Cruiser options

[wduncan50]

My wife and I are planning to buy a cruiser in the 35' to 38' range to live aboard and cruise. We live in Florida and plan starting our cruise here and up the east coast to New England before we cross to the Bahamas and later down to the B.V.I.'s.

We are looking for a safe, secure boat with decent sailing performance (or at least not dead slow) and good interior room (we also have 3 dogs) for around $50K, preferably less.

Please tell me what you think about the current short list:

Morgan 382 - 384 --- Haven't seen one yet, they sell faster than we can get to them.

Hunter 37 Cutter - We looked at one and really liked it.

Gulfstar 37 - have looked at 2 and they seem alright, but it's hard to find much information about them.

Ericson 38 - can be had fairly cheap

Ericson 35 Mark III - another cheap boat

Any other boats in this size and price range you can suggest will be appreciated.

[Cruisingdad]

The Catalina 36 is a nice boat. There have been a LOT of them made and it has a huge owners groups. Many of them out cruising, and your cruising grounds are exactly their design point. I like the boats a lot.

Keep a good $$ back for upgrades and repairs. Get a good survey.

- CD

[sailingdog]

You might also want to look at the C&C 38 Landfall, the Tartan 34, and the CS 36, which are probably all in that price range as well.

[TrueBlue]

We have close friends who have been living aboard their Irwin 38 Center Cockpit sloop for 10 years, cruising out whenever they could. My wife and I have spent lots of time on that boat through the years and am amazed at how livable it is. There's one listed for sale in St. Pete's - an '87 I believe.

Here's their boat and ours during a raftup . . .





Boat's huge inside - two private staterooms, one with a walk around queen - two heads, very large galley and salon.

[Freesail99]

Is there enough room on any boat under 40 feet for a couple with, 3 dogs ?

[TSteele65]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

Is there enough room on any boat under 40 feet for a couple with, 3 dogs ?

Are we talking Pugs, or Irish Wolfhounds?

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

Is there enough room on any boat under 40 feet for a couple with, 3 dogs ?

If they're New Foundlands, probably not, unless it is a catamaran. If they're chihuahuas, then it's easily doable. For anything in-between YMMV.

[wduncan50]

The dogs are fairly small, from 18lbs to 33lbs. It's not my 1st choice to cruise with dogs, but we have had them for years and the opportunity to cruise just came up.

[camaraderie]

Well...you can get to the Caribbean in day hops so any of the boats mentioned are capable but I would encourage you to find one with a good motor...you will need it heading down the thorny path..motoring for most of hundreds of miles into 15 knots and 6' seas on a good day. Get a good diesel mechanic to evaluate the engine for you and go on sea trial with you in addition to a standard survey.
I think you will regret having the dogs once youare past the Bahamas. Check www.noonsite.com for individual country restrictions.