transatlantic on a shoestring

[Guest]

My dream is to sail singlehanded across the Atlantic, but I lack the funds to realisitcally achieve this with the comfort of a big boat.
How small is too small? How cheaply can it be done? I keep hearing of people who have taken small (<21ft) yachts across the pond e.g. Corribee's - and the MiniTransat is always an inspiration - so it is obviously possible.

Has anyone done it? Or can anyone recommend any classes that might be up to the task in terms of seaworthiness and are readily and cheaply available second hand?

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[muchy_]

There was a thread about this not to long ago. I think the record for smallest boat to cross the Atlantic is about 3'4" if I remember rightly or was it 5'2", it was bloody small anyway. I guess the answer to your question really is what is the smallest boat YOU could sail across. Theres not really an answer that anyone else can give you.

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[Peppermint]

It depends which way you want to go and how able you are.

If your happy to go with the winds your choice of vessel is much large than if your determined to be hard on the wind all the way. The extremley small boats go West to East.

If your a tenacious sailing hardman that will widen your choice too. Pete Goss crossed in a Firebird, a 28ft racing cat more suitable to racing round the cans. David Blagdon's "Willing Griffin" was a Hunter 19 and he made it. You'd pick up a Hunter 19 for around a grand I'd say.

Looking through a sailing mag offers plenty of boats that could make the trip.

An Albin Vega at £ 10k'ish, a Corribee for £2750, an Eventide at £5k it goes on.

If your seriously short of dosh a Corribee or a Folkboat, simple boats and simple equipment, has to be your best bet. I'd budget at least twice the price of the boat to do the job. Your going to need to make sure it's in tip top nick and you may need some mods and a fair amount of safety equipment.



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[snowleopard]

me an aussie from fremantle in the caribbean. he had sailed all the way in a small wharram cat (around 24 ft) which you can build yourself for not a lot. he had no engine and he rowed his wooden dinghy everywhere.

there was a circumnavigation a few years back by a similar boat called 'cooking fat'. i reckon with the right attitude you could get out there for £5K.

just stick to the trades and maybe consider getting a lift through the red sea and i think you're in with a chance.

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[dk]

Get yourself a decent Hurley 22 (£3-4K), or similar, then get some practice in for a year or so, sorting the boat as you go. You're more likely to get into trouble getting to the hopping off point (usually the Canaries) than you are going TA. You will need extra water, plenty of food etc, obviously, because in a boat of that size you could take up to 35 days to cross. You will also need to consider the power aspect if you only have an outboard - my advice is cut you electrical needs to a bare minimum first, then work out how you'll keep your nav lights on and GPS running - probably wind or solar.
Realistically you could do it on £10K - no less by the time you've bought safety gear.
One tip - by good/double size ground tackle - you'll need it to save mooring $$$ when you get the other side! Good luck - pm me if you want boat/electrical advice.

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[graham]

Anderson 22s took part in the early minitransats(do a google search for Anderson class to find details on the website).

They can be found for 3 to 5 k as a rule.Remember you will need more money than you think to sort the boat out.

Ive owned hurley 22 and Anderson 22 They have both been used for ocean sailing(not by me!)Personally I think the Hurley 22 fin keel probably the most seaworthy of 22 footers built.

The hatches on the H22 are in my opinion not strong enough for deep sea sailing ,in fact this applies to most production small yachts you would need to strengthen them and the windows for safety.

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[ruff_n_tumble]

Just to observe that "Willing Griffon" was specially built for the race and had rigging that was over-size/over-strength rather than standard. And weathering the gales was very hard work although the skipper never had any doubts about the capacity of the boat to come through it.

<hr width=100% size=1>Steve Marsh
Hunter 27 OOD "Ruff-n-Tumble"
Gosport

 

[seahorse]

Isn't there a saying that any boat can be sailed anywhere,
but not by anyone!

Perhaps more emphasis is being put on equipment that ability.
It's well recognised that when the going gets rough the crew
tends to pack in before the boat does. Sorry to be so
pessimistic but I think the earlier msg had it right, with a few years experience behind us we know what to look for.
Do plenty of reading when not sailing, Alard Coles Heavy Weather Sailing is very sobering to those who do sail small
boats.


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[vyv_cox]

About 9 - 12 months ago there was a programme on BBC2 or Discovery about a Norwegian guy who sailed singlehanded to Cape Horn, picked up a scratch crew of a 2 there, sailed to Antarctica, stayed a month or so, one crew jumped ship, sailed back. The boat was a shed, dreadful looking thing with no creature comforts, engine that wouldn't run, rags of sails, etc. etc. My assessment of the cost of buying one like that would be well under 4000 pounds and no additional sum wasted on maintenance.

The message I read from the programme was that if you really want to do it you can do it in nearly anything.

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[jamesjermain]

Any of the small boats mentioned here will cross the Atlantic as will many others - the Vertue hasn't been named yet, nor the Contessa 26, Invicta, Contest 25 etc.

One of the things about all these is that they are pretty long in the tooth. You can pick up a stout little seaboat for £3,000 of less but don't expect your total budget for crossing the Atlantic to be just double that.

A proper refit of a small old boat is likely to be somewhat more than the purchase price. A boat of this age should be rerigged (heavier wire), resailed (heavier cloth and allow for storm canvas), have a reliable engine (replace outboard with inboard) and electrics, good safety gear etc. You should drop the rudder and check the 'bearings'/pintals, draw a keel bolt, re-seat the chain plates, replace or at least refurbish the hatches and windows using modern materials and methods... I could go on.

There are people who cross the Atlantic in small leaky tubs and live on less than £1,500 a year but if you are going to tackle something like this, in my opnion it is a once in a lifetime adventure so do it safely and have enough in the kitty to make the trip enjoyable and worthwhile. A budget of £5,000 a year is about the minimum while £10,000 would allow some luxuries and a bit of pampering but still won't leave much room for accidents.

Personally if I had to do it in a boat less than 36ft I would prefer not to do it at all.

It must be my age.

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[themount2]

Wisdom comes with age! I agree with you.

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[elenya]

hi chris

go do it. I bought a warsah one design ( similar to folk boat ) and sailed it to new zealand. cost 2,500 had no engine and was small. lived on it for 8 years had agreat time, and it was good at sea! the boat may be a bit more expensive now but stick to the basics. we had no electrics, a handheld gps, lots o water in jerry cans.
have fun

jim d

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[johnsomerhausen]

james, I don't know how old you are, but I've done it at age 73 on a 28 footer and I
've been flatly beaten by a lady who crossed from Newfoundland to Ireland in a 30 footer at age 79... (and she didn't take the wimps' route via the Azores like me, she went the great circle course)
john

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[elenya]

hi john

great to see people out there doing it, and letting others know you dont need a large boat and oodle of cash. not touching you years yet but hoping im still up to sailing then
fair winds
jim d

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