Starlight 35 Alternatives....

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roblpm

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OK its at least a month since my last what boat thread............

Which 26-30 ft Cruiser for Scotland

However I am wondering..... I had a Parker 275 for five years. Spent a bit of money on it to make it good, folding prop, sails etc. Obviously the person who bought of me did very well! ie you never get back what you spend.

So in the previous thread i described how in about 2027 I will have a bit more time to sail. But now I am worrying that really buying a 15-20k boat next year and then selling in five years and starting again is a bit silly. I am one of those people who can't resist an upgrade.

So assuming I never want a boat much above 35ft due to not wanting to work to earn the money to buy expensive big stuff! I think the perfect boat would be a Starlight 35.

Citeria:

Happy on a mooring in the Clyde.
Five years of increasingly adventurous trips in the freezing north...........
No teak decks. (I think some starlights have teak decks)
Easy to sail short handed.
Good for an Atlantic Circuit. AVS > 130
Bathing platform for eventual hotter climates.
Able to enter and come last in the occasional annual type passage race. Around Bute. Around St Kilda.

So Starlight 35 seems ideal. 266 disp/length. I am happy with medium displacement.

However there aren't that many of them and the last one I can see advertised was 55,000.

So. Westerly Ocean 33? Something else? Moody? I am really more keen on 90s than 80s................
Dufour 34 Performance. Which despite its name is a bit of a porker. 208 displ/length.
Hanse 341 has avs of 130 and is similar displ/length to dufour
Maxi 1000? One for sale in Largs for £36,000 227.54 displ/length
Obviously these dont have skeg..........
The only time I have ever puked on a boat was in choppy waves in the Minch so I don't want to go too lightweight!
etc...........

Or should I just get a Starlight 35 in the next 2 years and keep for 10? but slightly smaller and cheaper would be a good start................!!
 
Go for the Starelight you wont be disappointed, slow steady stiff reliable and predictable, no nasty attributes. However, if I could find a 39i would trade up
regards Warren
 
Couple of thoughts:

Unless you have a lot of time and money to throw at a boat straight away, it's likely (at least for how I go about things which is fairly slowly) to take two or three seasons to get a new to you, over ten years old boat to how you want it.so yes, get the boat you want now.

I'd argue that once you are shopping in a market of boats well north of ten years old, the difference between 20, 30, 40 years old becomes not so great as they all need lots doing to them, and much will depend on how they have been looked after and what has been recently replaced.

I'd certainly look at Westerlys
Storm 33 (yes, I've just bough one)
Ocean 33
Typhoon 37

A Sigma 362 would be worth considering; over 40% ballast ratio, ballast / length 252.
 
Last edited:
Westerly Storm - bigger inside than you’d think, not expensive.. Some around that have headlining replaced-not a nice job..
(and yes, I’ve also just bought one after a lot of thought about what I wanted in a boat)

Sigma 362

Starlights are nice but pretty rare.
 
Moody S31 or S336? Good turn of speed and usual Moody quality build.

Or...the obvious follow-up to your 275 is the Parker 31, although not sure how much of a boon a lifting keel will be ‘up norf’.
 
fredrussell said:
Moody S31 or S336? Good turn of speed and usual Moody quality build.

Or...the obvious follow-up to your 275 is the Parker 31, although not sure how much of a boon a lifting keel will be ‘up norf’.
Click to expand...

Yes it was good on the Forth. However at risk of being contraversial the lifting keel was a pita. Needed a special cradle to haul out and very difficult to get at the whole keel properly. I was jealous of the people just drying out on the the drying berth for a tide and doing whatever! I will be west coast based next time so no need for lifting. And now racing on a 707 which is much more sensible than dual purpose!
 
Chae_73 said:
Couple of thoughts:

Unless you have a lot of time and money to throw at a boat straight away, it's likely (at least for how I go about things which is fairly slowly) to take two or three seasons to get a new to you, over ten years old boat to how you want it.so yes, get the boat you want now.

I'd argue that once you are shopping in a market of boats well north of ten years old, the difference between 20, 30, 40 years old becomes not so great as they all need lots doing to them, and much will depend on how they have been looked after and what has been recently replaced.

I'd certainly look at Westerlys
Storm 33 (yes, I've just bough one)
Ocean 33
Typhoon 37

A Sigma 362 would be worth considering; over 40% ballast ratio, ballast / length 252.
Click to expand...

Yes. Took me five years to get my last boat right just before I sold her! Circumstances have changed now so that won't happen again. I think better to get the boat I will keep for a while.
 
