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Is cruising only for my parents?

15K views 83 replies 22 participants last post by  vbiz59 
#1 ·
I've been reading forums and articles here for months and there's something that they all have in common. Why is it that everyone talking about cruising is double my age? I understand the obvious reasons. Can't go because of kids, career, finances, ect. But tell me, is there anyone here planning on going cruising before they're retired? And those of you who are retired, and have been to the South Pacific, across the Atlantic or even just to the Caribbean, have you seen anyone out there under thirty? I'm 24. I wasn't born into money or given anything. I've managed to make it happen. I own a boat, she's well outfitted and I'm in the planning stages of leaving for the South Pacific next season. So, I've proven that if someone wants to do it while they're young, they can. Am I the only one? And another question for those seasoned cruisers. How do you think your experiences would have been different if you'd done it when you were 24? Looking forward to hearing back, you all seem like a good group of people with a lot of knowledge and even more opinions. ;) Thanks, Chris,
 
#27 · (Edited)
Exactly Dude: Just go sailing and have fun! Sounds like you have a really nice boat and a good crew. My only bits of advice for you. Invest in Radar and a good chartplotter before you go. There are a lot of boats out there! But you definitely get the cost/age ratio. Don't be talked out of it by people who have long since forgotten about what it means to be young.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Surfesq,

It may be someone's common wisdom that a "a fin keel will point higher but bounce you to death such that you have to fall off." but any knowledgeable sailor who has spent time in a fin keeled boat designed for offshore work, or who have bothered to read all of the studies of motion comfort including those where they instrumented real boats, will tell you there is virtually no relationship between a full keel motion comfort.

Frankly, the Brewer 12.8 with its fin keel/cb has a much more comfortable motion than the identical hulled Whitby 42. The Perry designed fin keeled Valiant 37 has no less comfortable a motion than its close sister the Tayana 37.

You need to get out on a variety of boats, attend a few Yacht design seminars presented by people that actually know what they are talking about, and not believe everything that you hear at the bar. ;)

By the way this is the second time you totally missed it about my career. My degree is a dual architectural engineering degree, and my office strongly supports 'smart growth' principals which means building in intensely developed areas rather than supporting urban sprawl.

Jeff
 
#29 ·
Ted Brewer:
"The modified full-keel form features generally good handling and directional stability plus reduced wetted surface. The yachts can perform well in all conditions and, as they are generally of heavier displacement than contemporary ballasted-fin boats, they do not give away much in light air, despite the added wetted area. A yacht with a modified full keel can sail right up with the best of them if she is given sail area commensurate with her typically heavier displacement. "

"Full Keel. The keel is the part of a sailboat that is filled with ballast (weight, usually from iron or lead) to counteract the forces on the sails. Some boats have keels that are more or less bolted onto the bottom of the hull. This is fine for coastal cruisers, but not the safest arrangement for heavy-weather sailing. These keels have been known to literally fall off after striking floating objects at sea or getting caught in very rough weather. A better alternative for off-shore cruising is a "full keel." These keels are built into the hull of the boat. In fact, on Candide, it's difficult to determine where the hull ends and the keel begins...as both are constructed from the same continuous mass of fiberglass. The downsides of having a full keel are that the boat will generally be a bit slower, and the boat may not sail as well into the wind. A huge advantage is that full keel boats will generally be much more stable at sea."
www.sleepingwithoars.com
 
#30 · (Edited)
Gotta love your arrogance by the way Jeff..."any knowledgeable sailor knows." The fallacy in the logic of your argument is now you are actually making the point that Newport 41's boat is more seaworthy than a full keel boat. Not everyone agrees with your point of view Jeff. And, loading up your statements with nonsense like "don't get your facts at a bar" or "I have sailed a million frickin boats so I know more" only makes you sound like a dumbass rather than like the image you are trying to project. (With all due respect of course).

Here is a review of a boat about Yacht Design release in 1988:

"What have boat designs lost in the quest for windward performance? Has a century of yacht racing corrupted our ability to design safe, all-around cruisers? How do you quantify a yacht’s comfort and safety characteristics? Do boat owners even understand why their boats have certain features?

While addressing these questions in Seaworthiness: The Forgotten Factor, C. A. Marchaj attacks modern yachts and promotes the benefits of full-keel, heavy-displacement designs. He relentlessly criticizes the fin keel and skeg rudder and identifies well-known boat designers as charlatans. Marchaj casts doubt upon the entire enterprise of organized keelboat racing, noting the craziness of human ballast hanging on the rail and the inefficiency of extremely heeled light displacement-boats. More troubling, according to the author, are racing design features which make their way into general-purpose boats, where the quest for windward speed at all costs is not a legitimate requirement. Nonetheless the casual boater does not have the option of, nor understand, alternatives that would improve comfort, safety, and cost.

Marchaj supports his points with detailed math formulas, which may be incomprehensible to some skippers, but the accompanying graphs and pictures are telling and much more accessible. Be prepared for incredible detail, such as individual chapters on pitch, roll, and yaw. But with repetition and visualization, you may begin to literally feel as you read the complex motions of a boat underway. In particular, the drawings of a heavy displacement yacht leaning into waves, maintaining equilibrium, make imminent sense. The action pictures of modern designs will make racing seem needlessly dangerous, not exciting. Though most of the book analyzes hull design, Marchaj also has counterintuitive views above the waterline, such as his support of heavy masts and rigs to dampen roll."

If you really want to impress people...Tell us you have placed a bet that scientists will be able to demonstrate Einstien's String Theory by 2010 (Yes you can bet on this) and that you believe in that there are in fact 11 dimensions.
 
#32 ·
sailing or spouting?

