Do you know a boat that fits this profile?

[night0wl]

Hey All,

Need some advice on a boat that meets a specific profile. I was hoping all the cruisers out there would be able to chime in on what would work best. In a few years, I'll be trying to make a down island romp for a couple of years at least...and I needed a good bluewater capable boat that can also handle the shallower waters of bahamas. I found this site, but the specifics are skim. mahina.com/boats

1) 38-40+' length
2) 55' mast height - I live west of I-95 in Ft Lauderdale, that bridge is the only one fixed. Would be able to get another foot or so at low tide, but I'm really not inclined to risk cutting it so close
3) Bluewater capable
4) Centerboard or Daggerboard configuration for shallower drafts
5) Simple systems and lots of tankage


A few pearsons stood out (424), but nothing really fit my price range (below $75k, willing to do repair work myself)

[camaraderie]

The Bristol 40 has a 56' mast and SOME were made with a centerboard. There also were yawl and ketch models made which would tend to drop the main mast height. Finding one in your price range might take a while but there are full keel versions available well below your target price. Nice boats and capable. Here's one:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showth...gnature+yachts

BTW...we spent six seasons in the Bahamas with drafts of 5.5-6' and had NO problems and visited 99% of the places you might want to go so maybe you shouldn't get hung up on REALLY shoal draft too much.

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

The Bristol 40 has a 56' mast and SOME were made with a centerboard. There also were yawl and ketch models made which would tend to drop the main mast height. Finding one in your price range might take a while but there are full keel versions available well below your target price. Nice boats and capable. Here's one:

BTW...we spent six seasons in the Bahamas with drafts of 5.5-6' and had NO problems and visited 99% of the places you might want to go so maybe you shouldn't get hung up on REALLY shoal draft too much.

Thanks, this is great feedback! A 6' draft really opens things up. I guess I'll modify the requisites to not just Centerboards/Daggerboards. What about Valiant 40's? I understand they are pretty good, despite blistering issues.

[kd3pc]

Sabre comes to mind as a capable boat

dave

[camaraderie]

Night...Valiants are excellent bluewater boats. We have friends who circumnavigated twice on one. The BAD blister models were a very confined set of production and I would guess those are all either fixed or in the junkpile by now. Regular run Valiants can have blister problems too but no more so than any other boats of that age and many of those have been fixed as well.
Here's a commonly quoted list of bluwater boats that you may want to look at to see if one meets your needs. He left off Tayanas...which is what I own as do several others here and which are largely well regarded bluewater boats designed (mostly) by Perry who designed the Valiants.
http://www.mahina.com/boats.html

[7Psych]

Check these out---They are very nice, I've sailed on them and sail quite well. However, they are $$$$$$, but appear to meet all your criteria! http://www.shannonyachts.com/sail35.html

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by 7Psych

Check these out---They are very nice, I've sailed on them and sail quite well. However, they are $$$$$$, but appear to meet all your criteria!

I wish my budget allowed for $$$$$...giving it some thought, I think the wife will only let me spend $...*MAYBE* $$ if I get her something shiny for Christmas.

Where does one go to establish fair market value for a boat...and no, yachtworld is not allowed, every price on there is inflated. Where can one find actual sales prices.

[camaraderie]

Where can one find actual sales prices.
The NADA and BUC books give selling prices but even on popular production boats they are not of that much help due to variance in condition and equipment. Brokers can give you actual sales prices on boats that you are interested in...but again...with limited sales, condition and equipment and age differences between bluewater boats make comparison difficult. I always used a "20% off "rule when looking at yachtworld just to get an idea of the range of prices for a given model...but some high demand boats sell for closer to listing price and some desparate owners will sell for less.
Sometimes owners groups can be helpful about a particular model.

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Night...Valiants are excellent bluewater boats. We have friends who circumnavigated twice on one. The BAD blister models were a very confined set of production and I would guess those are all either fixed or in the junkpile by now. Regular run Valiants can have blister problems too but no more so than any other boats of that age and many of those have been fixed as well.
Here's a commonly quoted list of bluwater boats that you may want to look at to see if one meets your needs. He left off Tayanas...which is what I own as do several others here and which are largely well regarded bluewater boats designed (mostly) by Perry who designed the Valiants.

That dang 55' mast height restriction keeps cropping up and killing boats for me. I *love* the look and construction of Tayana/Vancouver 42's....everything says they're perfect (including price)...but nothing below a 59' mast height.

I'll look more into Bristol's.

Any more suggestions?

[night0wl]

I had a thought. How much would it cost for a new mast + rigging for a Tayana 42 or similar boat?