What Yacht would you buy?

[peterb26]

I retired recently and now, after 30 odd years of motorboating, I think I might go sailing until Father Time tells me its time to call it a day.

I'm not knowledgable about yachts, so drew up a set of parameters to help with the decisionmaking. These are shown below:-

- 35 - 40 feet (nearer 35 is better as I am presently on a 35 ft berth)
- Sloop rigged (as theres only 2 of us and realistically I do all the work, my partner would probably hold the wheel and look lovely whilst I do it!)
- Something probably 5 years old (at the absolute maximum), so that it didnt ought to be falling apart. (I do NOT want a high maintenance boat.)
- Wheel helm rather than tiller (just dont fancy the idea of losing my wheel - its bad enough going from 300hp down to perhaps 30hp!!)
- I prefer the idea of a proper engine/shaft/prop rather than saildrive.
- 2 "decent cabins" so we can take a pal and his wife in relative comfort - ideally one cabin at the bow and one aft cabin (so they cant hear me snoring......)
- last - and possibly the most important of all - something that wont be toooooooo difficult to sell in perhaps 5-8 years time when I am possibly past my sell by date for sailing.

I would have loved a Fisher but sadly they are now a bit old in the tooth. (They just look so nice and yes I know they roll like pigs). Plus they are definitely high-maintenance as well. Nauticats are nice but I dont want to spend 150k to get a decent one.

I have ruled out the high-volume mass-produced items such as Bavarias, as it looks to me as if its a nightmare to sell them when they are a few years old. (Our marina is literally full of them - and they are all for sale, and have been for some time in most cases!).

I like the look of Cromarty 36's but they are ketch rigged so that ruled them out.

Hence what does anyone suggest - and why?

Thanks in advance for anyone imparting their knowledge in my direction.

 

[Nautorius]

What about a halberg-Rassy 342? Amazing yachts, great quality and hold value well.

Gorgeous

Here is a second hand one

5 Year old HR34
Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[tillip]

Surely you must have done it the wrong way around. I would have thought that all that pulling and tugging of ropes would not be a retirees dream. "Sea saga" advertise their boats as, life after sailng. That said are you after something like the cromarty or will any "AWB" do /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Sinbad2222]

Vancouver 34 Much, much better than mass produced swedish rubbish.

 

[Oldhand]

Malo 36 which isn't mass produced as they only build about 40 boats a year. One for sale at below link is not connected to me in any way:

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_...urrencyunit=GBP

Very comfortable, sails well, helmsperson can reach all the winches thus easy to single hand, engine has 19 horses spare over your expected 30, holds value exceptionally well, unbeatable fully tented cockpit as standard.

 

[Gordon]

people who jump in right at the deep end .......35ft plus for first sail boat ......wow.

I am just jealous...


Starlight 35....... Why.......cos sails like a dream in most weather (so I'm told), modern with aft cabins and I am sure you could sell later down the line

....to me 20% discount for putting you on to right boat

Cheers

Gordon

 

[Sinbad2222]

No, I couldn't go along with a Starlight. They were badly built by Bowmans before they went bust and there have been several instances of hull delamination.
Agree that Malos are quite good but like Najad, HR etc they are intensively marketed and built down to a price. Selden have had to compromise the quality of their masts and associated gear to meet the Swede's pricing demands.

 

[peterb26]

Hey chaps and chappesses - what a great forum - thanks for all of that.

The HR342 does look lovely too. So does the Malo, until you look at the price tag......... but I guess thats a function of the way they hold their value.

In answer to Tillip who thinks I'm daft considering going from Power to Sail at the ripe old age of 57, the logic is pretty simple really.

I'm young enough and fit enough to do it now. In perhaps 10 years time I may well decide that a motorboat is more appropriate again.

Until I retired we never had the spare time to enjoy sailing around at perhaps 5 kts but now thats all changed.

 

[peterb26]

Excuse my ignorance but are Hanse a mass-produced boat like Bavaria?

