The ideal blue water yacht

[rotrax]

The thread has not degenerated!

As the Yorkshiremen say:

It started at nowt - an then tapered off.


?
Do you still hve a motorbike Rotrax?



.

No.

I finished with Racing in 2008, sold 30 from our 32 bike collection. Sailing has filled the void. We both needed an interest after 45 years of nonstop Motorcycling.

First Mate has a classic Kawasaki and a very interesting classic special, a 500cc unit construction Triumph twin in a 1970 Husquvarna Moto Cross chassis.

A dear friend named it " The Humph " which has stuck.

Youngest son is to take it on and use it in classic events.

It has taken great self control not to have gone racing again, I am offered bikes for serious oldtimer gigs all the time.

The last two years I was performing I lost one racing collegue killed, one a vegetable and one in a wheelchair. Three years after I retired from racing the guy who purchased my Longtrack Hagon JAP was killed in a grasstrack.

I miss it terribly, the adrenaline rush, the buzz of catching up with other racers and meeting the organisers of International gigs, many who we have known for 30 plus years.

I had my time, got away with it and would not have missed it for the world.

Thanks for asking.

 

[skipmac]

Is this not the crux of all iLife, it is a compromise ,and we all all blessed just to be on the water.
Clearly and throughout history modern techniques lighter made but not compromised gear and better design techniques are all around us
Not many here got a crt tv anymore , or a 40 year old car for runnnig around in,
This thread is like kids comparing BMXs in the day , but they all did the same thing you pedalled you moved,
If I wanted to do tricks I would get a mongoose frame , if I want to race a boat I get a racer, but everything inbwtween there are compromises .
Mine was price and space, and a ketch for smaller sail handling ,I knew I would have to compromise, but that’s life , I compromised on the wife why not the boat
In regards to certain abilities I stand by my tug, yes prop walk understanding, wind angle, throttle control and a little prayer will see us manoeuvre but I watch with envy as a modern boat breezes into a dock or tight space , , I watch with envy as they race to windward when I am hopefully of 50 to 60 angle of the wind,
She is slow until 12 to 15 knots ,but handles well in big lumpy seas , and has the space I needed ,
I have no real experience on modern boats , but my first ever car was a VW TYPE TWO CAMPER , and I thought this is what all cars drive like , no power steering ,she moves side to side in a corner and chugs along, then I got a hire car in France after the beast. broke down in the french alps , then I realised what driving a modern car was like
I suspect it will be the same with a modern boat , and I will cry with envy , but acccept my lot in life and be happy I'm just sailing

Well I try not to cry with envy but I have to confess that I do occasionally covet some of the nice, new boats. I could make an assault on the bank account and buy something a bit newer but if I did so would probably end up losing it in the divorce. Maybe if I win the lottery I could divert a few dollars to a nice Oyster or a Rustler or a Pacific Seacraft or ???


My compromises were similar: price and space but sailing from Florida and the Caribbean in the trade winds belt I also craved a boat that would point just a wee bit better than my old full keel ketch. Didn't end up with a high pointing rocket ship but it gets me there and yes I'm very happy to be sailing, again.

 

[geem]

Just back from delivering a Rustler 42 from the Med to the UK. An incredible blue water yacht!


I would love to sail one around the world one day...

Pete
[/Quote

For the benefit of all on this thread please tell us what made it incredible?

 

[Bobc]

The thread got what it deserves.
This topic is really "I'm yet again trying to justify my choice by rehashing a well worn topic" .In this case by quoting a 2 year old article.

I think maybe that the OP is doubting his convictions and was hoping to find lots of like-minded folk to give him some reassurance that he is right. Unfortunately, I suspect the responses he's got have only served to enhance his inferiority complex.

 

[Bobc]

No one asked you to comment.

No one asked you to start this thread, but you did. Geez...

 

[rotrax]

Boats are a compromise.

Sailors require different things from their boats.

Opinion about boat performance, in the absence of peer reviewed scientific examination is, by its very nature, very subjective.

Perhaps, for a proper answer we should ask Brent Swain..................................

 

[dunedin]

Perhaps, for a proper answer we should ask Brent Swain..................................

OMG! I hope the OP built his hull in steel. We now know that a steel hull, as well as a long keel, are absolutely essential if going to depart from a marina. No fibreglass fin keelers are safe. It would be a shame to have to scrap it start all over again

 

[pvb]

OMG! I hope the OP built his hull in steel. We now know that a steel hull, as well as a long keel, are absolutely essential if going to depart from a marina. No fibreglass fin keelers are safe. It would be a shame to have to scrap it start all over again

I'm afraid the OP had the hull built in fibreglass, not steel, in less than ideal environmental conditions (outside, basically). It was built over a timber batten mould.

