Sailing Yachts and good resource easy read Books

[waterbird]

Dear All,

Water has run in my veins my entire life, from swimming, lifesaving and teaching to studying the Oceans leading to a BIG desire to own my own Boat.I am at a point now of hopefully realising my dream and although I love Motor Boats as well as Sailing boats I cannot and will not agree to pay the ridiculous Fuel prices these days to run a Sunseeker or such like.

Maybe if I won the Lottery, succeeded in business or met a nice Millionaire lol then sure I would buy a luxury Motor boat and perhaps a Sailing craft too but hey that may never happen.

When young I loved Kayaking and Topper sailing, using the power of the Wind is something special. Thus our plan is to now look at purchasing a nice yacht upon which I and we will do our RYA courses whilst in Spain, pending the Sale of my property.

We intend to do as many courses as we can intensely to enable us to become competent aboard our own Yacht. We both have limited Boating experience, a mixture of Sail and Motor as Boating is a luxury and it is only now that we can take a real plunge and realise our dreams.

I was wondering if any of you may be able to point us in the direction of some great Books that are an easy read that cover all aspects of Sailing yachts, maintenance etc and perhaps some good Diesel maintenance books too.

We are currently looking at a number of Yachts primarily:

Van de Stadt

Bavaria

Atlantic

Jeanneau

Any advice regarding the above Vessels would be great

It has been a long time that either of us have sailed thus technology has changed so any help and advice will be greatly appreciated

Many Thanks in advance!

Waterbird

 

[Poignard]

Dear All,


I was wondering if any of you may be able to point us in the direction of some great Books that are an easy read that cover all aspects of Sailing yachts, maintenance etc and perhaps some good Diesel maintenance books too.

I'd start with 'Cruising Under Sail' by Eric Hiscock, and the RYA booklets 'Competent Crew', 'Day Skipper' and 'Yachmaster'. Also John Goode's excellent booklets 'Handling Under Power' and 'Let's Do It Under Sail'

 

[waterbird]

A fantastic start Thank you

I'd start with 'Cruising Under Sail' by Eric Hiscock, and the RYA booklets 'Competent Crew', 'Day Skipper' and 'Yachmaster'. Also John Goode's excellent booklets 'Handling Under Power' and 'Let's Do It Under Sail'

Thank you so, so much for your kindness, I will certainly look them up.

Thanks

 

[Kukri]

I'd suggest - do the courses first, then buy the boat.

I say this because your ideas of what you want in a boat will change very quickly - doing the courses in a variety of sea school boats will give you experience of a selection of different types, at sea and in port, and you will then be in a much better position to know what you like.

It's much easier to buy a boat than to sell one!

Agree with the recommendations and I would add Tom Cunliffe's "Complete Yachtmaster". Make Hiscock youtr Bible and you won't go far wrong.

 

[lotusman]

I Second Parsifal and Minn.

Hiscock takes some beating and a lot of his info is timeless - but it does come from an age when anchoring and mooring was more common than a marina, so the RYA, Goode and co are helpful to back it up. Elecronics, other than radio and depth were not a significant part of Hiscock's time, which isn't to say that we can't learn a lot from him to help weigh the value of these aids before spending hard cash.

Would also suggest something on technology - Nigel Calder's books.

Recommend dipping into the vast number of cruising stories - I find the early post-war ones fascinating for a simpler view of the world (Carr, Allcard, Millar Pye Tangvald, Wharram). My dating may be a bit shaky here. There is a lot of background seamanship and resourcefulness to pleasurably soak up here. More recent offerings, slightly post-dating Hiscock include the Pardeys.

 

[waterbird]

I Second Parsifal and Minn.

Hiscock takes some beating and a lot of his info is timeless - but it does come from an age when anchoring and mooring was more common than a marina, so the RYA, Goode and co are helpful to back it up. Elecronics, other than radio and depth were not a significant part of Hiscock's time, which isn't to say that we can't learn a lot from him to help weigh the value of these aids before spending hard cash.

Would also suggest something on technology - Nigel Calder's books.

Recommend dipping into the vast number of cruising stories - I find the early post-war ones fascinating for a simpler view of the world (Carr, Allcard, Millar Pye Tangvald, Wharram). My dating may be a bit shaky here. There is a lot of background seamanship and resourcefulness to pleasurably soak up here. More recent offerings, slightly post-dating Hiscock include the Pardeys.

Thank you so much and also Parsifal and Minn

I have ordered Hiscock's book and will hopefully manage some RYA course books etc too. We are looking forward to a good read It has been a long while since Boating when young, Toppers, Speed boats, a Westerly 36, various Motor cruisers, Dinghy's, RIB's etc and such but still the dream of my own Yacht is firm

Nigel Calder's books sound a must as would love to harness Solar, anything to utilise renewable energy

In my research thus far it seems there are pro's and con's regarding each manufacturer. The Ocean Star's look great and seem to have a solid reputation, the Bavaria's are mass produced but cost wise they offer a lot for the money. The Jeanneau's sound reliable as do the Atlantic's.

It is very hard but a cruiser yacht with back up engine is certainly what we are looking for. A good Boat that will stand up to some Blue water challenges that is well built and easily managed by the two of us. A good Boat that one can fall in love with and that will survive the test of some real Adventures ultimately

I really do appreciate your input, certainly the school is our big focus but researching what is a good vessel now day's is a must. I remember my father doing the Isle of Wight cup on the westerly but I was very,very young back then.They had a fine reputation as I recall.

Thank you so, so much, I always find you guys here great

Waterbird

 

[waterbird]

We will certainly experiment via the Schools Boats but leaning to a Beneteau First

Hi,

After a lot of research we are leaning towards a Beneteau First 47.7 or 50 which being a Racer cruiser will give one the thrill of the High speed younger years of limited dinghy sailing, the comforts of a Cruiser and stand up to our eventual Blue Water challenges.

Not only the above but due to the Boat being a sought after vessel the re sale value on a depreciated vessel will remain strong I suspect. That is my thinking any how

There are so many differing opinions on different Manufacturer's and owner based Biased views in my reading thus I don't want this thread to end up being a bashing license but would love to hear anyone's views regarding the First. Or any other comparable Boat, another reason we are leaning towards the First is that it not only looks very comfortable but with a little adaptation could be a strong transatlantic boat in the future. Bruce Farr seems to have a wonderful reputation as a designer, the boats themselves very competent.

Not sure about this label of ' Bendy Toy ' lol but those that own them seem smitten.

I am open to any other thoughts, especially from those that have Cruised the Med and from those that have circumnavigated, especially the Atlantic crossing as in a few years time after rigorous training that would be another dream to realise.

Many Thanks in Advance for all your input.

Waterbird