Looking for a sailing boat with specific characteristics

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WeB

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I currently sail a Hunter Duette (and I do like Hunters), but I'm looking for a sailing boat with some specific characteristics and I am struggling to find one that ticks all, or even most of the boxes.

Features I'm looking for:
  1. Ideally under 30ft (to keep marina costs down)
  2. I must be able to sail single handed
  3. Inboard diesel
  4. No (or minimal amounts of) wood (as I don't want to spend my days sanding/varnishing)
  5. Decent heads
  6. Ideally under 25K GBP (less is always better)
  7. No mainsheets coming down in the cockpit (as I have a tendency of getting tangled up :o)
    • So either having the traveller and sheets in front of the cockpit
    • Or having it all on an aframe, out of the way

Happy to consider motor cruisers, as long as they sail reasonably well.
 
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Well that’ll be yer Hunter Legend 290 then won’t it?

You’d have a lot more choice if you learnt to manage a mainsheet.

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For single-handed sailing I find a tiller preferable to a wheel, as it makes getting about the boat easier.

Parker 27 to 31 would be on my list.
 
dancrane said:
Don't you chaps smell a humorous rat, here?
Click to expand...

Well from his earlier thread it’s good news that his budget has jumped from £2k and keeping it on his drive to £25k and keeping it in a South Coast Marina.

Amazing what you can find down the back of the sofa...

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WeB said:
I currently sail a Hunter Duette (and I do like Hunters), but I'm looking for a sailing boat with some specific characteristics and I am struggling to find one that ticks all, or even most of the boxes.

Features I'm looking for:
  1. Ideally under 30ft (to keep marina costs down)
  2. I must be able to sail single handed
  3. Wheel steering, ideally with throttle controls on the pedestal
  4. Inboard diesel
  5. No (or minimal amounts of) wood (as I don't want to spend my days sanding/varnishing)
  6. Decent heads
  7. Ideally under 25K GBP (less is always better)
  8. No mainsheets coming down in the cockpit (as I have a tendency of getting tangled up :o)
    • So either having the traveller and sheets in front of the cockpit
    • Or having it all on an aframe, out of the way

Happy to consider motor cruisers, as long as they sail reasonably well.
Click to expand...

WeB

Any comments on the posts so far? (Just wondering)
 
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Forget the wheel as under 30 ft the cockpit is not big enough then for a fast single hander go for a hanse 301 and move the mainsheet forward. However being single handed you need it in the cockpit any way. Having it behind you with a wheel would definitely cause you hassle.
i think that you should ask yourself why you want a wheel. Have you experience of one in a small boat?
a tiller in a boat under 30 ft is a far better option for both steering and manouverability. Not forgetting maintenance which could be high on an older boat
 
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The Sadler 29 covers most of your requirements, there were a few made with wheel steering, but the wish for no mainsheets in the cockpit seems to be a bit unrealistic.
 
Some compromises are going to be needed. Have you considered what will happen if you are sailing in a narrown passage between moored boats and are hit by a gust? You will need to free the mainsheet quickly to stop from rounding up. This is OK with a crew, but leaving the helm from behind a wheel and making your way to free it from its clutch by the companionway is hardly ideal for a singlehander, unless you do what my friend does, which is to engage a quadrant-operated autopilot. All-round, a tiller will give you more options and a better cockpit.

By all means stick to your decent heads, especially if you want to attract the ladies. Exterior varnished or oild wood can ideed be a maintenance issue, but most recent boats have little, and sometimes no wood. Teak rails, seats, decks etc. can easily be managed with chemicals such as Boracol or Patio Magic, and I wouldn't class that as onerous.

On the whole, I would be looking for a well-found boat in decent condition that I could sit, lounge and steer comfortably. All boats in this bracket will have diesel anyway.
 
Thank you for all the feedback this far! Very useful. I've taken off the "wheel steering", based on the feedback here.

What are people's experiences with having mainsheet/traveler forwards of the cockpit/sprayhood?
What are people's experiences with having mainsheet/traveler on an aframe?

