Partner dragged aboard, needing advice!

DraggedAboard

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Hi there,
I need serious help.
My Kiwi boyfriend is about to drag me into a one-year sailing trip from Europe to New Zealand. Although I'm very keen to swap my busy 9 to 5 London job for a relaxed sail along the Equator, I'm not sure I'm fully aware of what I've just signed on to, as my sailing experience sums up to a few weeks in the Med /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
We're looking at buying a 40 footer and obviously I will have a say on what type of boat we will get (bearing in mind I pretty much know nothing about sailing boats!!). Which is why I thought I should post a few questions on this forum before I sign my life away:

- the master cabin. Does anyone have a view on whether a double aft cabin is better than a double forward cabin? My understanding is that aft cabins are more comfortable (less bumping) and a boat with a center cockpit often has a nice big double aft cabin. Is there any valid reason why a centre cockpit boat is not good for ocean cruising?

- the toilets and showers. I've seen boats with a toilet and shower at the very front of the boat (en-suite to the forward master cabin). Can you use a toilet on the front of the boat while you're sailing?

- Does any one have a view on Moodys? Do they make good ocean cruising boats? Can you fit wind steering to them?

Many thanks in advance for taking time to read my silly questions!
 
D

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Welcome to the forum and go for it - cruising is a wonderful lifestyle.

- Double aft cabin is more comfortable at sea and probably at anchor too.
- you can use a toilet up forward while sailing, but you're less likely to be able to remain seated.
- Boats are like homes. You'll come across one and know that it's right for you.

Enjoy.
 

snowleopard

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People new to voyaging always think in terms of living at sea whereas 80% of your time will be spent at anchor.

At sea you are likely to sleep on the lee saloon seat rather than aft or forward cabin if there are just 2 of you, so make sure they are (a) long enough (b) straight, (c) wide enough and (d) have lee cloths.

For the owner's cabin, pick whatever looks best to you. It doesn't really matter which end it is. Where the heads are in relation to the master cabin depends as much on how uptight you are about hearing your partner on the thunderbox - bulkheads on boats aren't very soundproof!
 

jonic

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Just come back from two year Caribbean crusie. Setting off again in June in our recently purchased Moody 38. Does all the things we like for Ocean cruising.
 

TigaWave

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My girl friend helped choose our boat and she had little exerience of different boats layouts.
She spotted the huge shower/toilet en-suite and it was really worth it, having a shower big enough to stretch out in and turn around in without ending up wrapoped in the shower curtain and sitting on the loo pump was a nice luxury and admired by many.
We also had a large aft cabin which we slept in all the time, it had four opening hatches above it into and at the end of the cockpit so in times of panick and sheer fear encouraging words could be passed through them before I got kitted up to go outside again, very reasssuring to know you can see your partner in their bunk all the time your in the cockpit.
We didn't have wind steering and I dont feel its completely necessary, ..if you have a good electric one with spares and the boats systems are up to scratch, with alternative power sources, it means you can have a nice swim platfrom, dinghy step and locker for rubbish and petrol etc.
Our voat was a Bavaria 390 Lagoon from 1991.
Its a great experience, that you shouldn't miss, more time might be nice though....or you can always do it again.
 

elaineparry

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Hi,
Dragged my kiwi boyfriend on board over 20 years ago, it was his dream to sail around the world but I think he intended it to remain a dream until I took it up and ran with it.
As others have said a year is not long, can't you extend it?. You will be hurrying past some of the most amazing places in the world, presumably youre going through the Panama?, Galapagos are incredible as are the Marquesas.
Don't worry about the "name" of the boat,just ensure you know it inside out and that any work done on it is thoroughly checked.
I personally would recommend an aft cabin, much more comfy. On a 40' you should have both any way also fore and aft heads. Fore heads are a bit of a pain in rough weather especially as a female and esp in wet weather gear. 40' seems a bit large for just 2 of you, do ensure you rig it for ease of handling, go for roller furling, preferably back into the cockpit. Personally would go for centre cockpit every time, safer and more comfy.
On a personal note have you considered that you will never sleep with your boyfriend again!!, when he's in bed youre on watch etc!, on a positive note in the middle of the ocean clothes are not recquired and you can do what you want. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
We made it to NZ and back again and over the pond yet again. Be aware it is addictive, we set sail in 1986 and the boat is still going, we got a daughter in Galapagos and a son in Australia. I split from their father a few years ago, he got the boat I got the kids and am now buying a new boat with my new partner and intend to do it all again.
Good luck and if you need any advice, give me a shout.
 
D

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Sounds like you've had a wonderful cruising life. Do you have website about your trip - there're plenty of couch-cruisers on here that would probably love to read about some of your experiences?
 

tome

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About time you updated yours John, I'm still waiting to read about the Andes crash survivor (and even found you his photo on the web). Been patiently sitting here since October twiddling my thumbs.
 

