Should I buy a sailing boat?

[longjohnsilver]

Having spent most of my time on the mobo forum in the past 20 years or so, I now find that most of my interest is here in Scuttle your butt. I suppose running a pure displacement motor boat and finding myself being overtaken by most sailing yachts has left me questioning my loyalties. And passage planning, something of anathema to most motor boat owners, is a way of life to me. And my general dislike of Marina life, and my love of anchoring seems to place me firmly in the sailing yacht mentality.
But as I approach my seventh decade, with most, well, at least some, sailing types considering a move to a motor boat, and now not being as agile as I once was, should I seriously be considering a move to the rag and sticks brigade? Or should I accept my position with a foot in both camps, but a full member of neither?
At the end of the day I don’t suppose it really matters, just so long as I enjoy my time on (and below) the water. But I do seem to have a vast majority of sailing friends as opposed to mobo mates. Does the Cruising Association accept motor boaters? The RYA thread really started this train of thought. And a few g&t’s. After all, I do own a gin palace ?

 

[zoidberg]

I'm not a great one for quoting biblical passages, but Luke 15 :11-32 certainly comes to mind....

 

[longjohnsilver]

I'm not a great one for quoting biblical passages, but Luke 15 :11-32 certainly comes to mind....

Wtf does that mean? Biblical passages, is that the parting of the Red Sea? Or Noah’s Ark. Typical wafi

 

[Wansworth]

Worked on dredgers for a while and the personnel manager remarked that the skippers of the dredgers liked the job as it was near home and they got a lot of docking and narrow water time.Great satisfaction can be had from a motor boat.

 

[zoidberg]

C'mon, LJS

You know we have a resident Bish for this sort of thing! Oh, and he has a couple of 'prentices, too....

 

[Concerto]

Your first consideration is can you live aboard in a smaller space than currently on your mobo. Yachts are more compact than mobos due the pointy bow.

With larger yachts you can obviate some of the musclar problems of old age by electric winches, so your age should not be a problem.

A displacement mobo can go in straight lines in any direction, but a yacht cannot do that into wind. If you were looking at a deck saloon cruising yacht with an ability to motor into wind then consider the Sirus range. Sirius-Yachts

Under sail a yacht is usually far more stable than you would expect and a lot quieter (and you save a lot of money not buying diesel).

Have you tried sailing? It is a totally different form of boating. There is some sort of satisfaction getting from A to B by just using the power of the wind, besides it is a far greener way of travel.

As I am closing in on my 7th decade in 3 years time, I still intend sailing into my 8th decade on my current boat. I am happy with my choice of a 32ft Westerly Fulmar that was launched in 1980, even though I could have bought a new 32ft yacht with all the extras. She will be at the Southampton Boat Show as the Westerly Owners Association boat at the show as I have virtually finished a 7 year renovation. So, if you are coming to the show come and have a chat. My late parents used to mainly sail, then went to 38ft planing power boat, then returned to a 43ft yacht before returning to a 33ft displacement mobo as their final boat, so I have some experience of motor boating but I prefer to be under canvas. Next year I am planning a 5 month singlehanded cruise up the east coast to Shetland and then returning down the west coast and back to Chatham. Having been sailing since 1965, I have thousands of miles of coastal sailing including a lot of offshore racing. I have plenty of experience of sailing in all weathers, but as I have got older I am slightly more cautious and avoid anything above a force 6 - even though I love heavy weather sailing.

Perhaps you should suggest a rough length of boat and possible budget to get real suggestions to consider.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Thanks for the suggestions. We’ve had our current boat for almost 14 years and at 48’ I suppose it’s really larger than we need, but it’s so comfortable and has looked after us well with very few problems. I enjoy tinkering so that must help keeping her in decent condition but the cleaning, and more particularly the polishing and waxing, is becoming more of a chore as time goes by. I’ve looked at employing people to do these jobs, one I took on did such a bad job that I refused to pay him. It seems to have the job done properly will cost several thousand pounds, and on top of all the other costs of keeping a boat, it’s an extra cost I find hard to justify, so the slog of cleaning continues.

In my first post I was just musing that I seem to have much more in common with the sailing community than I ever had with other motor boat owners. Maybe it’s a speed thing, speed doesn’t really matter to me, I enjoy being at sea, and I enjoy being comfortable. My son has a 46’ planing boat, whenever I’ve been out with him I really haven’t enjoyed the ride. Give me comfort over speed every time.

 

[longjohnsilver]

C'mon, LJS

You know we have a resident Bish for this sort of thing! Oh, and he has a couple of 'prentices, too....

I’m guessing from your first post you must be one of them

 

[ashtead]

You might look at Fisher 46 as an example of what you might get in an older vessel with sails but maybe a tad smaller as said Sirius or a new Moody41DS might tempt you at the SBS . Again if into old boats a Moody Eclipse 43 ?

