Oldies with Elan 333 - which less frisky boat, to keep us sailing?

NigelBirch said:
Mary have you thought about swapping the dinghy with one of the new fangled ultra light varieties? Piplers of Poole do one:

http://www.piplers.co.uk/chandlery/...ghies/highfield-superlight-inflatable-tenders

And it does seem to be half the weight. I'm thinking of getting one myself. They pack down small too....
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The problem potentially with those (and the other lightweight ones such as the 3D that I have bought) is whether they stand up to prolonged use. I bought one because I use it only occasionally, but if were cruising or living aboard in the Med I would buy a much more substantial type, probably a lightweight RIB or at least one of the premium inflatables with and inflatable keel.

Agree with Paulclan, though that davits are not ideal for Med style cruising because of the difficulties of stern to mooring - even more so with a centre cockpit. My solution would be a boat with a drop down transom, although a more conventional sugar scoop with a passarelle (which I had on my last boat) is close to ideal. Does not solve the dinghy problem, but with a bigger boat that can take the dinghy on the foredeck, this is less of a problem.
 
Thanks for the link to First 235 site Nigel Birch,
mrming of this parish has one and I will PM him this link! Didn't mean to single out Westerly yachts, just an OP on here mentioned one as a possibility, and when I read where it might be going to cruise, I then mentioned how the headlining would be a factor.In the other example of downsizing, the couple are not going to the Med.
best regards
 
Yes, thanks Nigel, H had just spotted the lightweight dinghy and his eyes lit up. Our old one is getting the sticky curse and since we bought it second hand and have been using it for about 10 years, we can't complain. At the moment we hitch our dinghy up onto the sugar scoop, and drop it before mooring stern-to. Or sometimes moor bows-to. Beginning to think, as people here have said, that davits may not be a great idea. Maybe a bigger boat with room for a nice light dinghy on the foredeck is the answer. Yankee jib?
 
Or one of the folding type that you could lash along the guardrails perhaps?

http://www.nestawayboats.com/NAUTIRAID-Folding-Boats(2125711).htm

The skeleton only weighs 13kg even with all the seats floors etc it's only 26kg. I think our old avon is closer 35kg.

I'm intrigued about this "friskiness" though. Is it the handling of the sails that's the problem or the actual motion of the boat? If it's the former then in mast reefing and electric genoa furling might be the way to go?
 
Folding boats have very limited appeal for use as a tender in the med. They do not have the buoyancy and safety of an inflatable, are incredibly expensive and not easy to assemble on deck.

For all their (minor) faults inflatables, particularly the newer types with inflatable floors are far and away the best bet, which is why they are almost universal. Most modern 36' + boats (which the OP is looking at) can carry a 2.4m one on deck and lifted out of the water by a halyard. this is near perfect size for 2 people and gear and costs less than a third of the price of the one you link to.

Expect the OP can expand a bit more on his definition of "friskiness", but the boat he has is a performance orientated cruiser racer (and a very good one), but going up a size to a more cruiser orientated boat will provide much more accommodation for living on and if easier everyday sailing.
 
Tranona said:
For all their (minor) faults inflatables, particularly the newer types with inflatable floors are far and away the best bet, which is why they are almost universal. Most modern 36' + boats (which the OP is looking at) can carry a 2.4m one on deck and lifted out of the water by a halyard. this is near perfect size for 2 people and gear and costs less than a third of the price of the one you link to.
We wouldn't dream of an inflatable. They are not durable enough with an air floor if you land on beaches regularly as we do. I guess is depends where you sail and how you use your dinghy. In the Caribbean the standard dinghy on the majority of boats is a rib. They can be dragged up beaches, motor well and keep you drier. If you spend your life on anchor the rib gets used every day to travel fairly long distances. We had a temporary inflatable when our rib was stolen in Northern Spain in 2014. It was terrible and really impacted on how we cruised. We got sick of going slow and always having wet groceries. We had to plan our trip ashore for when the wind wasn't blowing so we didn't get soaked. This was a 2.7m air floor dinghy. We gave it away! We don't get wet in our Caribe rib.
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geem said:
Tranona said:
For all their (minor) faults inflatables, particularly the newer types with inflatable floors are far and away the best bet, which is why they are almost universal. Most modern 36' + boats (which the OP is looking at) can carry a 2.4m one on deck and lifted out of the water by a halyard. this is near perfect size for 2 people and gear and costs less than a third of the price of the one you link to.
We wouldn't dream of an inflatable. They are not durable enough with an air floor if you land on beaches regularly as we do. I guess is depends where you sail and how you use your dinghy. In the Caribbean the standard dinghy on the majority of boats is a rib. They can be dragged up beaches, motor well and keep you drier. If you spend your life on anchor the rib gets used every day to travel fairly long distances. We had a temporary inflatable when our rib was stolen in Northern Spain in 2014. It was terrible and really impacted on how we cruised. We got sick of going slow and always having wet groceries. We had to plan our trip ashore for when the wind wasn't blowing so we didn't get soaked. This was a 2.7m air floor dinghy. We gave it away! We don't get wet in our Caribe rib.
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I was specifically talking about the Med, where RIBS are less common because the requirements are very different from yours in the Caribbean. You do not need to travel long distances to get supplies - just step off the back of the boat onto the quay and walk to the nearest shop. Darwin rules - evolution and all that. The reality is that inflatables stand up pretty well to typical Med use, particularly the older hypalon Avons, but even the cheapies at under £500 new will last several years, particularly if kept covered from the sun when not in use.

Remember you also have a very big boat compared with the type that the OP is considering and a 2.4m inflatable and a small 2.5 engine is a good set up for a couple on a 36-40' boat.
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Yes inflatable would be our choice, small and light is fine. We anchor a lot and normally row ashore, and if it's too windy - we don't go. Tranona is spot on about the Elan, and a more cruiser oriented boat is the way to go I think. I'd like a deeper more sheltered feeling cockpit and though we manage the main fine now with lines to cockpit, he still has to go forward to tidy it into the sailbag, which makes me nervous these days. Hence in-mast furling, and we don't like the idea of a retro fitted system. An electric genoa winch might be great but electricity is a limited commodity! Bigger/geared winches maybe, though, if we end up keeping the Elan.
Really grateful for all the comments so far.
 
Not really. It would depend on whether a boat had all the bits we'd want already, or whether we'd need to spend money on it (solar panels, chart plotter at binnacle, Rocna, lots of chain ....)
And on what price we'd get for the Elan. But we don't want anything as big as 40ft, we don't want teak decks and we don't usually like very new boats, so I think the sort of suggestions we've been getting are about right.
 
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