This looks like a lot of very modern boat for the money.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/uk/listin...=50289&url=

 

[FullCircle]

I feel you should overcome your fear of modern boats, for the Hanse is just one of those, as the Bavaria, Beneteau, Legend, Jeanneau and others.
All boats have a resale value, and if correctly priced will sell. The thing is, you pay less to start with, and you get less back. Now that may be a slightly higher percentage as a total of your spend, but would likely be less as a whole number than your serious boat. 90% of us do not need a serious boat. Imagine buying a Rolls Royce just as a town car, when a Passat or a Golf would do the job.
Take the boat you like to look at for a trial sail. If you like it, buy it. I did, and do not regret it at all.
Just remember that most of the early GRP boats were greeted with hoots of derision by the then knowledgable yachting public. Fat lot they knew.

 

[Allan]

It looks like very pretty boat to me. I find it a little worrying to read "All replaced under warrantyinsurance in 2006" what happened to the original rigging?

 

[gorb]

Why reject ketches? They look far, far better although I would have to admit they will not generally sail quite so well. But you don't want to go racing, do you?

Mizzen is no bother to hoist and the split in sail areas reduces the size of each sail. And if you are caught out in a real blow, then a bit of genny plus mizzen gives beautiful balance and all controlled from the cockpit - no main to worry about.

Not saying it has to be a ketch, but don't ignore them.

 

[BlueMan]

As a Hanse owner (312) I would have to say that they are mass produced but not like a Bavaria!
The Hanses tend to be a bit more performance oriented with narrower hulls and fairly large rigs. Definitely worth a look. The Hanse UK sales team based at Hamble Point Marina are very helpful and worth a visit if they are local to you. They also have brokerage and part exchange Hanses available.
You can get in touch with existing owners via the forums on the My Hanse website.
Good luck with the boat hunting.

 

[peterb26]

Thanks again to all of you.

 

[oldsaltoz]

You do know a 30 foot cat has the same space as a 42 foot mono without the heeling.

Cabins have good separation, very comfortable to sleep on, and plenty of room to sit out the back (or front) in a nice comfortable chair rather than a hard seat.

You me will be very comfortable in a cat less than 30 feet.

Avagoodweekend...... (Standing by to get flamed)

 

[peterb26]

I'm sure you wont get flamed for that oldsaltoz.

The difficulty with a cat is the beam - it wouldnt fit onto my existing berth.

But thank you.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Have they stopped making them....

Berths that is, I would consider a shift / trade / sale / purchase.

Don't put limits on your enjoyment because of your current berth.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[bilgola]

I share your caution re mass produced yachts. I used to work for Jeanneau and while I think they are one of the better mid range production boats they are largely built for the charter market as are all their opposition. Because they have sold so many, ex charter boats tend to dominate the used boat market and push the price down. But, as Full Circle said its a parity thing and you do get a lot of boat for the money.

For me 35ft would be plenty enough boat for two, 40 absolute tops. The bigger they get the more they cost to maintain and a large sloops sails can be hernia terrirtory unless you go for electric winches.

Wheel steering is almopst a given for that size yacht and don't buy a second hand sail drive.

I think you must live in the USA and I don't know much about the yachts available. I do like the Fisher and that would be a good transition from power. What about the Island Packet?

Good luck with your search

Mike

 

[peterb26]

Thanks Mike - no I'm UK based. South of England.

------------------------

And to OldSaltOz - yes they have pretty much stopped "making berths" over here. Most marinas have a waiting list. I live about 1/2 mile from our marina and I think its a 3 year wait there at the moment.

Plus the cost of a berth is a massive annual outlay. A typical berth would cost you around 12,000 Australian Dollars per year, so you can see why I dont want to pay for two of them for a cat!!

 

[oldsaltoz]

That's bordering on criminal, we had the choice of a berth for our 40+ foot cat at the southern end of the Whitsunday Islands or Cairns (lots of others between them too) but chose Cairns as the Great barrier reef is only an hours sail from the pen, the one in the Whitsunday’s was more like 12 hrs sailing to the reef but has more islands (74 of em).

The cost per year including power and water, no limits, was AU$12,000-oo for the Whitsunday’s and AU$8,000-oo for Cairns, the AU$4,000-oo change more than pays my trip costs.

Knowing the reef is that much closer means I get more time fishing and diving and drinking and eating and fishing and drinking and.. . . . well you get my drift.

Still a terrible shame about the cost of a pen over there, mind you I bet they look very nice (Gold plated).

Avagoodweekend......