LiveAboard, Cheap Sailboat, With Shallow Draft for Inland Waterways.

[SUBMITGUY505]

Dear Sailnet Community,
What kind of boat should I buy if I wanted a live-aboard boat for 2 (at least), could not spend very much money, and wanted a boat that would travel the inland waterways of the world, especially ireland and europe. Ireland has 4ft drafts. Id like a sail boat. Id like shallow drafts. Id like a lot of space, speed, and safety. I have been looking at westsails, and tartars, but they all have deeper drafts then allowed on the waterways of ireland.
I have about 50,000 dollars, and want to keep it under 40 ft. And I want a boat that is safe, lots of storage.
What boat should I get?
From,
Submitguy

[sailingdog]

Umm... you're not going to get space, speed, safety and a shallow draft in a single boat as a general rule. An Alberg 30 is one boat I can think of that two people could liveaboard, and IIRC it has about a four-foot draft.

However, it really sounds like you want a small catamaran, like a Catalac 8M. This would give you shallow draft, lots of space, fairly good turn of speed and is pretty safe. The Heavenly Twins 26, the Iroquois MkI or MkII, the Gemini are other catamarans that might fit the bill as well.

Most monohull sailboats, that have a shallow draft have to either give up storage or safety for the shallow draft. Most won't be less than four feet in a shallow draft version, and the few that are may be too small for two people or way out of your budget, like the Shannon Shoalsailor.

All four of the catamarans I've mentioned have made Atlantic crossings, but have a board up draft of less than two feet IIRC.

[Idiens]

Have a look at the old traditional styles of sailing boat that the Dutch still make and use. They are built for what you want.

http://www.alleschepen.nl/advert/Vol...7.0.0.0.0.html

For example

[camaraderie]

Go to Ireland and buy a boat there!

[Idiens]

Better still, go to Holland to buy, the further North you go in Europe the lower cost of boating becomes.

[PBzeer]

Southerly makes some swing keel boats (in England) that might fit your bill as well.

[SUBMITGUY505]

This southerly boat looks to be about perfect. Thanks for replying to my thread.

From,
the guy.

[hellosailor]

Inland waterways typically means "no room, no room!" and canals where sailing may be prohibited. It certainly will not be feasible to sail in canals, there's a reason folks use canal boats and barges to live/cruise in those inland waterways.

Take a good look at where you want to go, and what is already being used there. Odds are there's a reason for it. A sailboat makes a terribly impractical way to travel, or place to live, if you can't use the sails to move it.

[SUBMITGUY505]

What are these traditional dutch boats called? It is difficult for me to research them becuase I don't speak the language and I don't know the names of the boats.

Also, about the problems with cruising the inland waterways with shallow draft sailboats - can the masts come down on these boats, and cruise in the waterways with the motor only? This last poster says it to be impractical if not under sail, but I wouldn't think it impractical for a ship that would sail the ocean to sail in inland waterways with its engine. That would very practical, if, there is a boat that can do it. So the mast sticking way up in the air would not be practical. That would need to come down. Are there any boats that fit the description above plus lowerable mast? Ocean going live-aboard, safe, swing keel or shallow draft somehow, and swing mast, or lowerable mast. Plus plenty of space for supplies and people. The southerly was suggested, and a traditional dutch sailboat.

Can the masts go down on the Southerly?

[ceol]

I can not think of a boat in the length you are looking at that has a mast that can lowered without a crane. i have a 33' mast on my 29' boat. they just get longer as the boat gets longer. Getting enough leverage to hoist and lower a mast of that length is nearly impossible. It takes two people and 50' of line for me to raise the mast on my Nacra 17, and it is designed to be raised and lowered.

Sailboats also carry a fairly limited amount of fuel on board. Their primary propulsion is the sail. you may find yourself refueling more than you think.

you might want to look into trawlers and not sailboats.

G~