Tabernacle-able roomy cruiser reccomendations?

[piggybeach]

Hello Again Sailnet Community. Please note: I edited this post after 2 replies because I found more relevant information on Sailnet in the following archives and can now pose a more cogent request for guidance:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/buying...ive-board.html, http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...ped-masts.html, http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruisi...l-cruiser.html, http://www.sailnet.com/forums/buying...est-coast.html

This is the paragraph I added after reading the preceding threads: I understand that there is a "floating RV" versus "ocean crossing vessel" dichotomy at play in the marketing of boats. When I say I'm interested in a cruising style boat I mean one which I can load up with people and their stuff for anywhere from a weekend on the bay to a month trip to Hawaii or Mexico from northern California. I'm not interested in "performance/racing," but I am also not interested in a sail boat which sails like a "floating RV." Somewhere in the middle I'm hoping to find what some people are calling a "plastic classic" with simple features (tiller steering) and solid construction, with "ample" interior space but without creating an unusable deck. Then there is BIG caveat that the boat will need to have its mast tabernacled for local conditions. (Pre-op boat will have a deck-stepped mast, and the operation could cost $3500.) This caveat should bring the assortment of suitable boats down to a manageable size, but I am having enormous difficulty getting my bearings on which manufacturers effectively harmonize these competing priorities.

Last year I came to you as a complete landlubber for advice on purchasing a used metzler inflatable boat and got a lot of good tips. *I did wind up purchasing the boat and taking her out. She still needs a lot of patching up and massaging, and that's just part of the fun. (I could not post a picture when I started this thread yesterday and I am still getting an "upload of file failed" error today )

Recently my "number" has come up on the Santa Cruz, CA harbor waiting list. I am getting a thirty foot slip (will accommodate up to 35' LOA including bow pulpit, etc.) effective June 1st, and I have three months to acquire a boat. I went off looking for a roomy cruiser style boat, but wound up with my head swimming, as I attempt to categorize and identify sundry brands (catalina, morgan, erickson, hunter, irwin, cal, islander...)

So I need your help please with specific recommendations about which brands are more suitable for 1) comfortable cruising *not aqua-RV'ing*; 2) being tabernacled. It would also be wonderful to hear about what brands are NOT good for my intended purpose.

So far I have done some reading, enrolled in sailing lessons, "walked some docks" and surfed the web. Like many people, I am hoping to get the most boat with the least funds, or "freedom chips." Also I'm a flight attendant and we're poor as a group. To this end, I've been reading "Champagne Cruising on a Beer Budget" and now understand that many "add-ons" are really unnecessary for successful cruising and (potentially) living aboard. As examples, the authors recommend tiller steering over wheel for ease of autosteering, standard jib over roller-furling for reliability, less reliance on electronics (which can malfunction) and a heavier emphasis on sturdy construction and upkeep, skills proficiency and seamanship.

But I digress... My main criteria are of course price (less), size (more) and suitability for mast tabernacling--not necessarily in that order. Tabernacling is required by the low bridge clearance at the Santa Cruz harbor. Consequently, I've been looking for good older boats with deck stepped masts (due to limited supply of already-tabernacled boats and no way to search by key term on yachtworld?!) Generally I have been looking for boats in the 29-35' range from 1970-1985 with fiberglass hulls and a diesel engine. It would be great to find a boat which already has a tabernacled mast and I understand that some slips in Newport, CA also requires tabernacling, so I am mostly looking in CA right now. But Oregon and Washington are also on the table.
This is the current search I am using:
YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

Thank you once again for your wonderful insights.

Sincerely,
"barnacle" ben

[Sailormann]

This is probably a good bet - have not heard much about a few of the brands on the page you linked, but Cal's are known for having been well-built.


YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

[camaraderie]

Question:
When you get your mast down to go under the bridge...how will you raise it? The masts of a 30' + boat are heavy and swing wildly in a sea-way. Is there a place to pull over and dock and raise it from land?

[piggybeach]

thanks sailor man. i will make it a priority to get on one of these boats and check her out.

Originally Posted by Sailormann

This is probably a good bet - have not heard much about a few of the brands on the page you linked, but Cal's are known for having been well-built.

[piggybeach]

Camaraderie
I don't think many people pull over to raise the mast from land. Most appear to be rigged *or rerigged* with mechanical or electric winches to assist with the raising.

For some reason I cannot upload pictures to this thread, so I am linking the following yachtworld posting ONLY because it has a good photo of the tabernacled mast (see photo 7).
YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

The following “sale-pending” 30’ Catalina also has a tabernacled mast. However, I would trade some of the bells and whistles for more rugged square footage.
YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Question:
When you get your mast down to go under the bridge...how will you raise it? The masts of a 30' + boat are heavy and swing wildly in a sea-way. Is there a place to pull over and dock and raise it from land?

[sailingdog]

A properly designed mast raising system will allow you to raise the mast, even when afloat. The mast on my 28' trimaran is designed to be raised or lowered using a single control line run to a genoa winch. I can raise or lower the mast in about 15 minutes with little trouble, and no outside assistance.

[christyleigh]

I don't see a Tabernacle in picture #7. That looks exactly like my deck stepped Seldon mast on my NC..... and that little thing on the c30 looks pretty weak.
The Nimble Arctic 25 I owned way back when had a real good Tabernacle system. It was built with 5/8" aluminum stood 2 feet high with a 3/4" pin and was Captive so when the mast was down you could remove the pin and slide the mast forward for trailering with out any side to side motion.

[camaraderie]

Dawg...you have training wheels...I've tried to do it on a 22 ft. monohull...a lot more difficult and that was with a light mast and a block and tackle. I would imagine it is considerably more difficult on a 30-35 footer.
PiggyBeach...are there other 30-35ft. sailboats in that end of the marina? That might be a good place to start looking at brands. If there are not such boats...then maybe I am right bout the difficulty.

[wakked1]

For Santa Cruz sailing as well, you'll want something that is seaworthy (handles swells and high winds) as the weather can pick up rapidly, and also something that sails/motors well upwind for those Monterey RT weekends.

[lastconch]

Try the sellar 30 only 12 built but one is now for sail in the Southwinds Classifieds