What would YOU choose??

[chockswahay]

Since I first posted on this forum last summer I have learned a lot. I have narrowed down my 'short list' to the following:

Tradewind 35
Tayana 37
Saga 36
Voyager 35
Warrior 35

or maybe even............. Rival 41.......Westerly Oceanlord

This will be to live on and voyage for 2 adults with odd visits from family

Any thoughts, comments or opinions anyone?

Cheers

CWH

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[chockswahay]

Oh I forgot to say that I love the HR 36 but not sure of suitability for live-aboard

Cheers

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[Abigail]

Hmm - don't know them all. We looked very closely at the Tradewind, but decided that we didn't like the traveller across the cockpit - not only is it in the way sailing, but it's darn great object in your living room!

Very much liked the look of a Tayana, and looked hard at one in Poole. Hadn't sold the last boat then so resisted and she'd gone when we were ready. They are not easy to find in this country and Warriors aren't common either - lots of US ones appear on the net in the Leeward Islands etc -- if you're prepared for teh time and effort involved in that route.

I love Rivals and they are hard to beat, but with those and the westerly you partly pay for the name as much as the boat itself.


Don't know the others.

BTW - we have a Maxi 120 - Pettersen's only non-racing design (we think)!



<hr width=100% size=1>Sarah&Pip

 

[jonjo]

If it really is a case of chocks away then start your cruise in the US, buy yourself a Tayana over there and save $$$.

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[HaraldS]

Don't know most boats that you list in enough depth to give you a good advise, but we had a Rival 41 for 14 years and she was a fantastic and very seaworthy boat. Not as much space as modern boats, but you can take her anywhere. A Peter Brett design she sailed by herself and very smooth in a big sea. Build quality was so good that even a quite old boat should have no problems.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taniwani.de>http://www.taniwani.de</A>

 

[roly_voya]

Don't know the tyana but the tradewind, voyager and worrior seem to be so similar they are variations on a theme so the fact that you have all three suggests you know what you are looking for you just need to find the right individual boat that gives just the right deal. The exeption is the saga which I once heard described as a 'real cape horner'. I totally agree and reckon if you are anticipating high lattitude sailing it possably has the edge. Me I would settle for any of them - if they came in wood! (I'm allergic to glass)

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[AndrewB]

Good choice, if rather dated. Nearly all of these were on our shortlist when looking 10 years ago.

Of the smaller yachts, I liked the Warrior best. Same hull as the Voyager, but much better deck set-up for long-distance cruising. Tradewinds have always been overpriced for what they are, and the same is true of the very similar Saga 36. Personally I thought these full-length keelers a bit sluggish. Not tried an HR36, but the HR38 would be a very suitable long-range liveaboard. Don't know the Tayana 37 but they have a good reputation.

There are many other older yachts around the 36 foot mark that are similar and worth considering. Chuck Paine designs (Crealock, Victoria), Vancouver, Rustler, Ericson etc were all on my list. Take a look <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.johnsboatstuff.com/Articles/best.htm>HERE</A> for discussion of the design features of several of these and a number of others, mainly US, suitable for long-range cruising.

In the end though we went up to 38ft, and didn't regret it. I would now think 35ft a bit small for permanent liveaboard for two. Personally I wouldn't consider the Westerly Oceanlord, but I expect they have their advocates. The Rival 41 would be great, and once was THE blue-water cruiser everyone wanted, but that was 25 years ago. OK if you are prepared for the work involved with an old boat. And insurance is sometimes tricky.

 

[BrianReynolds]

Whats wrong with the HR36 from a liveaboard point of view? Great safe boats if not very fast. Brian

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[chockswahay]

Well.......................just had a very busy weekend looking at a few of these.

We have decided that the TW35 is just a bit tight on space in the forepeak. Lookes at a TW39 but not for us. Still like the Saga but would have to be a '40.

I agree about size/space so we are thinking more about 39 ish now.

These choice of boats are based on budget. I also feel a little bit nervous about buying something that is already 20+ years old.

Any more advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

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[pandroid]

We lived on our HR36 for 4 months straight last year wiv no probs at all. Some of the others have more room, but arent such good boats.



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[pragmatist]

Like your list - proper boats ! But of course I would have to say a Rival 41A on the grounds that we've had ours for 7 years and still think she's wonderful. As an earlier post said there is a shortage of space but it's also true that you grow to fill any boat you buy unless you're a minimalist by nature. We have lived and worked on ours for several summers including running a full PC network in the saloon and occasionally in the cockpit.

Personally I wouldn't worry about a 20+ yr old boat if its provenance is good and the survey too. If you hang onto a boat for a few years it's the quality of construction and equipment that provides longevity (and hence money-saving).

Good luck with the hunt - hope you find a wonderful boat.

<hr width=100% size=1>a pragmatist is an optimist with a boat in the UK

 

[Abigail]

On what basis are you nervous about the age?

Our boat is 25 years old and when she was surveyed she was so dry the surveyor got us to query the owner and it turned out she'd recently spent seven months under a tent in the Caribbean. My last, even older, boat did have loads of pinholes though not osmosis. I treated all these myself and re-gelcoated and she was dryer (by surveyor's moisture meter) when I sold her than she had been when I bought her. So in terms of GRP hulls - get a good survey, find out the history, and you get what you pay for!

Rigging and sails also an issue - but again part of the survey and part of the price. None of them last for ever. You might get a very good twenty year old hull rerigged five years ago, new main two years ago - this could well be both a better price and in better shape than a boat that has been left in the water for five years, sailed really hard and had nothing replaced.

Engine - depends on your skills. I did have huge problems with first boat and ended up replacing engine at considerably more expense than the boat was worth! But I am truly bad with that sort of thing. (thank goodness for the chief engineer who's rather more competent!) Often harder to get a good and experienced look at as the out of the water surveyor can't do much more than see how dirty it is, and is probably not qualified or insured to comment on it anyway. Roaring Girl has a new engine, with less than 2000 hours on the clock which was an important feature in our considerations.

Finally - kit. An older boat that has been bluewater may well be sold with lots of extras that will really save you money later - eg the oversize anchor, the storm sails, miles of additional rope, navtex ... Count these into your budget.

So £35K might on the one hand seem a lot of money for an 'old' boat, but this might lead you away from the best buys amongst some excellent, well cared-for and well found boats on the market.

HTH - Sarah

<hr width=100% size=1>Sarah&Pip

 

[pragmatist]

Agree entirely. TLC from previous owner and a desire to tell all is so important. There are loads of boats out there with a huge inventory of kit which is past its use by. And there are plenty which are a pride and joy so the owners will be straight about what does and doesn't work. If you have a complex boat there will always be something (or several somethings) which are AFU this week !

<hr width=100% size=1>a pragmatist is an optimist with a boat in the UK

 

[BrianReynolds]

Glad you like your HR Brian

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[Lost]

From our experience which was all good...
An old Bavaria , when I say old I mean pre 1992 ish, the old ones were well made almost as good as some Swedish boats of the day, very spacious to live on. Sails well.
We bought a 390 just under 40ft in Lymington, and left for Trinidad three weeks later! Under 70k looked like new. We met a lot of Germans and Dutch who loved them several 370's have done some huge mileages. Theyre quite a light boat with a big ish rig, which is what you need when the wind gets light, we were fully powered up in 15knots, and doing 7.5 knots up wind. We had two severe storms one mid atlantic on the way back and one in Biscay in November...boat was fantastic....the only problem was the bloody Volvo folding prop which twice threw a blade off!! you can see our old boat as the old web site is still going.. shes been sold for more than we paid for her after over 10,000 miles in 11months!

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