I am impressed with our Moody S31, not the best boat I have ever owned (that was a Finngulf 33) but has the following advantages, sturdy manageable well supported rig but still saills remarkably well, maintenance free construction, (a wee bit of teak in the cockpit seats and two handrails, no fabric head or hull linings, all fibreglass mouldings). Maistream (VP2020) engine with saildrive, light enough to drag forward single handed if you need to take the leg out. Loads of room inside with massive aft cabin. Very durable construction and materials, really thick gelcoat, after 20 years ours still looks like new inside and out. Tiller steering. Fold down transom step, wide enough to sling a permanently inflated Redcrest across transom for instant launching.
Downsides, (struggling here) mainsheet track on coachroof but I am getting to like that, big genny small main is not as tolerant of gusty winds, not a lot of deck space for solar panels, spinnaker pole takes up space on side deck as mast track is not long enough to stow it up the mast. Only two batteries ( but plenty of room for more)
Only one cockpit locker. so fenders are hung on the pushpit in front of the dinghy. Calorifier expansion valve discharges to bilge. Engine generally acceptable with good clean tray under but oil filter and coolant drain are awkward to reach on the wrong side. Integrated permanent autopilot ram can not be used because rudder shaft is fully enclosed in grp. Skeg rather than spade rudder.
 
I think you are wise go for what you want now rather than a stopgap, which you would spend money on and then sell at a discount in order to move on. FWIW I went for what I wanted 10 years from retirement and it has worked out very well. The trick is in buying the right boat - or at least the boat that works now and looks like working for you well into the future.

There was a cracking Starlight in my yard with the wing keel, but as you noted, the price was in the 50k area. The Starlight looks nicer than many, with her moderate topsides. However if you are fishing in different waters, I might consider a Sadler 34, they are affordable now from your restricted capital and you have plenty of time to straighten one out, in the next 7 years, out of income.

.
 
I have an Ocean 33, they're great boats. Perhaps not quite as "Blue Water" as the Starlight, but one was raced successfully in the last AZAB, and it will certainly show the Starlight a clean pair of heels in lighter airs. P{M me if you want further info.
 
Well I was just pondering this......... Byron PY which is not the arbiter of truth has Starlight 35 at 948 and Ocean 33 at 904

However this is not a competition! As if I ever enter a race I am guaranteed to come last what ever it is in..................!!!

Wow amazing. Shuna (Ocean 33) 3rd in class on aggregate time.
 
doug748 said:
I think you are wise go for what you want now rather than a stopgap, which you would spend money on and then sell at a discount in order to move on. FWIW I went for what I wanted 10 years from retirement and it has worked out very well. The trick is in buying the right boat - or at least the boat that works now and looks like working for you well into the future.

There was a cracking Starlight in my yard with the wing keel, but as you noted, the price was in the 50k area. The Starlight looks nicer than many, with her moderate topsides. However if you are fishing in different waters, I might consider a Sadler 34, they are affordable now from your restricted capital and you have plenty of time to straighten one out, in the next 7 years, out of income.

.
Click to expand...

Six months later there are two on sale.....

70k each. Don't buy bitcoin. Buy starlight 35s!!!?

I am now pondering slightly larger newer AWBs. 70k for an older boat seems a lot........
 
After a Parker 275- a cruiser-sized Merlin Rocket on steroids is going to be a trick to repeat.
Starlight? Yes, Very nice indeed.
SHE 36 would be right up on my list too... if you could find a nice one.
 
roblpm said:
OK its at least a month since my last what boat thread............

Which 26-30 ft Cruiser for Scotland

However I am wondering..... I had a Parker 275 for five years. Spent a bit of money on it to make it good, folding prop, sails etc. Obviously the person who bought of me did very well! ie you never get back what you spend.

So in the previous thread i described how in about 2027 I will have a bit more time to sail. But now I am worrying that really buying a 15-20k boat next year and then selling in five years and starting again is a bit silly. I am one of those people who can't resist an upgrade.

So assuming I never want a boat much above 35ft due to not wanting to work to earn the money to buy expensive big stuff! I think the perfect boat would be a Starlight 35.

Citeria:

Happy on a mooring in the Clyde.
Five years of increasingly adventurous trips in the freezing north...........
No teak decks. (I think some starlights have teak decks)
Easy to sail short handed.
Good for an Atlantic Circuit. AVS > 130
Bathing platform for eventual hotter climates.
Able to enter and come last in the occasional annual type passage race. Around Bute. Around St Kilda.

So Starlight 35 seems ideal. 266 disp/length. I am happy with medium displacement.

However there aren't that many of them and the last one I can see advertised was 55,000.

So. Westerly Ocean 33? Something else? Moody? I am really more keen on 90s than 80s................
Dufour 34 Performance. Which despite its name is a bit of a porker. 208 displ/length.
Hanse 341 has avs of 130 and is similar displ/length to dufour
Maxi 1000? One for sale in Largs for £36,000 227.54 displ/length
Obviously these dont have skeg..........
The only time I have ever puked on a boat was in choppy waves in the Minch so I don't want to go too lightweight!
etc...........

Or should I just get a Starlight 35 in the next 2 years and keep for 10? but slightly smaller and cheaper would be a good start................!!
Click to expand...
A friend recently bought a 39 for £35k. Its in reasonable condition
 
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