 

[Rappey]

Coopec has built his hull as well and building the rest of the boat ?
I see a lot of ribbing over his boat sat on land but how many have actually tried building a boat ?
You need many skills and can cope with a lot more drama at sea as you know exactly how every little part of your boat is put together.

 

[coopec]

Coopec has built his hull as well and building the rest of the boat ?
I see a lot of ribbing over his boat sat on land but how many have actually tried building a boat ?
You need many skills and can cope with a lot more drama at sea as you know exactly how every little part of your boat is put together.

Thanks for that.

I wonder why it is important to anyone how long I've taken to build a yacht? (People in the UK being the interested in my home-built yacht in Australia? They'd have to be a few cards short of a deck surely?)

The fact I've worked overseas and in the NW during that time escapes them. Maybe they have a Schadenfreude problem?

The world is going mad from Donald (and his followers) down (The lock-down wouldn't help either as they are finding it can affect mental health)

 

[Hallberg-Rassy]

Just back from delivering a Rustler 42 from the Med to the UK. An incredible blue water yacht!

I would love to sail one around the world one day...

 

[Chae_73]

[Inappropriate quoted content removed]

great video, much enjoyed.

what was the boat which supplied bacon half way across Biscay - they looked to be going along nicely as well?

 

[coopec]

43 of the best bluewater sailing yacht designs of all time



Rustler 42

You can’t get much more Cornish than a Rustler. The hulls of this Stephen Jones design are hand-moulded and fitted out in Falmouth – and few are more ruggedly built than this traditional, up-for-anything offshore cruiser.

She boasts an encapsulated lead keel, eliminating keel bolts and creating a sump for generous fuel and water tankage, while a chunky skeg protects the rudder. She is designed for good directional stability and load carrying ability. These are all features that lend this yacht confidence as it shoulders aside the rough stuff.

And although now over 20 years old, timeless looks and qualities mean this design makes her look ever more like a perennial, a modern classic.
43 of the best bluewater sailing yacht designs of all time - Yachting World

 

[rogerthebodger]

Coopec has built his hull as well and building the rest of the boat ?
I see a lot of ribbing over his boat sat on land but how many have actually tried building a boat ?
You need many skills and can cope with a lot more drama at sea as you know exactly how every little part of your boat is put together.

I totally agree that all of your comments. The hull of my current boat was was built somewhere around 1977 and then had 3 owners before I purchased it in 2005 and finished it off and launched it in 2009.

Unlike the UK I employed people to do some of the non technical work but did all the electrical. plumbing, woodwork and design myself as as said know all the details so can fix anything that may go wrong at sea.

I met, last month, a couple from the UK in Richards Bay who purchased a new boat and are trying to find out where all the wiring and plumbing is to sort out some issues.

The pros of buying a boat from a production builder is that you get sailing quickly but have limited choices depending on the builder and extra costs. The details of where important items are may not be readily apparent.

When you build or are very involved with the build you know where every nut, bolt, wire and pipe is and how they all work together. The down side is that it takes longer to get sailing.

You pays your money and takes your choice so I don't understand why there is so much nastiness when someone takes a different approach to boat ownership. We should encourage everyone no matter how they do it to get afloat.

Also not every one may have the ready cash to go a buy a production boat and have to rn money to both live, raise a family and build a boat at the same time. So work a you boat can be delayed due to work taking you away from the build site as I know is the case with coopec.

A friend in Richards Bay spent 40 years building a ferro boat in his garden in Johannesburg. He now lives on a ferro boat he purchaed but still owns the boat he built in JHB. The build time was extended due to lack of spare money to put into the build.

A lot of home built boats are never finished due to lack of money or lack of tenacity of the builder. Of those that get finished it tends to be the 3rd or 4th owner who finish and launch the boat.

In my view home builders need to be encouraged and not ridiculed.

 

[coopec]

I totally agree that all of your comments. The hull of my current boat was was built somewhere around 1977 and then had 3 owners before I purchased it in 2005 and finished it off and launched it in 2009.

Unlike the UK I employed people to do some of the non technical work but did all the electrical. plumbing, woodwork and design myself as as said know all the details so can fix anything that may go wrong at sea.

I met, last month, a couple from the UK in Richards Bay who purchased a new boat and are trying to find out where all the wiring and plumbing is to sort out some issues.

The pros of buying a boat from a production builder is that you get sailing quickly but have limited choices depending on the builder and extra costs. The details of where important items are may not be readily apparent.

When you build or are very involved with the build you know where every nut, bolt, wire and pipe is and how they all work together. The down side is that it takes longer to get sailing.

You pays your money and takes your choice so I don't understand why there is so much nastiness when someone takes a different approach to boat ownership. We should encourage everyone no matter how they do it to get afloat.

