Who sails what in the South Pacific?

[juleznz]

In the midst of looking for a yacht to do just that and I thought it would be really interesting to find out sizes and designs of yachts long term cruisers in that region are using.
It would also be great to hear from those who are changing their yachts for one reason or another.
Look forward to any replies.
julez

[kimberlite]

Dear Julez,
my last boat was a Tartan 37. It is a fine boat but on passages it is a little too much like camping out.
There wasnt enough room for crews gear and you all wind up sleeping in what winds up being like a dormitory.The creature comforts were good but basic. My new boat a 53 foot amel is more like. a genset and 40 gallon an hour watermaker plus ample storage is the way to go.Having enough water to take showers each day is really civilized.
Friends of mine have made a circumnavigation on a tartan 37 but i would rather go for a boat that is big enough to handle a goos sized genset and a large watermaker. Probably 40-42 feet or bigger.
eric

[WHOOSH]

Julez:

To get a better idea of boats used to cruise SoPac, use a few of the Australian brokerage web sites - the country is big enough and technically advanced enough that you''ll find useful sites and some listings will include info on the boats'' history. All of this will give you a feel for what''s in use today. Try e.g. http://www.yachtnet.com.au/

You''ll find conceptually two categories of boats: 1. Those sold in N America, a wide variety in itself, then sailed S (the easier direction than returning home) and subsequently put on the market. 2. ''Local'' boats, mostly designed & built in NZ and Oz, a few in SE Asia, that are often less contemporary in design, some a bit klunkier in appearance and absent the current assembly-line manufacturing techniques, and most are probably inherently stronger given the waters in which they occasionally are sailed.

Or at least those were my impressions...

Jack