best used boat for wold cruise, under 140K??

[labatt]

New to the thread but saw CD's comments about Passport's not necessarily moving in light air. In 6-7 knots of true we're doing about 2-3 knots of boatspeed. At 10 knots of true, we're at about 5 or a little bit more. We don't play a lot with sail shape (wife won't let me - set and forget), but if I did I could probably eek out another few points. I was surprised at how well our Passport 40 does in light air. We used all of 30 gallons of fuel this season, and that included a motor up the Champlain Canal and halfway up Lake Champlain with our mast strapped to the deck. We rarely motored, even in light winds, since we'd usually still be moving.

You MAY be able to pick up a Passport 40 for under $140k. My wife and I constantly comment that it would be the perfect boat for a couple. Two cabins, 1 full head, 1 day head, separate enclosed shower, excellent galley, incredibly comfortable and LARGE cockpit, good nav station, HUGE storage, wonderful motion in heavy weather, not bad in light winds... We are going to be really really REALLY sad to let her go, but she won't do well for a couple year cruise for a family of four. And I'm sorry - there's no comparing her fit and finish and quality, or the ability to Bluewater Cruise, against a Beneteau - even a First.. They are two completely different kinds of boats.

[LyleRussell]

Get your boat loan BEFORE you retire. Learn from my mistake.

[avazquez]

The Passport 40 is indeed one beautiful and well built sailboat. It all depends on your taste and purpose. For fast passagemaking I guess the 456 with a phrf between 58-65 would provide better performance still providing lots of space. The Passport seems to be a bit slower at phrf of 138 but its a solid well built beautiful sailboat. Again I guess it all depends on purpose and taste.

[paul77]

Someone more knowledgeable than me please correct if i'm leading astray..

I focused on PHRF for boat selection, but remember PHRF is a race handicap.. not a cruising handicap, it takes a whole bunch of variables and gives one value.. You really got to look at those variables.

Hull speed, SA/D, and D/L are the interesting performance stats. The extra 7 feet of waterline on the beneteau 456 is the majority of advantage here.

With an MCR of 31 for the passport and an MCR of 21 for the beneteau, the boats are definitely going to feel pretty different on the open ocean. MCR is generally an indication of seakindlyness.. Have seen a rule that you want > 25 MCR to go out and do blue water.. However you might like the feel of the MCR 21 boat on the ocean, but your wife probably won't.

The CSF is > 2.0 for the beneteau, though laden this number would end up below 2.0 the weight is really not in the right spot. A CSF over 2.0 is an indication that the boat may not right itself. You want under 2.0 and lower = better.

You can either calculate these values yourself or look at one of the databases around the internet.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by john232

My Wife is kind of new to sailing but I have grown up sailing on the Great lakes with my father and his friends although mostly in smaller boats (20 - 27 ft range) As far as being commited to ocean crossings - it not a matter of commitment the storms are scary to my wife - but her solution to this is actually going out into storms with experienced crews and facing her fears. As far as boats go I'm caught between a slow stable boat or one that is more a racer-cruiser that can handle bluewater - Like the Waquiez 47. So any suggestions on the ideal cruiser that is fast and stable in heavy weather - Yes we do plan on bluewater crusing but we are not going to get the boat and take off 2 months later - we will cut our teeth on the gulf of Mexico - while we build our confidence up - then little trips etc - looking at being based a good 18 months just getting used to it all before actually cutting the lines.

Hey John,
Welcome back to the board. We haven't heard much from you since early 2005 - good luck with your plans for ocean cruising, chase the dream.

But I gotta ask, how has the Santana 30 worked out - has she been the sailboat you expected? Back in 2003 when you announced your winning bid of $500 you outlined some ambitious plans for her. Hopefully a lot of water has passed under her keel in four years.

So what is the rest of her story?

[Davidrogerson]

This man is talking about crossing OCEANS people having crossed the Atlantic and completed 3 other ocean passages i could safely say that most of these boats would kill him. Please look at steel boats or something of the sort the cost isn't much different. i'd recommend swans personally. If you really want a small inexpensive boat that's great but do NOT cross any Ocean your life will be at risk.

[CBinRI]

I am partial to Swans, as they are both built like tanks and fast. You will be looking at thirty years old in that price range but most have held up well (be careful with teak decks) and they do not depreciate at the same rate as many other boats.

[CBinRI]

Originally Posted by rsn48

Beneteau First 456 review:

Sailing Magazine

I have spent some time on the First 42 from that era, which is a great boat. The only draw-back with the 456 from my persepective is that it appears from the article that it only comes with an iron keel (the 42 offered both lead and iron). I would lean towards lead, for reasons of maintenance.

[Davidrogerson]

The only problem with what the man is looking for is that he has a really low budget. I would like to know if you have any more money to make improvements to the boat to bring it to I.M.O standards or if that's it?

[sailingdog]

While he's got a budget of $140,000, it's plenty, provided you don't get a huge boat... the problem is that his budget and his wife's desires are at odds with each other.

Also, getting a loan for a boat, given that he's retiring, might be a bit problematic. Most banks aren't going to be interested in giving a loan on a boat that may be disappearing over the horizon, unless he has substantial other assets to use as collateral.

He's also looking for that rare beast that can move well in light air but has a comfortable motion in heavy seas... with a lot of room for fairly limited budget.


Personally, I'd recommend he look at something in the 37-40' range, which will be considerably less money than something in the 45-50' range, and much easier for him to handle. He doesn't say what kind of experience he and his wife have in terms of sailing or if he has any prior boat ownership experience. He may be in for a rude awakening... owning a boat ain't cheap. Longer the boat, the more it costs to own.