Motorsailers

Haven't-a-Clue

Haven't-a-Clue

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Pssst, don't tell the mobo forumites I'm here, but I would like to find out summat about motorsailers, 'cos the wife won't let me have a yacht and I think these might be an acceptable compromise for her. Could somebody point me in the right direction for info (starting at level 101 i.e. "what is a....." ) and on from there.
 
Well

You have motory motor sailer - Colvic Watson, Fishers and proper Nauticats.

Typically have nice wheel house, fishing boat sort of shape, lts of engine and not too much flappy white stuff.

In general won't sail to weather.

You can also get saily type motorsailors which look more like proper yachts but have biggish engines and usually a deck saloon or perhaps a covered centre cockpit.

Claymore, Nic 38, Southerly, Moody Halbardier other yachty Nauticats.

In general will sail to weather but not as well as a proper yacht.

Suspect non of em really sail to windward but owners of Fisher and Watsons tell the truth.

The great advantage is that you can go sailing in a cardigan and carpet slippers.

More seriously they are generally excellent sea boats, keep you warm and comfortable in nasty conditions. Sail adaquately off the wind and have roomy and comfortable interiors.
 
We we in a similar situation 5 years ago when we went out to buy our first boat. But every time we went to see a motorsailer that seemed on paper to fit the bill the admiral cried "Its a tugboat - I'm not going out in THAT!"

After months of this the broker, in desperation, sent us to see a Sigma 362 - not a motorsailer! Admiral said "that's a nice stylish boat, we'll have that one". I just kept mum and signed on the bottom line and pushed the sale through before the penny dropped.

Now we both love it. Its not at all frightening, goes where we point it and, when we pull all the rope bits properly, is quite fast.
 
Thank you, thank you everyone for your replies! More info than I can shake a stick at. We're located near Moodys' on the Hamble, does anyone know where we could go (nearby) and look at something suitable and by that I mean something that is cross channel capable, but also easy fun around the Solent etc. and comfy for 2 or occaisionally perhaps a couple of guests as well.
 
If your SWMBO likes mobos and you want to tempt her to the real thing, consider a cat. Most SWMBOs really dont much like life on a slant. A cat doesnt do that, it handles in close quarters more like a powerboat, and has the accomodation and living area that is better than a powerboat. Your family can spread all over the decks and fing loads of room for sunbathing, meanwhile you can get on with the sailing bit - ask TCM

I would offer to give you a taste in mine, but :

she is not quite in the water

She is shortly to go on sale

/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
Northshore will show you Fisher and Southerly

They are both X channel capable (if suitably kitted out)

Northshore brkerage appear to be priced on the high side - so look around before spending.

Fishers are really nice boats.
 
Pop into multihullworld in Emsworth. Always have at least 30 cats there for sale, some could be classed as motor-sailers and I doubt they have many that won't cross the channel (have a look at a Heavenly Twins, 26 or 27 foot and has done several circumnavigations). A Catalac will keep you warm and cosy and a half decent one won't cost more than 20K. You won't get much of a monohull for that. There is even a Catfisher at Emsworth which is a bit strange but one hell of a great design. If your wife is iffy about sailing then in my limited experience she will either love a cat or won't sail at all.
 
We have a motorsailer for the same reason - and because we have 3 very young children (all under 3 last year when we bought the boat). We have a wooden motorsailer, a Miller Fifer 33:

488684923_698d97e770.jpg


Now, I suspect that you're not in the market for a wooden boat, but I think that she is probably fairly typical of a 'motory' motorsailer. I suspect that a Fisher 30 would be very similar in accommodation and handling.

With the engine on, she's a great boat. 7 knots (8 at a push), cruises at 5.5 knots at 1,000 rpm on her n/a 50HP Thornycroft 4 cylinder. 100 gallons, which equates to about 100 hours (probaby slightly less).

Under sail, less impressive. Very, very slow but if you like that kind of thing (and we do), great fun. 12 tons of boat with a small sail area means that everyone is going to fly past you! But for me, that's the point, really. We're never in a hurry and we're generally more interested in the scenery than the sail trim.

Basically, neither my wife or the children like it when things get 'tippy', but we all like the silence of sailing so it's perfect.
 
One to look at not mentioned so far is the Fjord 33. MS. Much more pleasing to the eye than Fishers and most others.We did UK-Canaries-Madiera- Uk in ours a few years back and if I could have stretched it by 5 foot would have kept it. Great little ship.
 
>We're located near Moodys' on the Hamble, does anyone know where we could go (nearby) and look at something suitable and by that I mean something that is cross channel capable, <

Gissaclue on price. Makes a big difference to the shopping list.

(PS - I want to sneak in a stealth suggestion. One of these)

avancouver34P_2_0001.jpg
 
The catamariners will tell you better than me, but my view is that one of the big contributors to a comfortable sea boat is weight.

A heavy boat reacts more slowly than a light one.

A cat is meant to be light to work properly.

A monohull relies on weight in the right place for stability, a cat relies on buoyancy.

The only time I have sailed a cat I was covered in bruises from bumping into bits of it because I couldn't get used to the more rapid motion than a mono. That was a Catalac which is said to be heavy for a cat.

No doubt over a period you get used to the motion, but I didn't in the week we chartered it.

The other thing is weight carrying - With a big heavy mono you can pile gear into it without upsetting what passes for performance. You can't do that on a cat, it takes much more care in loading.

I will not go into the invertion debate - the cats always scratch if you do!
 
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