Sea-kindly or not

[NickC]

Have been looking at buying (second-hand) what I guess you would describe as a modern production yacht but I am concerned that many of these are described as being not particularly sea-kindly. What should I be looking for if I want something more sea-kindly?

For example I have been looking at a Beneteau First 29 but find she may not be particularly sea-kindly, why not?

Thanks,

 

[lpdsn]

I guess you have to define what sea-kindly means. I take it as meaning more comfortable and easier to sail in seas than you would expect from a boat of that size.

I guess the second part of defining it is to understand what you actual want out of your sea-kindly boat. How it handles 4m waves is probably of no great importance if your main interest is inshore round the cans racing, but of much more importance if you're going to JOG or RORC racing.

And how much speed are you willing to sacrifice for it? Big old heavy gaff-cutters can be sea-kindly but have not done that well in the Fastnet since WWII.

If you're looking for older cruiser racers for club racing, I would've mentioned the early Firsts as one type of boat to look at, but I had in mind boats more like the First 28 than the 29 which looks lighter with a broader stern. Sigma 33s and the VdS Dehlers come into the same category as the 28.

Of course, ignoring wide sterned boats means you'll be looking at boats with poorer downwind performance and many later racers are also sea kindly despite hulls optimised for downwind surfing (but cruisers and cruiser racers from AWB manufacturers don't usually fall in to that category).

 

[Birdseye]

Have been looking at buying (second-hand) what I guess you would describe as a modern production yacht but I am concerned that many of these are described as being not particularly sea-kindly. What should I be looking for if I want something more sea-kindly?

For example I have been looking at a Beneteau First 29 but find she may not be particularly sea-kindly, why not?

Thanks,

Havent read the replies but no doubt you will get lots of responses about weight, and hull form and long keels etc. They are all correct but the thing that matters most is size. The bigger the better. The most sea kindly yacht that I have sailed on belongs to P&O . Conversely, no 29 ft lightweight Benny will be comfortable in bad seas - no small boat is.

 

[Javelin]

A contessa 32 is a fabulous boat in lumpy conditions but boy it's a wet one in a blow.
Mine is stiff as hell in a blow and dry but a bit too lively downwind.
Depends on your priorities I guess.

 

[NickC]

Beginning to think our original requirement of a PY of less than 1100 might be contradictory to a sea-kindly vessel? Our original thinking was to ensure we buy something with reasonable sailing ability but now beginning to realise there is more to it than that.

 

[mrming]

Beginning to think our original requirement of a PY of less than 1100 might be contradictory to a sea-kindly vessel? Our original thinking was to ensure we buy something with reasonable sailing ability but now beginning to realise there is more to it than that.

What kind of sailing do you plan on doing in this boat?
Is there a requirement for sizeable accomodation?
PY of 1100 is quite high so there are plenty of boats under that which will still be considered fairly sedate. Our 23 footer is PY 979.

Something like a Sadler 29 or a Westerly Fulmar might strike the right balance?

 

[Judders]

Sadler is sn excellent call.

 

[NickC]

What kind of sailing do you plan on doing in this boat?

Well mainly likely to be East Coast cruising and occasional trips across to Belgium or The Netherlands. Have been caught out before on the East Cost with a bit of an unpedicted squall (7 gusting 8), wouldn't want to experience that in something that might not be strong enough to take it,

Is there a requirement for sizeable accomodation?

Not necessarily but require headroom by galley of 6' which is not always the case for boats of this size. We also like the idea of having both fore and aft cabins.

Something like a Sadler 29 or a Westerly Fulmar might strike the right balance?

Both nice boats but at current prices both a bit beyond our budget.

 

[flaming]

Well mainly likely to be East Coast cruising and occasional trips across to Belgium or The Netherlands. Have been caught out before on the East Cost with a bit of an unpedicted squall (7 gusting 8), wouldn't want to experience that in something that might not be strong enough to take it,

That is well within the capabilities of practically any well maintained boat over about 25 feet. Some of the stuff written about modern boats not being up to it is quite ridiculous when you're talking about surviving a summer blow of 7 gusting 8 in coastal waters for a max of maybe 12 hours.

Whether it's within the capabilities of the crew is another matter...

 

[mrming]

Well mainly likely to be East Coast cruising and occasional trips across to Belgium or The Netherlands. Have been caught out before on the East Cost with a bit of an unpedicted squall (7 gusting 8), wouldn't want to experience that in something that might not be strong enough to take it,


Not necessarily but require headroom by galley of 6' which is not always the case for boats of this size. We also like the idea of having both fore and aft cabins.


Both nice boats but at current prices both a bit beyond our budget.

It wouldn't be sea kindly in the traditional sense, but the First 29 you mentioned earlier has a reputation as a good sea boat and it would easily cope with a bit of rough stuff in the channel. As flaming says, most boats will cope with a surprising amount of weather if they're well prepared. Just look at Classe Mini who go transatlantic in 6.5m sleds.