wants.

Thanks, all.

 

[lindsay]

Sadler 29 Solar Bonus

A hidden benenfit with the Sadler 29 is that you can fix a flexible, but permanent, 40 watt solar panel just forward of the instrument console on that flat bit under the boom. This keeps everything going during daytime (ie instruments and autopilot) and any lights at night, but then I do not have a refrigerator. All you have to do to dispense with this pain in the neck is to train your taste buds to drink tepid drinks and train your biceps to row ashore for fresh produce - this of course in the Mediterranean, not crossing an ocean.

If on the very occasional times that people do actually come on board, shove in some ice cubes into the Sadler "icebox".

 

[somerset]

A hidden benenfit with the Sadler 29 is that you can fix a flexible, but permanent, 40 watt solar panel just forward of the instrument console on that flat bit under the boom. This keeps everything going during daytime (ie instruments and autopilot) and any lights at night, but then I do not have a refrigerator. All you have to do to dispense with this pain in the neck is to train your taste buds to drink tepid drinks and train your biceps to row ashore for fresh produce - this of course in the Mediterranean, not crossing an ocean.

If on the very occasional times that people do actually come on board, shove in some ice cubes into the Sadler "icebox".

That is what we did but if you like spreads or cheese etc it can mean you end up chucking stuff away.We solved the milk situation by buying powdered - a habit that we have kept to this day - and only buying small portions.In the Med in winter those parts of the sidelockers below the water line were usually adequate for keeping things fresh for a few days same as most of the year in the UK.

The weight and lack of space for an extra battery,upgraded alternator/solar panels etc etc on our Kelt meant we never got round to fitting a fridge.But it was a deal breaker in deciding what our next boat would have been.