30boat
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If you can find a good Douglas Peterson boat go for it.You'll outsail everyone else.
North American yachts - opinions/ advice?
- Thread starter armchairsailor
- Start date
Robin
Well-Known Member
Yep, look for a Jeanneau Sun Legende 41, designed by Doug Peterson, we just sold ours after 10 years of fast and very sweet sailing! There are actually quite a few of them in North America.
Cruiser2B
Well-Known Member
I giggled a bit when I read this. While there is a lot of day-sailing, "cruising" can involve long distances between ports - places like Desolation Sound have their names for a reason. As for "very very protected", it should be pointed out that even on the "protected" inside passage (between Van Is and the mainland) you'll be surrounded by mountains, so there are a lot of Katabatic winds, including a particularly nasty variety called a 'Glacier wind.' The topography causes the wind to funnel down the channels, which leads to some rather bizarre gusting, shears and downbursts.
Armchair - Adding to previous recommendations, Cooper was a local builder that did a number of popular designs (under a number of names); Hughes and Columbia are common. I didn't see many Nonsuches out there - there are loads of them for sale in the Great Lakes, but it would take your budget to ship one cross-country. Pilot houses are popular on the Wet coast for obvious reasons, though there won't be many in the size range you're looking at. Although there are many seasonal sailors out there, there's no reason not to sail year-round.
armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
Glad to see it's getting people thinking.
Found a nice Ericson 34 in Oregon (only 400mile delivery trip) on Yachtworld:
Damn, can't get the link to work. Maybe edit it tonight.
Subject to survey methinks at under $10k USD
In a quick look over lunch, it appears that anything over about 27' have dispensed with tiller steering. Not sure how i feel about that.
Found a nice Ericson 34 in Oregon (only 400mile delivery trip) on Yachtworld:
Damn, can't get the link to work. Maybe edit it tonight.
Subject to survey methinks at under $10k USD
In a quick look over lunch, it appears that anything over about 27' have dispensed with tiller steering. Not sure how i feel about that.
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PerformanceSailor
Well-Known Member
I have not actually been aboard that late '70's E-34, but it's been for sale for a while and our local boat market is very depressed... you might try an offer.
Don't feel too bad about broken Yachtworld links; they have some serious flaws in their db page display software and have ignored all requests to fix 'em.
We wanted a tiller model of our boat but could only find a wheel version. That was in '94. We have gotten used to it... there are some advantages... and of course some disadvantages.
Apropos of whatever, I have done a lot of deliveries up 'n' down the WA coast in many boats, and one of the best rides was an 80's Ericson 32. Solid boat and a soft ride in choppy seas. Bruce King is a great designer and Ericson was a top notch builder.
But then perhaps I 'm prejudiced... Ericson Yachts built my Olson 34!
Boat44
Well-Known Member
Up Beaulieu River!
photodog
Lord High Commander of Upper Broughton and Gunthor
Oh yeah! Easy! Lets see... Past the Columbia river bar, Along the "Graveyard of the Pacific" and then into the Straight of Juan De Fuca past Cape Flattery.... All wide open to those big rollers all the way from Japan!
Easy!
DickB
Well-Known Member
Go for Hylas
Hylas yachts are lovely. Well built (granted in Taiwan, but designed in the US) and very comfortable...
Hylas yachts are lovely. Well built (granted in Taiwan, but designed in the US) and very comfortable...
bbg
Well-Known Member
My formative sailing years were spent cruising and racing in BC on a Tanzer 26. I was tempted to mention them but the weather helm of the 26 had to be seen to be believed.
I agree they are not as well built as C&Cs, for example, or CS, but they are likely to be within the OP's budget.
Cruiser 2B - no doubt there can be strong winds and desolate anchorages, but my comments were made in the context of someone talking about "sea boats" with sea berths. No matter how much you might giggle, the conditions in the Gulf Islands and the Straight of Georgia simply don't compare with what one might find in crossing to Ireland or France, for example. The only time I sailed overnight in BC was when racing. Overnight passages for cruising simply weren't necessary in the Gulf Islands / Straight of Georgia, where most people do their cruising.
