Recommendations for a single handed crusier-racer

Phideaux said:
Yup, 30-32' was also my first thought, but I didn't want to constrain myself and rule out something larger if one should come along at a bargain price.
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The hidden problem with bigness is that it comes, as a previous poster said, with vastly increased maintenance and fitting out costs. Compare, if you will, the price of a sheet winch, or of a mainsail, for typical 26, 30 and 36 footers. It's all too easy to buy a big, cheap hull and then find you can't afford to do anything with it.

During the heyday of home ferrocement construction this was a very common saga: people who were seduced by the cheapness of a 40 foot hull and then abandoned the project when they belatedly costed the fit out.
 
Have you owned a yacht before? If not, I don't want to rain on your parade, but I think you need to increase your budget. :(

Yes you can get a boat for 5-7K, but you'll have to spend a lot more than the other 5-7K to get it ready to undertake a passage like you want to let alone add a hot water system, fridge, heater etc

Lets look at 30fter for example.

For new rigging you'll be looking at £800 min
Hot water system, taps, pipes, calorifier £300
Sails Main + Genoa £1500
Spray hood £800
Nav kit, instruments gps etc £600
Ground tackle anchor/chain £300
Heating £300
Charts pilot books etc £400
Life jackets safety harnesses £200
Dinghy pump oars etc £200 min
Liferaft £400
launching £100
Yard fees £800
Insurance £300
Tools £200
Saftey kit, fog horn, flares, life sling, bungs etc £300


That's what I think would be the minimum off the top of my head and that's 7.5K to begin with, without the materials to start re jigging the interior, or even looking at the engine.

We bought a boat in good - excellent condition in May and we've spent over £5K (excluding instruments and radar) getting her sorted out to a state where I'd be happy to sail for long distances in her. She already had hot water, heating and a fridge and good sails although did need new rigging.

You're wanting to buy a cheap boat, and are hoping to convert it for 2K more. I'm sorry to say I think you'll find it will probably cost a lot more than you expect.

For the boat alone without the big O, I'd expect to pay £9-14K Don't forget if she's not sea worthy you won't be able to move her to a cheaper yard unless you spend more money on a low loader

There is no such thing as a cheap boat, and expensive boats are often the cheapest.
 
snooks said:
....but you'll have to spend a lot more than the other 5-7K to get it ready to undertake a passage like you want to let alone add a hot water system, fridge, heater etc......
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I agree entirely, boats without hot water and fridges are completely unseaworthy and should be banned. :)

To Phideaux, my advice is to buy a boat in a simliar state of repair and improvement to the SHE 31 on yachtsnet (no connection), i.e. pretty good order. There are boats like this available around your overall budget, provided the LOA is kept circa 30-32' and "classics" (Rustler 31, Nic 31, CO32 etc) are kept off the list, unless you drop lucky, provided you're determined and skilled enough with your hands.

Also, a really cost saving ability for routine maintanence is for a boat to be able to take to the ground somehow, even if it's just against a harbour wall at low water. My boat is a long keeler on legs and the "on legs" bit has saved me a bob or two over the years.

A quarterberth, let alone two like on the SHE 31, are priceless to a singlehander, well atually worth about 8 heaters and 4 holding tanks or, in other terms, 3 hot water systems and 2 spare pumps for your oars.
 
I want to second the earlier suggestion of a SCOD! Doubtless you won't consider a wooden boat, but it may be the only way to get your budget right. And the SCOD ticks all your boxes, with the exception of the shower. Get a dirtier girlfriend!
 
No one has mentioned the Rival 32, a bit dated now but an excellent seaboat and reasonable performer,perfect for the longer passage and likely to have all the gear,spare sails and Autohelm fitted, I'm not sure they meet your budget.
Then there's the Westerly Consort(or Consort Duo) Plenty of room and a good liveaboard boat, and no slouch in Club races.
I'd guess that they are about perfect for the singlehander, or husband and wife;about £15000 ,for one with minor work to do and again likely to have most modern gear aboard, tiller steering also.
I've always fancied the Westerly Discus but they are outside of yours and my budgets.
 
snooks said:
You're wanting to buy a cheap boat, and are hoping to convert it for 2K more. I'm sorry to say I think you'll find it will probably cost a lot more than you expect.
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Perhaps my original post was unclear "I have £5-7k for the boat before refitting. I’m prepared to spend another £5-7k on essential equipment for coastal sailing and plan to add things for the longer trips (self-steering etc) as funds become available."

So:
£5-7K for the hull and superstructure; plus
£5-7k for the essentials to get her sailing and a degree of interior fitting (which I can do myself): plus
additional expenditure over the next 3 years to kit her out for an extended voyage.

