[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by wisenomad

I'm a novice sailor looking to purchase my first sailboat. I looking for opinions between these two boats or even other suggestions. Mostly for coastal and Caribbean cruising and possibly some heavy blue water cruising as well. (No draft larger the 5'3".)

Opinions & thoughts wanted..

If you time your weather windows very carefully you can do some blue water crossings in a Hunter but it would not be the first choice for most folks seeking to undertake any more than an occasional blue water crossing.

The possibility of getting into 3+ days of 45-50+ knots is very real in many parts of the world and for that you'd want a more stoutly built boat. For coastal and carib though a Hunter is fine but the Endeavour is slower and better and more heavily built than the Hunter.

Perhaps you could better advise us as to what you mean by "novice sailor" and "first sailboat". Is this your absolute first boat, or is this your first "big boat"?

If you really have very little skills and have been a sideline/shoreline sailor (meaning watching other people do it and getting sucked into the fantasy) then I might suggest slowing down a bit and talking to folks who have been there and done it. I have personally seen many cleaned out of life savings buying and equipping a boat only to turn around and sell it two months in because the ddream did not match the reality.

Unfortunately, a 42 something will require more than just a desire. It will also require MANY, MANY skills from mechanical to technical to physical. At this point, with the info you've supplied, I'd have to say the boat choice is still a ways away and there is lots to learn between now and then..

Here are a few other CC vessels to consider (I think the Bristols and most of the Hylas CC's, unless very neglected, may be out of your price range. Some of these are repeats from CAM.


Whitby 42
Pearson 422 CC
Ted Brewer 42 (draft)
Bowman 46 (draft)
Gulfstar 45
Morgan 44 CC
Doug Peterson 44 (draft)
Westsail 42


Also, prepping either one of these vessels and making them "sea ready", for long term use, can easily run you 25-40% of your 150k investment. If 150k is your total budget you may want to consider dropping it to a max of 100k..

Here are some upgrades most all cruisers wind up doing:

Additional ground tackle = $800.00 - 2k
Windvane/Self Steering = 4-5k+ installed
Solar/Wind/Battery/Electrical = 1k to 7k
Sails/re-cuts/sews = 1k - 12k
Rigging/Standing/Running = 2K - 7k
Davits = 2k +
Current electronics = 2.5k to 15k
SSB = 2k - 4.5k
etc. etc. and I have not even scratched the surface..

Since you have lots to read, study and learn here's a good source to begin with; 72 COLREGS

Once you've had a chance to absorb and digest the 72 COLREGS we can help you with the next stuff to tackle..