I have to say I was quite amused when I started reading British sailing magazines with all the readers' angst of crossing to France. Vancouver-Nanaimo is about the same distance as Dover-Calais, and my dad gave me the keys to the boat at 16 and let me cross with a friend for a weekend, and singlehand it later that year. No checking my passage plan or anything like that, just "make sure you have enough water for the weekend".
There is no way he would have been that relaxed for a Dover-Calais trip.
So - I'll agree there can be v strong katabatic winds, in deep anchorages. Very very strong currents. But you can't deny that the big rock off the coast (Vancouver Island, on which you live if I'm not mistaken) protects the Straight from the Pacific swell.
And as for delivering a boat from Portland, there may be import costs. And the only way I'd want to do that trip on a 30 foot boat is on the I-5.
doug748
Well-Known Member
You will be wanting a MAAB.
Many older American boats look superb to my eye, they come in good variety and most look like boats rather than training shoes.
Lots of bargains too.
Check this out:http://www.goodoldboat.com/resources_for_sailors/sailing_classifieds/boats_for_sale.php
Bilgediver
Well-Known Member
armchairsailor;2671092 Here's to Salt Spring Island said:Music to my ears and have the sailing directons here to enjoy
The biggest problem is finding moorage as they say. Just have to get your Pleasure Craft Operator Card (boat operators licence) but if I can pass it can t be difficult. There is a time limit on how long you can use your RYA qualifications similar to the restrictions on use of your UK drivers licence.
The sailng is great between the Island and mainland and even more enjoyable if you have a ham licence as they have a network linking the length of the Island on VHF. Handy for organising bar B Q s etc.
Check out http://uk.yachtworld.com/core/listing/advancedSearch.jsp
and do the search using Canada in the bottom box
Cruiser2B
Well-Known Member
or search Pacific Northwest in the box above that - saves looking at boats 1000s of kilometres away.
armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
Oh yeah! Easy! Lets see... Past the Columbia river bar, Along the "Graveyard of the Pacific" and then into the Straight of Juan De Fuca past Cape Flattery.... All wide open to those big rollers all the way from Japan!
Easy!
Good to know. I am, after all at the beginning of this particular adventure, so I need to learn all I can about the regs, cruising locations etc.
Cruiser2B
Well-Known Member
With respect, not everyone over there crosses the Channel or the Irish Sea - some are evidently happy to potter about the Solent. While most Victoria/Vancouverites will daysail, there are certainly ample opportunities to use a sea berth in BC. Surely you would agree a trip to Barkley Sound would involve an overnighter without the benefit of the big rock blocking the swell
I take from your last line that a crossing to France simply doesn't compare to a passage from Portland.
(ps. I moved away a few years ago - still miss the place)
Armchairsailor - any idea yet where you will be planning to reside?
PerformanceSailor
Well-Known Member
Yup, it's the North Pacific...
I have done two deliveries in the last month, Port Angeles to Astoria. After a long day motoring out the Straits, we spent a few hours sleeping in Neah Bay.
{Note:You should have radar and gps, by the way. There is often patchy thick fog, and at night it gets a bit sporty out there near the ship traffic lanes -- and then there are other sport boats here n there, too.}
Leaving at first light, it was about 26 hours to Astoria. You do have to plan your arrival on the bar for a flood tide. Never the ebb.
If you watch your weather and sea state it's an easy trip. Just be prepared to wait out the odd day of rough seas by idling in Neah Bay or short-stopping in Grays Harbor.
Patience is a virtue for this trip -- stubborn mariners on an inflexible schedule are the cause of many a USCG helo launch.....
Note that from now on until spring, most boaters (with urging from their insurers!) do not normally make this open-ocean transit.
Oh yeah! Easy! Lets see... Past the Columbia river bar, Along the "Graveyard of the Pacific" and then into the Straight of Juan De Fuca past Cape Flattery.... All wide open to those big rollers all the way from Japan!
