Hi Jim,
I guess my previous post was maybe a bit glib --- I should have fleshed out my thoughts a bit more.
As far as the boats in the ARC go, I have commented here on Sailnet before, like others in this thread, that many of the French boats are being "moved downwind" to the Carribbean Islands, very often by professional delivery skippers. Take a look at the "reverse-ARC" boat rosters and you'll see far fewer heading back. This phenomena has in fact been a complaint voiced by some participants in the ARC in recent years -- some feel the abundance of delivery crews has changed the atmosphere of the event.
As for your original question about the suitability of these boats for long range, ocean-crossing voyaging: My biggest gripe is that lately there seems to be a tendency for sailors to expect one boat to do it all well. I just don't see how we can expect that of any boat.
You can't fault a Valiant for failing to bring home silver from your club races any more than you should fault the club racer for its lack of long-range tankage. Most boats follow a design brief, which stipulates the primary objective of the design. That boat may be successful if it meets that objective, not just in hull form but in its interior layout and methods of construction. The problem sometimes arises when sailors ask that boat to fulfill a different objective, or even simply criticize it for its failure to do so.
Those big Farr Beneteaus can certainly cross oceans. There are more than enough testimonials to prove it. But long-range cruising was not the primary, probably not even the secondary, objective of those designs. They can serve, but there are other design more readily suited to the purpose. Just as there are better boats than my PSC for club racing. Yeah, I could race it, but if that was my intended use, why not get a design more suited?
In this age of highly refined and focussed designs, very rare -- probably non-existent -- is the boat that can truly do it all.
P.S. If you follow that impulse, consider the KP 46 as an upgrade to the 44.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim H
Hi, John
Thanks for the post. I don't think anyone wants to make structural repairs when cruising, and I'm not saying that I'm sold on the idea of Beneteau as a cruising boat (the 40.7, the 44.7 or the 47.7, etc.). However, I was intrigued by how many do the ARC (which could be just one-way trips) and how some have done long-range cruising. If they were made to a higher spec than typically discussed, I could see them as an interesting option (as described by Beth Leonard and done by Lisa Copeland and family).
I might also note that structural repairs aren't only reserved for racer/cruisers. We did look at a pristine 38 foot Swedish-made cruiser, less than 10 years old, and it had structural repairs to the hull after falling off a wave in the English Channel.
So, no big racer/cruiser argument from me, but I am intrigued by what others have to say.
(Yet we reserve the right to fly back to the states and impulse-buy a Kelly Peterson 44 footer at any given moment...)
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