Retired and fit - looking for a boat. Advice?

[Tranona]

Excellent advice. I’d go further and say that any boat used for cruising away from your home waters should be set up for single handing even if you never plan to sail her single handed, because you may have to do so.

So... self tailers, but the primaries must be reachable from the wheel. Often, they are not. You need a “plumbed in”, under deck, autopilot and you need the battery capacity and the charging capacity to run it. You have just spent £10K... More, if you go for electric rewind primaries. This is far more important than having the halyards and reefing lines led aft. You need an electric windlass and an anchor and chain that self stow reliably, time after time. Almost no production boats have this. There goes another £5-7K.

You need a furler, obviously, and she will have one, but how good is it? How good are the mainsail hoisting, reefing and furling systems, in terms of operating reliably, time after time, with very little friction?

Can you pilot the boat into a strange anchorage? Is there a plotter in the cockpit that won’t get swiped by the main sheet in a crash gybe? How easy is it to set heavy weather sails? Can you deal with the VHF from the helm?

And don’t forget the midships cleats.?

This is not for long distance cruising, this is for coastal cruising away from the Solent, the East coast or the West Country.

Agree with all of this - except almost ALL mid 30s' ft production boats have these features either as standard or frequently chosen options. My 2001 Bavaria 37 certainly had all of that except the below decks pilot (because not necessary for its original charter use) and electric winches (unnecessary on a 37') fitted at the factory. My current 33 is even better with bow thruster, remote controls for thruster and windlass, better balanced sail plan and all sail controls accessible from behind the wheel.

I know you like old boats, but you should really look at what is on offer with newer style boats. It has become impossible to sell new cruising boats without those features for the last 20 years or so which is one of the reasons why they are so good for the OP's intended use. And of course why they were so popular when new, driving out older designs by being 30-40% cheaper when equipped to the same level.

 

[Chae_73]

Having taken @Tranona 's advice and done some idle internet window shopping, I have to say that I'm quite impressed with what you can get for circa £50k from Bavaria, 33' - 37', 2000 to mid / late 2000s. I don't like the French boats from that era as much, but that's probably just the traditionalist in me.

It has made me reconsider my view on capital cost vs on-going maintenance and refurbishment costs.

 

[Ravi]

I have always thought a smaller boat would be less of a handful short-handed

It is really important that you get a feel for the comfort vs handling trade-off for boat length before you buy a boat.

I got a 30' boat because I was stressed about the idea of med (stern-to) mooring on my own when I was in the med in a big boat. So, I chose a 30 footer. it was perfect for me in so may ways. She sailed beautifully and was a great live aboard boat and (with some fixing up), the perfect single hander. Luckily for me it was a beautifully designed boat which had comfortable space for guests as well.

But after I had experienced various emergency situations I realised that I could just as comfortably have handled those situations on a a 32 or 34 footer or above. Then again, I never wished for more space than the 30' foot that I had so, I suppose, my boat was perfect for me and I loved her, accordingly. I made the mistake of selling her.

I currently have a catamaram but if I was going to singlehand around the Med, again, (with occasional guests) in a monohull I might have a 32 -38 foot boat. Ideally, Something from 36-42 foot with a bow thruster would be interesting if I wanted to do longer ocean passages and frequent marina stops with regular guests.

>> "I never wished for more space than the 30' foot "
For accomodation .... but when I Was out in big seas, I sometimes wished i had a few more metres in length! Nobody in a storm ever wished they were in smaller boat!

 

[Daydream believer]

Generally the modern AWB will maneuver in a marina far easier than an older long keel design. Simply because they are built for it. When my first long keeled boat was launched marinas were far less common. Now one has to get into some quite tight spaces, so a good turning circle is important. leading us to large spade rudder & longitudinally short fin
If one is going to spend one's time on a mooring then a long keel would be comfortable & possible better to single hand - Deck gear & rig aside of course.

 

[Kukri]

Generally the modern AWB will maneuver in a marina far easier than an older long keel design. Simply because they are built for it. When my first long keeled boat was launched marinas were far less common. Now one has to get into some quite tight spaces, so a good turning circle is important. leading us to large spade rudder & longitudinally short fin
If one is going to spend one's time on a mooring then a long keel would be comfortable & possible better to single hand - Deck gear & rig aside of course.