Easy!
I have done two deliveries in the last month, Port Angeles to Astoria. After a long day motoring out the Straits, we spent a few hours sleeping in Neah Bay.
{Note:You should have radar and gps, by the way. There is often patchy thick fog, and at night it gets a bit sporty out there near the ship traffic lanes -- and then there are other sport boats here n there, too.}
Leaving at first light, it was about 26 hours to Astoria. You do have to plan your arrival on the bar for a flood tide. Never the ebb.
If you watch your weather and sea state it's an easy trip. Just be prepared to wait out the odd day of rough seas by idling in Neah Bay or short-stopping in Grays Harbor.
Patience is a virtue for this trip -- stubborn mariners on an inflexible schedule are the cause of many a USCG helo launch.....
Note that from now on until spring, most boaters (with urging from their insurers!) do not normally make this open-ocean transit.
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armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
With respect, not everyone over there crosses the Channel or the Irish Sea - some are evidently happy to potter about the Solent. While most Victoria/Vancouverites will daysail, there are certainly ample opportunities to use a sea berth in BC. Surely you would agree a trip to Barkley Sound would involve an overnighter without the benefit of the big rock blocking the swell
I take from your last line that a crossing to France simply doesn't compare to a passage from Portland.
(ps. I moved away a few years ago - still miss the place)
Armchairsailor - any idea yet where you will be planning to reside?
We're probably going to settle on the mainland around Vancouver, but there is an outside chance that I might be able to transfer to our Nanaimo office, which is the biggest in the province. Basically wherever I can get a job and where we can afford the land to start an equestrian business.
I won't tell my wife about overfalls, bars, katabatics etc - she's sheet scared of the water... I think it'll be day sails for a while until we get into it properly as a family - baby steps. Having experienced a katabatic broach whilst helming a 34' in a Norwegian fjord I know they can come out of nowhere.
Cruiser2B
Well-Known Member
Nanaimo is a lot more affordable, and imo has better weather, but there's less to do on the island, and the ferries are neither convenient nor cheap. Land can be had not too far from Vancouver, but the affordable stuff is generally away from the water - Abbottsford, Chilliwack and beyond. Vancouver and Nanaimo offer comparable sailing; but you pay more for moorage in Vancouver and have more vessel traffic to deal with. You might consider looking for a few acres in Surrey, which is convenient to the marinas in Richmond. Good luck with the move.
armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the recommendations. If we ended up on the island we'd look in the Comox valley area - stunning with good value, but otherwise we're going for a lottery win and hoping for something around Langley.
We had a look at Duncan and my in laws named it Stunkin Duncan - a little unfair I thought!
And just don't get me started on the wildlife. Bears and cougars everywhere (apparently) and they're just out to eat you all!! 
The houseboat suggestion surprisingly didnt go down so well. Dunno why.
We had a look at Duncan and my in laws named it Stunkin Duncan - a little unfair I thought!
And just don't get me started on the wildlife. Bears and cougars everywhere (apparently) and they're just out to eat you all!! The houseboat suggestion surprisingly didnt go down so well. Dunno why.
Cruiser2B
Well-Known Member
Good old Druncan - guess that's not fair either. That's an up and coming wine region, due to the microclimate. There's also a really good cidery there that makes proper ciders with real English cider apples. The cougars regularly come into town (even downtown Victoria) but they rarely bother anyone. Boat out of Maple Bay or Ladysmith - nice and protected for the nervous sailor, but a little confined.
Comox is beautiful. Wetter weather, but that should make you feel at home. Northern Strait of Georgia is a little more exposed, but you have more room to run.
Langley would work for you; Fort Langley is a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon too. You might also look in Pitt Meadows a bit to the north.
Comox is beautiful. Wetter weather, but that should make you feel at home. Northern Strait of Georgia is a little more exposed, but you have more room to run.
Langley would work for you; Fort Langley is a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon too. You might also look in Pitt Meadows a bit to the north.