PaulJ

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All the above is good stuff and I would agree that an aft cabin is more comfortable for extended passages. In my opinion however the most important consideration for such a trip is what the boat is made of.....

A few years ago one well informed forum member quoted the figure of 10,000 containers a year lost overboard from container ships. Add to that the fact that far better men than I have managed to hit rocks that shouldn't have been there and in my opinion steel is the only construction material for your trip, interior layout is of secondary importance. Go for a STEEL boat, they are about and may well be cheaper than the plastic variety. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Paul
 
D

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[ QUOTE ]
About time you updated yours John, I'm still waiting to read about the Andes crash survivor (and even found you his photo on the web). Been patiently sitting here since October twiddling my thumbs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Sorry mate, you're gonna have to continue twiddling your thumbs because I am suffering from a nasty case of writers block.
 

elaineparry

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Haven't got a web site, did once start writing a book about cruising with children. I wanted to use peoples first hand experiences, a fatal flaw, anyone cruising with children doesn't have time to write about it!. Haven't sailed now for 3 years and really miss the life. Am celebrating today as the purchase of my new Amel super maramu has just gone through. So it's Guadeloupe and cruising the Caribbean this summer. The children are not quite old enough to look after themselves yet but when they are all they'll see is our dust trails!!!. I can never quite understand why parents get upset when their kids leave home, mind you with a yacht in the Caribbean it's more than likely they'll want to spend alot of time with us!.
 

randall

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Dragged,

Were I in your shoes, I would be thinking "Lifeboat, EPIRB, radar, transponder, satellite phone, watermaker, sextant, drift anchor" and studying Adelard Cole's 'Heavy Weather Sailing' as if it were your personal Bible.

Would recommend the wind steering gear, and maybe even electric as a backup.

Heads and beds are really important, but so is being ready for the inevitable heavy weather you're surely going to have en route.


Randall
 

snowleopard

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The one doing the dragging should be worrying about the technical stuff and the draggee should be concerned with comfort or there is likely to be a revolt somewhere along the line.
 
D

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Well said Chris..

Times have changed (read progressed) and so have boat designs and the efficiency of weather forecasts, so IMHO comfort aboard has become the priority. Most of the cruisers that I've met spend less than a month a year actually sailing; the other eleven months are spent enjoying the cruising lifestyle. So why be uncomfortable for 11 months for the sake of the discomfort of a 3 day storm?

Ah, can't wait for my new catamaran.
 

Sea Devil

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Really envy you - would be back again like a shot if things were different - mind you I am thinking of basing my new (old) catamaran in Trini and using it during the winter.....

I did my web site to promote the sales of my DVDs - both broadcast telly and my Blue Water but in fact it has become a lot of fun and seems to give some interest to others which is rewarding - Just hope some people on the last bit visit the Red Sea notes as I had similar ones on my passage and found them invaluable.

Have fun in Caribbean - lucky you!
 

randall

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... You mean I could have spent more time fluffing the mattress in my bunk and less time trying to keep the hatch from being stoved in?

Sheesh. I'll have to get back to mum and tell her this sailing thing isn't as dangerous as she thought.


/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Randall
 

DraggedAboard

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Many thanks for all your replies, this forum is really great!

Of course, I'm not only interested in the size of the aft cabin, safety is important and I intend to get some training - after all I hope to get to New Zealand in one piece and I can't cook, so I'll have to find another way of helping on the boat. But SnowLeopard is right, I'm not the one with the "technical knowledge", so I can't really decide about the technical stuff.

We are also looking at steel boats, although I haven't agreed to go to Antarctica yet. We're planning on leaving the Med this autumn and go through the Panama Canal around March next year. Some friends will join us along the way. We can't take more than a year off, but we'll see how addictive it gets!

3 days of storm? I don't understand... my boyfriend promised we would not have any bad weather at all and it would be all right...

Thanks again!
Nadia
 

randall

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Nadia,

I'm a baby sailor with just a small fraction of the experience that I'm sure the others have, so don't let me be the bone of contention here.

I just met a man who singlehanded that stretch of water 2 years ago and did very well except for a few gales and the scary three days he spent lying ahull with a 70-knot blow outside.

Were I your boyfriend, I would want to know that you could handle the boat if I happened to get knocked off it. It would be an added plus if you knew how to manouvre so that you had the best (but still terribly unlikely) chance of pulling me out again.

Not to be negative, but if your boyfriend has promised you fair weather on your month-long trip across the ATLANTIC OCEAN, I'd like to know who he's talking to, and I'll follow you across.

I think safety's important. But I'm a newbie, and maybe I'm just oversensitive and hung up on remembering Eric Tabarly.


Randall

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