Step-Up Yacht / Med Cruiser Suggestions (Affordable)

[V1701]

Lots of great recommendations but the boat with the newest engine/standing rigging/sails/electronics/whatever else you consider necessary, and the least amount of time/work/expense required before you get going is the one that you should go for. I ended up buying a Bowman 26 to have a one year sabbatical to go sailing starting in April 2020 (cancelled due to you know what in the end) but I bought it for the almost new engine, very good sails, newish bunk cushions, tiller pilot & windvane steering fitted & in-date standing rigging. It was the best tool for the job that was within budget...

(If you go & see a Vega and decide it might fit the bill send me a PM, a friend has one that he's got ready for some very serious voyaging but now bought a much bigger boat with partner & it'll be up for sale soon. I also had one (hence V1701) & lived on it for 2 years, great boat but small inside...)

Good luck with your plans...

 

[FirstinLastout]

As I sail singlehanded, I wanted an easy to handle rig that was performance orientated. Having a large mainsail supported by mast and boom make it very controlable. Smaller headsail and spinnaker of a ¾ rig also makes sense. I was looking for a boat upto about 35ft and quite liked the rare Trapper 700 with centreplate, but it was masthead. Eventually someone mentioned the Fulmar and I thought bingo it meets all my requirements. They were raced, used by sailing schools and extensively cruised. Fulmars have a reputation of being an almost vice free boat to sail and many owners seem to keep them for years or decades. Being built by Westerly they were better than average build quality for the period. Then I had the problem of find the right Fulmar and that took about 4 months. All the work I have done to Concerto has been to get it right for my needs and I am almost there now after 8 years. This year I am planning to head up the East Coast and when I reach the Shetland Isles I will stop and have a look round before coming back down the otherside. Just got to complete fitting the new fridge unit, fit a pressurised hot and cold water system with a shower, plus a few other small bits like a new electric circuit breaker panel as I have run out of circuits.

Just as a comparison, you would find the Sadler 32 cramped compared to the Fulmar, so consider the Sadler 34. The Rival is quite narrow and again feels cramped compared to a Fulmar. Both are also a lot slower sailing wise.

I shall be keeping the Fulmar and it will be my last boat as I expect to be sailing for at least another 10 years, when I will be in my late 70's. You may enjoy the video of Concerto under spinnaker, which was the same day as my forum photo.

Thanks for all your detailed responses Roger and your time taken to make them, greatly appreciated.
Your Fulmar is a credit to you and shows what can be done with time, effort, forethought and patience as well as some cash.
Well wear and happy sailing!

Definitely a contender despite most of the Westerlys that I'm familiar with tend to be poorly kept ancient bilge keelers.
Incidentally, what are Westerly's of the era like for osmosis, soft decks etc?

 

[FirstinLastout]

Lots of great recommendations but the boat with the newest engine/standing rigging/sails/electronics/whatever else you consider necessary, and the least amount of time/work/expense required before you get going is the one that you should go for. I ended up buying a Bowman 26 to have a one year sabbatical to go sailing starting in April 2020 (cancelled due to you know what in the end) but I bought it for the almost new engine, very good sails, newish bunk cushions, tiller pilot & windvane steering fitted & in-date standing rigging. It was the best tool for the job that was within budget...

(If you go & see a Vega and decide it might fit the bill send me a PM, a friend has one that he's got ready for some very serious voyaging but now bought a much bigger boat with partner & it'll be up for sale soon. I also had one (hence V1701) & lived on it for 2 years, great boat but small inside...)

Good luck with your plans...

Agreed, even though we'd slowly try to make a boat ours by carrying out work upon it, improvements etc I don't need an actual restoration project; buying the best possible craft in the first place requiring the least amount of work is a good practice that I've already learned on other projects.

I'd looked at a Vega a couple of years ago, and would be quite favorable towards them, but that particular boat was very poor and so we ended up with our Etap 22. This was a blessing as it allowed us to have many more days sailing then we otherwise would have had; being a trailer sailer meant we could move it easily rather then leaving it at the club which was usually beyond our various restricted covid ranges.

If I was doing this a few years ago, and by myself, I'd be happy with boats in the 27ft range but as it's myself and my wife I'm all too aware of the need for extra space and the comfort it brings for longer, liveaboard cruising.

 

[Concerto]

Thanks for all your detailed responses Roger and your time taken to make them, greatly appreciated.
Your Fulmar is a credit to you and shows what can be done with time, effort, forethought and patience as well as some cash.
Well wear and happy sailing!

Definitely a contender despite most of the Westerlys that I'm familiar with tend to be poorly kept ancient bilge keelers.
Incidentally, what are Westerly's of the era like for osmosis, soft decks etc?

Osmosis can occur but it is not that commom. More common is air bubbles in the gel coat that create blisters about 2 to 4mm in diameter, rather than 10 to 20mm for osmosis. Concerto has suffered with this. Too many people belived that bilge keel boats are great to keep on a cheaper drying mooring. This continual drying out can weaken the keel stumps and many boats had to be reinforced. My personal choice is a fin as they perform better.

Westerly decks were mainly balsa cored and are usually fine as a high quality sealant was used. The problem is with owners who add additional fittings and do it wrong. Things like anchor winches and midship cleats would have plywood pads fitted in place. It is when a fitting is fitted in the balsa core and they do not remove the balsa core and fill between the two glassfibre layers to stop compression or use the correct sealant. Once water enters the balsa core, it usually is not vast areas. It is not difficult to fix, infact a small area of Concerto's foredeck was not fully bonded and I epoxy filled to firm the area.

If you are considering a Fulmar, then this one would be worth checking out. Log in to Facebook
A slightly shorter boat with almost as much space, check out the 29ft Westerly Konsort or Merlin. The 31ft Tempest has two double cabins aft and a large heads forward, but the layout is a bit of a marmite boat - you either love it or hate it. The Merlin is a scaled down Storm at 33ft. The main difference between the Storm and a Fulmar is the deck shape with wider side decks and a more racing based cockpit, however internally the narrower coachroof make the cabin feel smaller. You can check out the full Westerly range here.
Westerly Classes - Westerly-Wiki.

 

[doug748]

..............I’m sure there are many coastal cruisers that would be appropriate that I’m not aware of… Elan? Dufour?? Scandinavian manufacturers??
Anything else folks???

This looks a nice example, Albin Nova:

Boat for sale | Albin Nova 33 — Weymouth Inner Harbour | Cove Yachts

A bit over budget and sportier than most of the suggestions but it does have a pretty new engine etc. Sometimes more unusual/ less popular boats can drift down in asking price as they are not being chased by the pack. Anyways they are nice boats and the interior looks v comfy and tidy.

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