This thread just goes to highlight the fact that (most) men are more fond of hearing themselves talk than they are of actually sailing! ;)

Seriously, why don't we just do a "Sail-Off" and make bets to pit Surfesq against Jeff H in a man-to-man contest on the ocean? I think this is the best solution and it would also be very entertaining to watch for me and the darling young Canadian!

I start the betting with $5 (US) on Surfesq - even if he does not win in the end, we can be sure he will ram into Jeff and cause some kind of mayhem out on the waves.

Any takers?
 
#33 ·
Before I take your bet, I'd like to know what boats the two will be sailing in... :D
 
#35 ·
Pirate's Booty- If it's on Sunfish, I'll take the bet. :D
 
#38 ·
:confused: :rolleyes: My, my, my how they do carry on in Annapolis!

My old full keel S/S was quite comfortable in a seaway. My fin and skeg Ron Holland feels really good too (and it's REALLY stiff). A well designed and well found vessel when sailed with PROPER TRIM for the conditions will be comfortable.

Each vessel will have its charicteristics and will need to be handled and trimmed accordingly. Both that full keeled tub and that sleek fin'er will labor like pigs in a seaway if over canvassed or overtrimed. Wouldn't you guy's agree?

Remember some of the IOR designs that would go to winward like holy hell, but when run off would either squat and go nowhere, or death roll you into broach city. How does one make that craft comfortable? Ans: don't go down wind stupid! Who can forget seeing those old pancake with a point racers rounding the winward mark and everyone scooting aft befor the lady did a nose dive. LOL!

P.S. Sunfish would be cool One of the funnest sails I ever had was running from St.John to St. Thomas on a Sunfish and flying right onto the beach at the old Sheraton Grand Resort (long sold to some other conglomerate).

Sail off it is!

Dewey
 
#39 ·
Depends, what odds are you going to give me on the bet?
 
#40 ·
Dewey: I cant top sailing from St. John's to St. Thomas on a Sunfish! That's excellent. lol. Here is a good one: When my daughter was about 8 months old, I took my ex-wife to St. John's on vacation. We decided to go to Yost Van Dyke for the day. The ferry broke down and so we hired a fishing boat to take us the rest of the way. Quite a wet mess...but quite fun. Proving the point that it is not the size of the ship..but the motion of the ocean!
 
#41 ·
Yo Surf!

A delightful area thats on a coast that I don't often get to play on.
Funny story: off topic for this thread: first time on a sailboat in St. Thomas.

Ang and I (yes the same wife I have now) board the "True Love" a John G. Alden Malabar IX (reputed to be his personal boat when launched from Nevins yard) a crewed charter in St Thomas. The first thing I do when boarding a boat in an unfamiliar area is ask to look at the local charts. (Yeah yeah I saw the ******* thread on gps vs other stuff) when I did, the skipper causually waved down below and said "there down there somewhere I think". At that point I asked him how the hell he found his way around and he said " See that (pointing just ahead) thats St. John, see that (Pointing to the left) thats Virgin Gorda" and so on, and so on. LOL! Ya cant do that out here on the West Coast! Different areas require different techniques. Local knowledge is better than anything else!

Dewey
 
#44 ·
A lot of us dream of cruising at an early age, but the truth is that most do not have the resources to do so. The cost of cruising, maintenance, slip fees, etc., with out any income coming in stops most sailors right in their tacks. Getting married and raising a family tends to get in the way as well.

That's why I think you see so many of, how did you say it, GEEZERS out cruising. Most wait until the kids are grown and have reached retirement age.

If you have the means and no ties, I say go for it. Why not.

I look forward to the day when the kids are grown and I am no longer working, untill than, I will continue with my wekend trips and my (2) week cruises twice a year. Happy cruising!
 
#45 ·
There is also a great book written by a woman who was the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe. The book is about her trip. I can't remember the name of it but she was 18 years old. It's a great book. I will see if I can find it tonight.
The cost of cruising has become more expensive that it was almost thirty years ago when I first did it full time. Now to really sound like a geezer, you could provide food for yourself by fishing and foraging on the islands. Those days are clearly gone so in a sense I agree with Sailortjk. However, I continue to maintain that a 24 year old man has a much lower level of comfort needs than a 45-60 year old man. As a result, he will naturally cruise for less money! It's a great topic to kick around.
 
#46 ·
Fish = food

About eating fish - it is so easy to catch them when you are in the right spot. I went on one of those overnight party boats that drives out at night and you fish when you get up around 5am - I am not even a great fisher and I caught enough fish in about 5-6 hours to last me and one other person for a whole week of dinners.

I also ate some of the fish raw and it was pretty good too - would have been better with some fresh lime and salt, but when I am hungry I am not too picky. :p

For a guy like you, I think the main thing you may need to stock is beer - just get it on sale and you will be fine!
 
#47 ·
Surfesq said:
There is also a great book written by a woman who was the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe. The book is about her trip. I can't remember the name of it but she was 18 years old. It's a great book. I will see if I can find it tonight.
The cost of cruising has become more expensive that it was almost thirty years ago when I first did it full time. Now to really sound like a geezer, you could provide food for yourself by fishing and foraging on the islands. Those days are clearly gone so in a sense I agree with Sailortjk. However, I continue to maintain that a 24 year old man has a much lower level of comfort needs than a 45-60 year old man. As a result, he will naturally cruise for less money! It's a great topic to kick around.
Hmm... Do you mean Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi??? Excellent read... Her new book is also quite good... it's titled "I've Been Around"
 
#48 ·
Yes...That's it. Actually I think she allowed her boyfriend to join her for one leg so she could not get the record right?
Raw Fish on a boat off California...I hope you squeezed a little lemon on it to cook it before consuming it. You do like to live dangerously....(Sushi is flash frozen to kill those pesky critters that grow to the length of your intestines).
 
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