Which blue water boat do you see most often?

killarney_sailor · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

I came into this forum to send this message and got distracted into the other thread. Anyway, I mentioned in one of those messages that you see an enormous range of boats out cruising but it occurred to me that there is one brand of boat that you see more than any other.

The answer is ... Amel. I am sitting at a marina in Australia and I can see three Amels from my boat - all European registration so they are halfway around the world from home. Any time we were in anchorage with 10 or so boats in it there seemed to be at least one Amel. I can't imagine that they have built too many of these since they are big and expensive (all seem to variations of a theme at 53' or 54' feet). Seems like those who buy them, use them for their intended purpose.

DRFerron · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by killarney_sailor

Seems like those who buy them, use them for their intended purpose.

That's good. Too many people new to sailing buy a boat for the way they think they will want to boat in five to ten years and not for the way they boat now. Or, they think it's better (and more impressive) to buy as much boat as they can afford. Then they realize that an offshore-capable boat is more expensive to maintain, to store, to operate in the water where they sail and want (or need) out before the dream is realized.

Our (current) goal is to some day cruise the coast of South America. In the meantime we're in the Upper Chesapeake Bay and realistically can barely get to the bottom of the Bay and back within the amount of vacation days work allows. The expense of an offshore-capable boat right now would be a waste of money.

St Anna · #3 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Hello Killarney. Great to see you back onboard. We pulled into Bundaberg a few years ago to find 4 other Petersons in the marina. [5 inc ours]

I agree -Amels and Oysters abound, S & S, many Roberts Offshore etc

PCP · #4 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Amel has not made many boats, not at least compared with most known brands included Halberg Rassy.

I guess most of those boats are French because French are the ones that circumnavigate more and that helps because Amel is a French boat. I had recently read an interview with a French that had circumnavigated that said that 80% of the boats they have found circumnavigating were French sailors. I don't know if that is acurate but I am certain that the percentage is high.

French sailors normally sail on French made boats.

I guess that you would also see a fair number of OVNI and Garcia, also French boats that with Amel are the main choice for many Europeans. If the boat has a Nordic flag the chances are that the boat would be a Malo, a Halberg Rassy or a Najad.

But the main reason is that those boats were designed to do extensive cruising, to cross oceans and are modern designs and are available in Europe.

I bet that you don't see Americans sailing on those boats. If you stick only to American sailors circumnavigating I am sure the choice would be different and the boats would be of an older design.

Regards

Paulo

DRFerron · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCP

I bet that you don't see Americans sailing on those boats. If you stick only to American sailors circumnavigating I am sure the choice would be different and the boats would be of an older design.

Regards

Paulo

I'm curious how you reached these conclusions?

PCP · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRFerron

I'm curious how you reached these conclusions?

what conclusions? All of them?

Regards

Paulo

DRFerron · #7 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCP

what conclusions? All of them?

Regards

Paulo

The conclusions that you drew about American circumnavigators: that we won't see them sailing Amels (or did you mean any European-made boat?) and that they sail in older boats.

As I tend to research (some say over research) just about everything, while I go about my research for an offshore boat I would want to figure out if there is a reason behind this that might influence my own choice. So, I wonder what made you reach your conclusions.

TQA · #8 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Amels with Roberts next.

However the sheer variety of boats that circumnavigate is immense. I know a couple who went round on the small Prout cat, a singlehander on a big ferro schooner and someone halfway round on a Hunter 42. None of those would be ANYWHERE on my list.

PCP · #9 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRFerron

The conclusions that you drew about American circumnavigators: that we won't see them sailing Amels (or did you mean any European-made boat?) and that they sail in older boats.

As I tend to research (some say over research) just about everything, while I go about my research for an offshore boat I would want to figure out if there is a reason behind this that might influence my own choice. So, I wonder what made you reach your conclusions.

The first conclusion I think it is a fact: Most American circumnavigating tend to sail in American made boats and even if there are some really blue water boats still made by American brands, the boats are old designs, many times decades old designs, some still had a full keel or a mixed keel (not a fin keel).

I know of some Americans that sail in European boats (I am not talking about luxury boats like Oysters) but they tend to be world globe trotters or (and) very knowledgeable people. I am thinking of those two that sail for decades doing movies for cable TV (Southerly) or Cornell that had sailed an OVNI or other well known sailor, magazine and book writer that have chosen a Malo. But I think they are just a small minority.

I am not entering any discussion about the merits of old designs versus new designs, I am only stating that there are dozens of European Brands with purposely made voyage boats with new designs, for all tastes and materials, (Carbon, Epoxy, Fiberglass, Aluminum, Plywood/Epoxy), performance boats, center boarders, medium displacement boats, center cockpit, aft cockpit and deck saloons and this offer exists because there are long range sailors that are buying them and almost all are European.

Regards

Paulo

Zanshin · #10 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

So far this thread is a confirmation of the tenet the "we see what we want to see". There is no way to get meaningful statistics by looking at boats in various anchorages. Fortunately, there are empirical studies out there on the number and type of boats clearing into and out of countries (many of the smaller destination have only one or two ports of entry, making this easier to do). My books are packed away, but I think that Jimmy Cornell's book has a chapter detailing exactly that information; but I might have read that elsewhere. I do recall that there was no clear "winner" boat in that list, though. Perhaps someone with a copy of the Passages book could post some concrete facts.