Updated Offshore Cruising Boat List - January 2008

[Stillraining]

Its just a list

Friends of mine just spent 2 years at sea aboard their Jeanneau

Like Cam said he has his own criteria....maybe some 1000 straight days at sea criteria or the like..he'll have to add Reeds boat pretty soon...

[camaraderie]

I'll have to disagree about the Saga's. The 43 is a little tender but these boats are built well, have good motion, are fast and designed for cruising long distances. Perry knew what he was doing on those and quite a few others agree.
SAGA 43 Boat Reviews
Used Boat Review

[northbay]

Camaraderie,

would you elaborate on the "tank" and "deck core"
issues on the Gulfstar 50?

Bob

[eMKay]

Originally Posted by tjvanginkel

I too am wondering why C&C's don't make the list? I know of two that have done the vic maui race, an older 34 and a 37. I also have met a couple that cruised their C&C from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand and back.
Anyone?

Probably because they are not designed as offshore boats, which is what this list is for.

[blt2ski]

This is a list, nothing more, nothing less! I am sure the person that put the list together had some sort of criteria that made all the boats on the list have. As such, the boats NOT on the list did not meet said criteria.

As mentioned, the Rairds out of Anacortes Wa, spent 2 yrs from here in the NW to Austrailia and back aboard a Jeanneau 49iP. Some other boats as i recall thru the yrs that went around, include Catalina 27 or two. Robin Lee Graham got 3/4 of the way around with a Luder 24, a basic 1/4 ton style boat. Somoa'n folks were traveling around the south seas in proa canoes, NW indians in Cedar dug out canoes catching whales upwards of 100 miles off the coast of Wa..............I am sure we can find other examples of boats that went offshore etc and survived for many reasons.

This list is no better than the "Best boats in the world" vol 1 and 2 by Frec Mate. He admits, it is his list, what "HE" thought made those boats be BEST! I am sure some on here would not put Beneteaus as were listed in Vol 1, but he liked how they as a production builder were doing things, and listed accordingly. Was it wrong to put on the list? Don't ask me! But in reality he should have listed some of the production builders there were on the cutting edge of that type of boat building along with the one off to semit custom builders etc.

Take this list, see what is in common, and if another boat that is not listed, is similar, has most of the attributes of the ones listed, fix, add or otherwise the missing link, and enjoy you choice of boat.

Marty

[camaraderie]

Northbay:
Boat Model - Gulfstar Sailboats
Boat Model - Gulfstar Sailboats
Have lots of detail on problems incurred with these boats.
My friend had to replace his water tank which was a big job.

Marty...I actually disagree with you on this one a bit. While John Neal's reasons for not including a particular boat remain obscure...his criteria for selection are well spelled out on his website in terms of the things he finds important. He has 250k sea miles under his belt. 125 sail training blue water trips and is an acknowledged expert in the field. As such, his opinions count for a lot and I would reiterate...this list is NOT about whether a particular boat CAN make a trip across an ocean. It is about whether the boat is DESIGNED and BUILT to make MANY such trips while being as SAFE and COMFORTABLE vessel well suited to LIVING ABOARD.
It is hard to argue that any boats on his list do not meet this criterea. Thus it is a VERY good list to work from even though it is not comprehensive. It is not just some guys list and to my mind the weight of his CRUISING experience and knowledge of many boats makes it the best of any such lists I have found.
I do agree with you last statment though...since mine was left off his list!

[blt2ski]

Cam,

I was not sure "IF" the criteria was spelled out or not, as to how Johns list came to be. As such, then it would be easy to see "how" he got this list together. And why it should be looked at as such. Also why, your boat may not have made the list, ie one item was to small, lets say water capacity, gain, I have NOT looked at his list. So your boat has too little water, add a tank in an appropriate place etc.

Obviously there are other boats that can make the trip, ie a Volvo 70, altho not what a cruiser would take generally speaking, but certainly capable of taking one around the world.

So in the end thos, one needs to look at the reason John choose what he did, see if those reasons/criteria meet "your" needs and choose accordingly. Probably hence, why I personally look at it as a basic list of boats that will work. Look at them for who what why and how they work, then choose a boat for you needs, follow what you think/want to follow etc.

marty

[sailortjk1]

I have a question, maybe it belongs in another thread, what ever happened to Areodyne? Seems like about 5, 6, 8 years ago, they were the hottest thing going, now you hardly hear anything about them.
Any reason?
Did a quick search here and came up with 3 threads with nothing note worthy about them. Googled and found their page, but again, I used to hear the name all the time, not so much anymore.

[RandyonR3]

I was sort of put out when I first saw the list and my boat was'nt there but I'll have to admit, I've spent may hours and big bucks to get this
FIRST 42 ready for ocean cruising.
Being the boat was designed for Ocean Racing and not Cruising I can see how it was left off the list.
What make me wonder is why he added the "J" to the mix. must be a personal thing as I dont think I'd take one cruising, but then again, I also know those that think I'm crazy for turning a Thoroughbred into a cruiser.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by tjvanginkel

I too am wondering why C&C's don't make the list? I know of two that have done the vic maui race, an older 34 and a 37. I also have met a couple that cruised their C&C from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand and back.
Anyone?

As a former owner of a C&C30 Mark I and a big fan of C&C's in general, I would agree they are best considered fast coastal cruisers. Back in my last boat hunt I looked at a C&C 35 mark II which was set up for offshore use and had just returned from Europe...and that model is one I would consider for offshore use. But I also looked at the 34 and 36 and 37 and considered them of marginal construction and design for even coastal use. With a builder like C&C who made a wide range of boats over 20 something years, you have wide variances in the concepts and quality of specific models. In my opinion, they made their best boats in the early to mid '70s, folllowed by mostly average to mediocre models.