questions about a multipurpose boat

[clmaxwell]

Hello all!

Have recently been offered the chance to buy a used 25 ft cruising sloop from a friend; however, I have some concerns for my first boat purchase. I feel qualified to handle her, having spent many weekends sailing either her or similarly sized boats with friends, but I don't know how to determine if she'll do what I'd want.

Ideally I'd want a boat I could do a bit of weekend cruising in through the year, but then take on a longer trip once or twice a year. My concerns are: what kind of seas can she take? Would the same boat be good for both passagemaking and blue water? What are some of the concerns for each?

I know the likely answer is there is no one-size-fits-all boat, but what is the opinion here? Boat's in great shape, just want to know if I should hold out for something bigger, heavier keeled, etc.

Thanks!!

Clyde

[sailingdog]

it would help if you said WHAT KIND OF BOAT IT IS???? Please read the post in my signature. garbage in ===> garbage out. The more details you provide, the better an answer you'll generally get.

[craigtoo]

I... um... well...

I have no idea... if someone called me up and said...

"hay! you don't know me... but...let's go for a week long cruise! On a 25' boat!....wanna come?"

I might have a few more questions... click-a-roo! [below]


wouldn't you?


http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...t-sailnet.html

All that being said!..!....!...!>

Welcome to Sailnet... the *funnest* place to hangout and get great advice about sailing stuff....! YAY...!

[nolatom]

There are many 25-footers that can do what you describe. There are many that can't.

An old Pearson Ariel will do it. So will a Pearson 26. So will an Albin Vega. So will a Grampian 26. So will a Morgan 24, or a Ranger 26, or.......

Length isn't the only criteria. So is beam, displacement , waterline length, freeboard, sail area.

So please shed some light about what the boat is, and you'll get some useful comments. But yes, there are boats that'll work.

[clmaxwell]

Whoops!! Guess I put my foot in my mouth there -- I completely missed adding the make, which is Hunter. I will try to get some more details and add them later on!

[sailingdog]

A Hunter 25 is a pretty poor choice of boat for anything more than coastal cruising.

[clmaxwell]

alright, let me change my angle here then:

first, why not, and what would I look for in a small boat to do bluewater, POSSIBLY passage?
second, my budget is very low and my anticipation is high, so ARE there any good boats that can be singlehanded or cruised with 1-2 companions offshore or bluewater for under say 15 or 20k? If there are not, I may have to revise my needs and settle for coastal for a while until I can afford something better.

I know this is kind've all over the place, but I appreciate the guidance (:

Clyde

[sailingdog]

The Hunter 25 is a small production coastal cruiser which is not robustly enough built for blue water passages. Hunter has also earned a reputation for making a fairly badly constructed boat in the past, so depending on what year it is, it might be exceptionally unsuitable. It is also not stable enough for blue water passages due to the design. Most small bluewater passagemakers, like the Folkboat and many of its derivatives, are generally narrower in beam, with less in the way of cockpit and cabin space than their coastal cruising cousins.

Several small boats that have been used as relatively popular bluewater cruisers are: Contessa 26, Cape Dory 25D, Alberg 30, NorSea 27, Flicka 20, Southern Cross 28, etc.

Many of these boats are full-keel or full-keel with cutaway forefoot designs, and would be available in your budget range. However, most would be a pretty tight fit for more than two people, especially if the two people in question are not a couple.

John Vigor has a book called "20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere". Most of the boats in there are fairly decent boats, and could be made bluewater capable—some need fairly little work, others need a fair amount of work.

I'd also recommend that you reserve at least 15-20% of your budget for the inevitable re-fitting, repairing and upgrading that you'll have to do to any boat you buy.

Some other boats that might be worth looking at are the small Westerleys, like the Centaur, some of the Alberg-designed Pearsons, the Folkboat and its derivatives—like the Contessa 26, the Elizabethan 31, the Yamaha 30, the Tartan 27, etc.

[chucklesR]

Buy the best boat you can afford, upgrade as time and aspirations for offshore permit. Partnerships on ownership seldom work well.
Keep in mind that the rule of thumb is that maintenance is at least 10% of the value of the boat, plus the cost of moorage and operation (sailing isn't really free, tho it's cheaper than 8 gallons a hour of diesel).

[JimsCAL]

I had a Pearson 26 for 10 years. My wife and I went on an annual cruise each summer for as long as 3 weeks. A lot like camping, but we thought it was great fun. With very few exceptions, boats of that size are fine as coastal cruisers but not suited for long offshore passages. Use it for what it was designed for. If a later date you feel up to going offshore, get a boat suited for that.