Suggest a Yacht please

Oyster 406 - large owners cabin in the stern, smaller double cabin in the bow, 2 ensuite heads, good headroom and reasonable saloon and linear galley. Admittedly though the cockpit is a bit small.
 
Many things are simpler with the wheel-going astern you can still stand behind the wheel -there is space for instruments going forward,the autopilot is simple to use . It gives a fixing point for the cockpit table and any other stuff needed , provides a bracing point in cockpit. If you must can attach mainsheet to it so it’s handy etc. I am sure many sail larger craft with tiller but the wheel as said gives simplicity to newish sailors -just watch how they teach newbies to back into a mooring on Greek charter fleets -maybe a weeks charter with the friends on a smaller yacht with single wheel might help?
 
Don't forget the preferred size is 33-36' and budget £30-40k which rules out many of the suggestions - even if they are for boats that would fit the 2 cabin country cottage requirement.
 
Yes the problem here leaving aside the question of stern access for backing into berths is that below 36ft any centre cockpit will be cramped,the cabins small and the vessel is likely to be old if in budget of sub £40k - also don’t forget that any teak deck might need work which will impact costs even if you went to Bav ocean size
 
I'm late to this thread, so apologies if these have already been mentioned, but a budget 36ft centre cockpit is basically going to mean a Westerly Corsair or Moody 36. Both quite long in the tooth but proven designs.

But seeing as we're playing 'forum bingo' (AWB vs MAB, centre vs aft cockpit, tiller vs wheel... just need to talk about anchors and lithium next and we'll have a full house!) I'll chip in on the first point.

We have cruised long distance on both a centre cockpit (39ft) and an aft cockpit with sugar scoop (47ft).

Centre cockpit advantages:
- obviously, fantastic aft cabin
- more protected cockpit, no chance of being pooped. Helm is closer to the sprayhood and you don't get soaked by spray
- easier to communicate with crew on the bow
- assuming you don't have a ketch, the stern is a big flat surface with no overhanging boom. Perfect for mounting davits, windvane, solar etc. Aft cockpit boats can have this too but a sugar scoop completes things.

Aft cockpit advantages:
- much better ventilation throughout
- much easier to land fish
- much easier to get in and out of the water
- easier to keep an eye on the stern when manoeuvring

A few oft-repeated 'facts' I have found untrue about centre cockpit boats. This may be down to the particular design that I had (Moody 39):
- "harder to access the dinghy". I haven't really found this to be true. It's only a few steps up the transom ladder.
- "harder to move from cockpit to side decks". Maybe if you are tall, but it never really bothered me.
- "smaller cockpit". This is certainly true on many centre cockpit boats, but on ours the cockpit was the full width of the boat and we could easily have eight people round for dinner.

For us, the better ventilation and ease of landing big fish are probably the biggest advantages of the aft cockpit and sugar scoop. And sitting on the bathing platform with your legs in the sea is rather nice, especially on passage on a sunny afternoon.
 
pcatterall said:
The Jeanneau 34 has come up in our viewings. bearing in mind she would mainly be used for 2 or 4 couples.
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If that’s the Sun Odyssey 34.2, I’m not keen on the dinette and linear galley as it means not much space for people to stretch out and relax in the saloon. If you can live with that, they tend to be competitively priced. The much older Sun Rise 34 sometimes comes up in good condition - those have a better layout imo.
 
mrming said:
If that’s the Sun Odyssey 34.2, I’m not keen on the dinette and linear galley as it means not much space for people to stretch out and relax in the saloon. If you can live with that, they tend to be competitively priced. The much older Sun Rise 34 sometimes comes up in good condition - those have a better layout imo.
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I didn't want a linear galley and dinette either, but ended up with a Bavaria 36 with a linear galley and a dinette. Despite wanting an L shaped galley, it was actually fine and worked surprisingly well, boat was based in the Adriatic so we spent most of our time outside anyway, but the interior was surprisingly cosy and comfortable.

2 was ideal, 4 was easily manageable, 6 and we started to get on top of each other ..... but I was usually on board with 4 or 5 people and we had a lot of fun on that boat.

To stretch out I usually went into one of the cabins, and they were all relatively light and airy.
 
mrming said:
If that’s the Sun Odyssey 34.2, I’m not keen on the dinette and linear galley as it means not much space for people to stretch out and relax in the saloon. If you can live with that, they tend to be competitively priced. The much older Sun Rise 34 sometimes comes up in good condition - those have a better layout imo.
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Sorry, my bad! Its the Sun Liberty !
 
I was selling a Dehler 37cws but no longer. Two rear cabins as well as the forepeak. A dance floor, too. Designed for 8 as a charter boat but we are happy as a couple on board. Electric winch for those of us getting on a bit. Cockpit a bit on the small side due to wheel and centre console. Some wood in cabin but not too much. We found it fine in the Med, but the folding prop meant I always went in bow first (and got better privacy).

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Might get one for around £40k in this market. The 36cws has only one stern cabin. I saw a 39cws having trouble being sold. Not sure why (maybe location) but as the surveyor said to me when I purchased mine, "it will go anywhere".

Ps: I saw one for sale some time ago where the two rear cabins had been made into one huge one. Just remove the divider.

PPs: Good for you old swingers out there. I presume some of the "guests" on sailing trips are there for more than just the sailing.
 
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Most of the Med has no wind, except for rare moments. If you enjoy sailing you need something that will be happy in almost no wind. That means a very high SA/Displacement ratio. Get a JPK, J’s or Pogo for example. Or get a motoryacht.
 
Zing said:
Most of the Med has no wind, except for rare moments. If you enjoy sailing you need something that will be happy in almost no wind. That means a very high SA/Displacement ratio. Get a JPK, J’s or Pogo for example. Or get a motoryacht.
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And then the thundery squall or acceleration zone catches you out and you're knocked down in 60kts.
We only got as far as the Balearic Islands and were fed up of motoring to go any further. Maybe it gets better?!
 
Sea Change said:
And then the thundery squall or acceleration zone catches you out and you're knocked down in 60kts.
We only got as far as the Balearic Islands and were fed up of motoring to go any further. Maybe it gets better?!
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You don’t have a Pogo do you? That’s what I’d have, or similar.

As you know they can be reefed, so 60kts should be no emergency.

Actually the non-wind gets worse, the Tyrrhenian sea/Ionian sea until the Aegean maybe.
 
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