SIBS, boat you would be most likely to buy?

[Tranona]

I wouldn't say 4 inches was substantially bigger (in boats terms at least) and all have a similar or shorter LWL. But there are bigger yachts that are CAT B too. I'd be happy to take the RM890 offshore - the one which I tested (which is at SIBS) was sailed around from La Rochelle in some pretty grim weather.

RM890 Hull length 8.90m (29ft 2in) LWL 8.8m (28ft 10in)
Winner 9 Hull length 9.0m (29ft 6in) LWL 8.0m (26ft 3in)

However my point was not about the RM890 per se, you said "Few boats of 30' comply" and I was pointing out that there are at least four or five 30 footers which make Cat A.

Hanse 315 Hull length 9.62m (31ft 7in) LWL 8.70m (28ft 7in)
Legend 31 Hull length 9.86m (32ft 4in) LWL 9.04m (29ft 8in)
Elan 310 Hull length 9.25m (30ft 4 in) LWL 8.71 (28ft 7in)
Bavaria 33 Hull length 9.25m (30ft 4in) LWL 8.85 (29ft)
HR 310 Hull length 9.42m (30ft 11in) LWL 8.80 (28ft 10)
Sirius 310 Hull length 9.3m (30ft 6in) LWL 8.55 (28ft)

Would not call a Bav 33 (which as you might have seen I have just bought) as even close to 30'. It has the same dimensions (LWL, B and displacement) as my old 37. Don';t know where you got your figures from as the lOA is 9.85m

All of the boats are substantially heavier displacement (Bav 5.3 tons, Hanse 4.7 tons, compared with 3.2 for the RM).

Pretty sure if the RM complied with Cat A they would have got it certified as such. As I said around that size is the borderline and the RM seems to fall one side whereas the others fall the other. indeed the Bav is only A with 6 crew and B with 8 - gives you an idea about how marginal A is in that size.

This is not a criticism of the boat as it is a very different boat from most of the others which might be considered middle of the road cruisers (although a couple lean towards the sporty end).

The criteria for the RCD category is not whether you (or I!) would happily go offshore in such a boat as many people do just that in boats that would not get anywhere near Cat A - but whether it meets the definition in the RCD. Not necessarily the same thing.

 

[eddystone]

You can have a mainsheet traveller on the Hanse 315 with a tiller. It locates above the rudder stock aft of the tiller - The boat at the Hiswa Te Water show in Amsterdam had this arrangement, along with the open forward bulkhead.

360º interior:
http://grahamsnook.com/360/hanse315

But the salesperson at SIBS didn't know that - he told me with a tiller you needed a "German" mainsheet system with a very short track on the coachroof.

 

[snooks]

Would not call a Bav 33 (which as you might have seen I have just bought) as even close to 30'. It has the same dimensions (LWL, B and displacement) as my old 37. Don';t know where you got your figures from as the lOA is 9.85m

I got the hull length (not LOA because of bowsprits/bow rollers etc) of 9.75 from here, but typed it in wrongly :0)

http://www.bavaria-yachtbau.com/sailing-yachts/cruiser-line/cruiser33.html

The criteria for the RCD category is not whether you (or I!) would happily go offshore in such a boat as many people do just that in boats that would not get anywhere near Cat A - but whether it meets the definition in the RCD. Not necessarily the same thing.

This is true, and while the RCD specifies thing like mounting points for jack stays outboard, manufacturers have to comply with those, but many also choose to do what they feel is correct too.

 

[snooks]

But the salesperson at SIBS didn't know that - he told me with a tiller you needed a "German" mainsheet system with a very short track on the coachroof.

Pah! Sales people

Sadly I don't have any pics, but the track was removed and hanging from the stb guardrail at HISWA. There were two SS brackets where the wheels were on the SIBS boat.

 

[Tranona]

But the salesperson at SIBS didn't know that - he told me with a tiller you needed a "German" mainsheet system with a very short track on the coachroof.

He should have read his own price list which clearly lists two different travellers, one for the wheel steering the other for tiller (both extras) or the "easy handling" system which is their name for the "German" system.

To be fair though it is a completely new boat and expect that it was all done in a rush - the brochure is all CGI and it could well be that the final specs will not be set in stone. There's a lot to learn in a complex range like Hanse with a bewildering variety of options. Just look at the combinations of hull/colours/deck finishes/flooring/furniture finishes/upholstery, described as "Boundless Choices" in the brochure. Lots to divert your attention from whether it has a traveller or not.

 

[johnphilip]

Spirit 46 and 52 - where is that lottery ticket.

The HR342 nice, but you would expect a bigger cockpit locker and wheel version doesn't work as well as tiller for short handed sailors. New price makes the ones on the brokerage market look over-priced.

It may not be as easy to reach sheets from behind the wheel as with a tiller but sailing shorthanded the big bonus of the wheel is the almost instant engagement of the autohelm giving you both hands free to attend to any chore.

 

[snooks]

It may not be as easy to reach sheets from behind the wheel as with a tiller but sailing shorthanded the big bonus of the wheel is the almost instant engagement of the autohelm giving you both hands free to attend to any chore.

It's possible to get under-deck auto-pilot drive units for tillers too :0)

They are exactly the same instrument, brains and drive unit that wheels have.

So what was the advantage of a wheel again?