Also not every one may have the ready cash to go a buy a production boat and have to rn money to both live, raise a family and build a boat at the same time. So work a you boat can be delayed due to work taking you away from the build site as I know is the case with coopec.

A friend in Richards Bay spent 40 years building a ferro boat in his garden in Johannesburg. He now lives on a ferro boat he purchaed but still owns the boat he built in JHB. The build time was extended due to lack of spare money to put into the build.

A lot of home built boats are never finished due to lack of money or lack of tenacity of the builder. Of those that get finished it tends to be the 3rd or 4th owner who finish and launch the boat.

In my view home builders need to be encouraged and not ridiculed.

It must be in my genes: I built a racing car when I was in my 20s.

Building the boat myself I know exactly how everything works. I know I could get the fuel tanks out of the yacht in two hours if I ever had to. I've done things that you'd never find on a production yacht - X3 bilge pumps, lightning protection, mounts for an auto helm, fridge/freezer, bilge blower, gas alarms and water maker and a proper toilet/shower. All that takes time.

I sometimes wonder what I'd be doing if I wasn't building the yacht. I know one thing, it keeps me unbelievably fit climbing the ladder X20 times a day (on top of my bike riding every day). I love it!

I don't give a damn if people ridicule me because they are always mental dwarfs who think they know everything! ? One person who ridicules me (on this forum) has researched my internet activities: he can't have anything better to do!! (What a bloody loser? Just so sad)

As for laying out $200K to buy a yacht that was never going to be on.

 

[pvb]

I've done things that you'd never find on a production yacht - X3 bilge pumps, lightning protection, mounts for an auto helm, fridge/freezer, bilge blower, gas alarms and water maker and a proper toilet/shower.

These days, you'd find most of those things on a decent production yacht.

 

[rotrax]

These days, you'd find most of those things on a decent production yacht.

Really?

Pray tell which production yachts come with those items as standard, not expensive options.

I cant recall any of that on vessels I have inspected at SIBS except bilge/engine room blowers on motorboats and decent toilet/showers.

 

[john_morris_uk]

43 of the best bluewater sailing yacht designs of all time

View attachment 103381

Rustler 42

You can’t get much more Cornish than a Rustler. The hulls of this Stephen Jones design are hand-moulded and fitted out in Falmouth – and few are more ruggedly built than this traditional, up-for-anything offshore cruiser.

She boasts an encapsulated lead keel, eliminating keel bolts and creating a sump for generous fuel and water tankage, while a chunky skeg protects the rudder. She is designed for good directional stability and load carrying ability. These are all features that lend this yacht confidence as it shoulders aside the rough stuff.

And although now over 20 years old, timeless looks and qualities mean this design makes her look ever more like a perennial, a modern classic.
43 of the best bluewater sailing yacht designs of all time - Yachting World

And in the 'expedition yacht category, there isn't a single steel boat - they're all aluminium.

Not a single boat in any category in the budget range of the average ocean cruiser I've met and sailed with. (The Malo 36 might just squeeze in?). Plenty at the £1m plus level though... I don't want to be too cynical, but the author of that article know who pays their salary and which market that publication is aimed at.

 

[pvb]

Really?

Pray tell which production yachts come with those items as standard, not expensive options.

I cant recall any of that on vessels I have inspected at SIBS except bilge/engine room blowers on motorboats and decent toilet/showers.

I wrote "most of those things".

 

[doug748]

It must be in my genes: I built a racing car when I was in my 20s.

Building the boat myself I know exactly how everything works. I know I could get the fuel tanks out of the yacht in two hours if I ever had to. I've done things that you'd never find on a production yacht - X3 bilge pumps, lightning protection, mounts for an auto helm, fridge/freezer, bilge blower, gas alarms and water maker and a proper toilet/shower. All that takes time.

I sometimes wonder what I'd be doing if I wasn't building the yacht. I know one thing, it keeps me unbelievably fit climbing the ladder X20 times a day (on top of my bike riding every day). I love it!

I don't give a damn if people ridicule me because they are always mental dwarfs who think they know everything! ? One person who ridicules me (on this forum) has researched my internet activities: he can't have anything better to do!! (What a bloody loser? Just so sad)

As for laying out $200K to buy a yacht that was never going to be on.

You sail in a more robust place which is important. Much of the Northern Hemisphere is suburban in sea terms.

We have cruises in company across the Atlantic where nobody is far from rescue or a helping hand. Even going across in groups, the average size of boat in the crocodile is about 50ft. Look, people say, all those modern boats going offshore! It would be of greater interest to the average bloke if they all went in 30 footers.

Setting off from Australia West or East looks like a proposition where I would think twice about a twitchy boat with two rudders a saildrive and seven foot, catch all, club footed, thin keel.
Not impossible but you have to think what and why.

.