 

[Bobc]

Why not consider something like a Sirius or a Moody DS? They have a lot of the comfort and benefits of a mobo, but sail well too.

 

[CJ13]

Does the Cruising Association accept motor boaters

Yes - the CA has many Mobo Owners. if you want to join I can send you a discount code for new members.

John

 

[longjohnsilver]

Yes - the CA has many Mobo Owners. if you want to join I can send you a discount code for new members.

John

Yes please

 

[CJ13]

Yes please

I’ve sent you a PM.

John

 

[Sticky Fingers]

... should I seriously be considering a move to the rag and sticks brigade? Or should I accept my position with a foot in both camps, but a full member of neither?
...

I don't know if you do your boating with a Significant Other, but if so, that person's likes and dislikes may turn out to be more important than your own.

I love sailing. My wife does not. We sold the yacht and bought a Mobo. She's much happier, so the overall experience is much better for us both together.

 

[doug748]

It looks cool but 90% of the time you are uncomfortable sailing. It's either too windy, mot windy enough, from the wrong direction, too rough or you have given up and are motoring anyway.

I met some chums of mine, last month, on the other side of the channel. They have a Grand Banks style boat but are experienced sailors. When I said I was off for a 3 o'clock morning start, one whispered to the other:
"God we have not had to do that for years"
Sort of brought it home to me......If you have to go 100 miles in a steady power boat you just set off after breakfast and after 10 hours you arrive, in good time to go to the pub. Job done.

The cost of the move would be very high with the real possibility that you or your wife would be disappointed.

.

 

[zoidberg]

I’m guessing from your first post you must be one of them

'One of them', eh?

I've been called a few things in my day, some on 'ere, but that was mostly before 'Protected Characteristics'.

Sorry to disappoint you.

I do hope you enjoy boaty-flappy things....

 

[[2574]]

We had several mobos ending up with a 30kt Fairline Targa which we cruised to La Rochelle and back.. Sold it as driving boredom set in and we’d got to see the sailing lifestyle whilst in France. Bought a Nauticat (we liked the pilot house) and learnt to sail. After sixteen years we recently sold the Nauticat and bought a Malo. We wouldn’t go back to motor boating.

If you need to get to places keep the motorboat. But if you enjoy the sailing lifestyle then make the change, don’t hesitate.

 

[xyachtdave]

It looks cool but 90% of the time you are uncomfortable sailing. It's either too windy, mot windy enough, from the wrong direction, too rough or you have given up and are motoring anyway....

It’s not quite as bad as that Doug, maybe 80% of the time...!

I’d say the reason some sailors are not enjoying their sailing is having a fixed destination in mind and not adjusting to suit the conditions.

Roughly translated this means if you can’t just drop your work/life commitments when the weather looks good and you can only go somewhere further afield on your two weeks off in August, you’re doomed unless you’re happy pottering about locally.

Bashing to windward for example is ok for a couple of hours to get somewhere nice or round a headland, any longer than that and life’s essentials become a pain in the backside, using the heads, navigating, making tea/lunch etc

I have braced myself with an arm round my keel stepped mast trying to cut the top off a packet of soup, spilling it all over the boat, before a few minutes later handing ‘lunch’ to the crew, I laugh about it now at the time I’d happily of scuttled the boat if a helicopter ride home was available.

There’s some satisfaction to arriving when it’s blowing, you’ve got your hero badge, salty experience, you can handle your boat in any weather etc...but you’ll be too knackered to go ashore for dinner or beer.

I’ve got my feet firmly in the ‘this is meant to be fun’ camp now, I’ll go out in pretty much any weather in local waters for a mess around for a few hours but a long passage when the weather is wrong...no thanks!

 

[Stemar]

We moved a little way in the opposite direction, from a monohull to a catamaran with twin diesels, and that strikes me as a possible compromise for you.

Cats stay upright, so are less likely to spill the tea (no alcohol under way ) or upset the crew. When the wind's in the right direction, they mostly go like the clappers - faster than monhulls unless you want an out and out racer, which somehow I doubt, and if they aren't so good hard on the wind, well, that's what the twin diesels are for.

Other advantages over most sailing yachts, though by no means all is that you go "indoors", rather than "below" - less clambering, Shallow draft and the ability to dry out open up anchorages away from the madding crowd.

There are no doubt other disadvantages, which the half-boat fans will be quick to point out, but the main one I'm aware of is the tendency of marinas to charge extra because you're wider, but I doubt a 36' cat would be more than a 48' mobo. Someone told me of his attempt to get round that. "Why are you charging me twice as much? I'm not twice as wide. I'm the same width as a 45' monohull" "OK, fair enough, I'll charge you the same as a 45 footer"

 

[Tanqueray]

Could I ask what your current Mobo is LJS?