That is undoubtedly true for my boat.

However a friend with a sister ship changed his prop position and fitted a bow thruster and a much bigger engine and he keeps her on an inside pontoon on the Hamble. Another friend, who owns another sister, and I crewed for him for a day and we were staggered. She spins on a sixpence, backs down, etc. So it can be done.

 

[Daydream believer]

That is undoubtedly true for my boat.

However a friend with a sister ship changed his prop position and fitted a bow thruster and a much bigger engine and he keeps her on an inside pontoon on the Hamble. Another friend, who owns another sister, and I crewed for him for a day and we were staggered. She spins on a sixpence, backs down, etc. So it can be done.

Better pass that info on to all the Twister owners then

 

[Kukri]

Better pass that info on to all the Twister owners then

This is not a Twister.

 

[Daydream believer]

This is not a Twister.

I did not say it was. But you did suggest that the problems with a long keel could be easily solved . A Twister ( according to the owners) is renowned for its inability to accept instruction from the helm when in reverse.
However, re aligning a prop, & fitting bow thrusters is a little- shall we say- "over the top". So perhaps I was being a little sarcastic (sorry)
I further suggest that your boat looks lovely below the waterline, but not really what I would call "long keeled"

 

[doug748]

A lot of high sided sailing boats are great to manoeuvre , move like they are on rails; though designed to work best without wind to complicate matters.

 

[claymore]

Don't do it.
Charter something along the size of what you were thinking of buying somewhere and see whether the reality matches up to the perception.

 

[Kukri]

Don't do it.
Charter something along the size of what you were thinking of buying somewhere and see whether the reality matches up to the perception.

Any more of this sort of common sense and we will have nothing left to argue about!

 

[neptis]

Don't do it.
Charter something along the size of what you were thinking of buying somewhere and see whether the reality matches up to the perception.

That is a voice of reason.

 

[glandorebay]

A lot of high sided sailing boats are great to manoeuvre , move like they are on rails; though designed to work best without wind to complicate matters.

 

[Kukri]

I did not say it was. But you did suggest that the problems with a long keel could be easily solved .

Did I say that? I don’t think I said anything other than that my boat is a swine in marinas, not because she has a long keel but because the propeller is eight feet away from the rudder, so the prop wash has lost interest before it gets there.

The ex boat, with 12 feet of bowsprit, a full keel and an offset propeller, was dead easy in marinas. Whenever I called a marina to ask for a berth and described the boat, I was always (and I do mean always - 29 years, in the UK and in Foreign Parts !) given a hammerhead. She was no trouble!

So perhaps the problem was easily solved after all.?

 

[Daydream believer]

Did I say that? I don’t think I said anything other than that my boat is a swine in marinas,

So what was one supposed to get from #105 then?

 

[Kukri]

So what was one supposed to get from #105 then?

I didn’t say my boat has a long keel; I said she handles badly in marinas.

 

[Daydream believer]

I didn’t say my boat has a long keel; I said she handles badly in marinas.

But when I said "then a long keel would be comfortable & possible better to single hand "
You then said "That is undoubtedly true for my boat. " So i mistakenly took it that you had a long keeld boat. But hardly my fault was it?
Yes you have a proper hull, I will concede that . So can we stop bickering. Let's call it quits can we.

 

[Kukri]

But when I said "then a long keel would be comfortable & possible better to single hand "
You then said "That is undoubtedly true for my boat. " So i mistakenly took it that you had a long keeld boat. But hardly my fault was it?
Yes you have a proper hull, I will concede that . So can we stop bickering. Let's call it quits can we.

Yes; happy to do so. ?

I hadn’t read what you wrote closely enough.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Don't do it.
Charter something along the size of what you were thinking of buying somewhere and see whether the reality matches up to the perception.

Where can you charter a Centaur, Fulmar etc ?

 

[Concerto]

Where can you charter a Centaur, Fulmar etc ?

I doubt any would meet the current regulations, however I have offer to help using my Fulmar as an example.