Refueler
Well-Known Member
Of course could always be cl;aimed as Variation on a theme ...
Sadler 29 or Nicholson 32
- Thread starter Adam Roberto
- Start date
Of course could always be cl;aimed as Variation on a theme ...
Fr J Hackett
Well-Known Member
I suppose that encompasses everything.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
Of course.
Fr J Hackett
Well-Known Member
Ah ah changed tack.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Late to the party, but would say, with others, that the right boat is far more important than the right make of boat. Either the Sadler or the Nic would be capable of doing your trip, as would pretty much any boat of that size. What really matters isn't the last 1/10th of a knot or 1 deg of pointing ability, but the one you feel at home on.
I'd say to look at any boat that's in that size range to get an idea of what's around. When one feels right, examine it carefully. Pretty much anything can be put right, but some things are just too much faff.
Does it feel comfortable below? How about in the cockpit? - you'll be spending a good bit of time there
Does the engine start well from cold? You want to feel the exhaust manifold at ambient temperature. Does it smoke? Some older engines will smoke a bit when cold, but shouldn't once warmed up. Does it push the boat along nicely? The first boat I bought passed the starting and smoke tests, but the boat could only manage a couple of knots.
How old is the standing rigging? Most insurers will want it replaced at around 15 years. Not a problem, but a couple of grand to change.
Electricals and Electronics - does everything work?
Once your head says this could be the one. listen you your heart. The right boat somehow winks at you and says buy me.
Good hunting!
I'd say to look at any boat that's in that size range to get an idea of what's around. When one feels right, examine it carefully. Pretty much anything can be put right, but some things are just too much faff.
Does it feel comfortable below? How about in the cockpit? - you'll be spending a good bit of time there
Does the engine start well from cold? You want to feel the exhaust manifold at ambient temperature. Does it smoke? Some older engines will smoke a bit when cold, but shouldn't once warmed up. Does it push the boat along nicely? The first boat I bought passed the starting and smoke tests, but the boat could only manage a couple of knots.
How old is the standing rigging? Most insurers will want it replaced at around 15 years. Not a problem, but a couple of grand to change.
Electricals and Electronics - does everything work?
Once your head says this could be the one. listen you your heart. The right boat somehow winks at you and says buy me.
Good hunting!
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Should that be OFF course ??
Straightman21
Well-Known Member
Nicholson 32 - because you will give up before she does.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Yes, but so will most boats. Our little Snapdragon coped with 33knots several miles off St Albans Head far better than her crew
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
Just to add to the wind vane 'yay or nay' discussion.
Is it a useful thing to have when coastal cruising? It depends.
We put a Navik on our first boat. Used it extensively for coastal cruising. The tiller pilot was used only for motoring. The Navik was almost instant to set up and did a great job. The tiller pilot used precious electricity and definitely had its limits on response time and power.
On the current (bigger) boat we have a Hydrovane and a below decks linear drive AP. Apart from initial setting up, we've used the vane three times: Gibraltar to Canaries, Canaries to Cape Verde, and then the Atlantic crossing itself.
Even on 2-3 day non stop passages we just don't bother with it. The AP isn't going to run out of juice on a passage of that length, and getting the boat in balance for the vane to work correctly isn't as simple as pressing a button.
Anyway that's a long winded way of saying to the OP, if he's still here, on the size of boat you're considering I would call a wind vane a definite plus point, but I wouldn't pay too much for it, and if the boat has neither a vane nor an AP, I would choose a good AP, maybe an ST2000 instead of the smallest option.
Is it a useful thing to have when coastal cruising? It depends.
We put a Navik on our first boat. Used it extensively for coastal cruising. The tiller pilot was used only for motoring. The Navik was almost instant to set up and did a great job. The tiller pilot used precious electricity and definitely had its limits on response time and power.
On the current (bigger) boat we have a Hydrovane and a below decks linear drive AP. Apart from initial setting up, we've used the vane three times: Gibraltar to Canaries, Canaries to Cape Verde, and then the Atlantic crossing itself.
Even on 2-3 day non stop passages we just don't bother with it. The AP isn't going to run out of juice on a passage of that length, and getting the boat in balance for the vane to work correctly isn't as simple as pressing a button.
Anyway that's a long winded way of saying to the OP, if he's still here, on the size of boat you're considering I would call a wind vane a definite plus point, but I wouldn't pay too much for it, and if the boat has neither a vane nor an AP, I would choose a good AP, maybe an ST2000 instead of the smallest option.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that's about what it felt like. Don't intend to do it again,
