Some of the primary differences between a bluewater boat and a coastal cruiser are that bluewater boats will have:
1) A kindlier Boat motion—narrower beam, softer bilge curves
2) More stowage and tankage
3) More Handholds—usually narrower interior
4) Generally have a smaller cockpit
5) Generally have heavier
rigging
6) Deeper reef points, and often heavier sails
and so on...
I'd second reading Beth Leonard's The Voyager's Handbook, which just came out in a second edition, and also recommend Bill Seifert's Offshore Sailing.
__________________
Sailingdog
Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
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