I take your point and advice about all the additional ancillary costs so often forgotten, but most of the items such as wet weather gear, safety equipment, tender, fees, insurance, yard/barn, have been already budgeted for. Marina or moorings will depend on how lazy I am and how far I'm willing to travel, but at the moment somewhere between Eastbourne and Portsmouth (I have family on Hayling Island and in Portsmouth); Littlehampton has been suggested.

Certainly I could spend a lot more, especially if I bought equipment and materials new from chandlers, but I'm always keen to reuse and repair where necessary, and there are plenty of bargains to be had from those with deep pockets and little time who just want to go down the upgrade route. New sails, or those that may have been used for perhaps one season's racing? New Harken self-tailing winches for £1,500 each or a pair a couple of years old for £750...
 
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deep denial said:
I want to second the earlier suggestion of a SCOD! Doubtless you won't consider a wooden boat, but it may be the only way to get your budget right. And the SCOD ticks all your boxes, with the exception of the shower. Get a dirtier girlfriend!
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Dirty girlfriends always turn out a lot more expensive in the long run.
 
UFO 34
Possibly, Northney 34 or She 31

The UFO was offered for home completion so prices may be interesting to a man with more tools than HandyAndy. You could race it, cruise it and get a girl-friendly shower on board..
 
Lee_Shaw said:
my advice is to buy a boat in a simliar state of repair and improvement to the SHE 31 on yachtsnet (no connection), i.e. pretty good order. A quarterberth, let alone two like on the SHE 31, are priceless to a singlehander.
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Yup, I saw the SHE 31 and might enquire further. I agree about the quarter berths and the Dufour Arpege also has a pair. Even better I've seen some photos of conversions where one side's bench seat and pilot's berth above has been turned into a snug double.
 
Scotty_Twister said:
A nippy little boat but Falklands?
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It wouldn't be my choice of boat either, i'd prefer something a little larger with a longer keel and a transom.

I don't feel that I'm capable enough yet to sail to the Falklands singlehanded, especially not directly there, but if I had to, let's say, and I'm boat-less and my budget is 14k, that little SHE 31 would be on my list, quite near the top too, that's all I'm saying. It's quite common for folks to come into yacht ownership with yearnings for adventure.

An all round, go anywhere, small enough yet big enough,...... there's only one I can think of :-)
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Errrrrrrr Nicholson 31 :), but they're over the budget.
 
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Lee_Shaw said:
I don't feel that I'm capable enough yet to sail to the Falklands singlehanded, especially not directly there...
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Probably not the most direct route and landfalls but perhaps a bit of sightseeing along the way.

Plymouth to Azores - approx 1200 Nm
Azores to Cape Verde Islands - 1400 Nm
CVI to Ascension - 1500 Nm
Ascension to St Helena - 700 Nm
St Helena to Tristan da Cunha -1300 Nm
TdC to Stanley - 2100 Nm

Average of what? 100 Nm a day? Say a week at each stopover (being wildly optimistic about the need for repairs - either the boat or me).
 
hustler 35 fits your bill, but only seen 2 for much less than £30k. (and i bought one of them!). if you are interested in the other pm me. (its been removed from sale)
 
Phideaux said:
Probably not the most direct route and landfalls but perhaps a bit of sightseeing along the way.

Plymouth to Azores - approx 1200 Nm
Azores to Cape Verde Islands - 1400 Nm
CVI to Ascension - 1500 Nm
Ascension to St Helena - 700 Nm
St Helena to Tristan da Cunha -1300 Nm
TdC to Stanley - 2100 Nm

Average of what? 100 Nm a day? Say a week at each stopover (being wildly optimistic about the need for repairs - either the boat or me).
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Eminently possible, but absolutely gruelling singlehanded on a small yacht. The diffficulty cannot be overstated, many people have spent over 14k and still been unable to complete just the first leg of such a hypothetical voyage, through no fault of their own and being sailors of outstanding quality in well equipped yachts. There are no guarantees. To sail to the Falklands singlehanded in a 32 footer is a really amazing achievement.
 
Lee_Shaw said:
Eminently possible, but absolutely gruelling singlehanded on a small yacht. The diffficulty cannot be overstated, many people have spent over 14k and still been unable to complete just the first leg of such a hypothetical voyage, through no fault of their own and being sailors of outstanding quality in well equipped yachts. There are no guarantees. To sail to the Falklands singlehanded in a 32 footer is a really amazing achievement.
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Twister / Falklands see.....
http://pub4.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=258422775&frmid=55&msgid=861579&cmd=show

or have a look at the Jester Challenge entries for 2010. A couple of Twisters already in there.
http://www.jesterinfo.org/jc2010entrylist.html
 
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bikedaft said:
hustler 35 fits your bill, but only seen 2 for much less than £30k. (and i bought one of them!). if you are interested in the other pm me. (its been removed from sale)
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Thanks for the offer. It would have to be very substantially below the £30k and I'll need to do a bit of research to find out more about the model before raising a seller's expectations and probably wasting their time.
 
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