I basically had some bad experiences when someone crash gybed a boat I was on and now would prefer no lines/sheets to be anywhere near me. Not sure if that outweighs any of the negatives, but I can't think of any apart from maybe accessibility.
 
WeB said:
Thank you for all the feedback this far! Very useful. I've taken off the "wheel steering", based on the feedback here.

What are people's experiences with having mainsheet/traveler forwards of the cockpit/sprayhood?
What are people's experiences with having mainsheet/traveler on an aframe?

I basically had some bad experiences when someone crash gybed a boat I was on and now would prefer no lines/sheets to be anywhere near me. Not sure if that outweighs any of the negatives, but I can't think of any apart from maybe accessibility.
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One of our essential requirements when looking for our last boat was no traveller in the cockpit especially across the companionway - a change from our previous boats but we’d had some near misses with inexperienced guests nearly getting squished.

We hadn’t spent much time on the tiller or wheel for years and use the autohelm except in the marina as there is mostly just one of us on deck. So the wheel sits back there by itself - it’s also why there’d be no point in a chart plotter visible from the wheel. It’s dead space apart from sunbathing across the back of the cockpit.
 
I like tiller steering, but sometimes wheel is a big advantage.
I like to get guests involved in sailing the boat, and I find that wheel steering is less of a barrier to novices steering the yacht.
Also not just novices, but those who've been on charter boats and sailing school boats.
With a decent sized wheel, I can also let guests steer while minding the other side of the wheel and stopping them doing anything grossly wrong.

It could be that I'm not very quick at teaching tiller steering to complete beginners of course!

As for mainsheet position, I like to be able to steer and adjust the main at the same time, and tack the jib while helming.
I don't mind if that means sitting/standing/crossing in front of the wheel.
 
I'm not sure single-handing an AWB is quite that drastic ... my boat is 36ft with roller reefing on both sails and an autopilot ... main is handled from the coachroof with mainsheet traveller forward of the spray-hood, genoa is handled from the cockpit coamings - a very typical AWB ... when single-handing you adapt to the boat and the equipment you have.

I wouldn't sail up a narrow channel in strong gusting wind unless the engine didn't work - I'd be motor-sailing suitably reefed.

The only time I have been forced to single-hand in tight quarters was at a harbour entrance where I ran out of fuel - my own stupidity. I deployed the genoa, not the main, and quite easily tacked back out and anchored.

I wouldn't use a hypothetical discussion over single-handing to eliminate any boat - buy the boat you love, single-handing you can work out once you've got her. Most modern boats can be very easily sailed on genoa alone.
 
Baggywrinkle said:
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I wouldn't use a hypothetical discussion over single-handing to eliminate any boat - buy the boat you love, single-handing you can work out once you've got her. Most modern boats can be very easily sailed on genoa alone.
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Fair comment, but when looking at boats, it pays to consider how the cockpit layout will work with the way you wish to sail.
I don't actually sail s/h very much, but I do like to be able to trim the sails and actively steer, without engaging the autopilot.
Engaging a tiller pilot every time I wanted to adjsut the amin would feel limiting.
I've sailed on a few boats where the layout is not conducive to one person tacking the jib smartly because there's a cockpit table in the wrong place relative to the winches.
Other boats, if you sit in the best place to operate helm and mainsheet, you can't read the instruments. I've seen new boats at the Boat Show where I couldn't see much from the helm due to the sprayhood.
Yes we can work things out, and change things to suit our way of sailing, but changing stuff is expensive and time consuming.
 
paid £12k for my boat, spent £6k on engine mounts, headlining, standing rigging, gelcoat repairs, lift keel shot blasting and new electrics.

has 2 separate cabins and a decent size head. If you can find one, i recommend them. Its pretty quick too
 
With regard to the mainsheet - there is a pretty good reason why they are universally to hand on boats under 30ft.

It sounds like it's an issue best solved with training than trying to engineer the problem away. Have you done much dinghy sailing / may I recommend a training course?
 
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