[Charlton]

I've been doing a good deal of research to figure out which boat I want to eventually purchase. I know there will be compromises with whatever I end up choosing but one of the most important things which I cannot pin down yet is which boat manufacturers are the best for long voyages such as crossing the Pacific or Atlantic. I've found boats by several different manufacturers that I like but if they are not built for long voyages and a variety of sea conditions then I need to look at others that fulfill my other requirements. Can anyone offer opinions on which ones might be better suited for long ocean voyages?

 

[Faster]

This topic has been done to death so there's no lack of information. here's a list of related threads on a simple search of this site alone.. Hope you've got lots of time!

This is a highly polarized discussion - with strong proponents for the 'full keel attached rudder' vs the 'fin keel speed machine' and anything/everything in between.

SailNet Community - Search Results

And a google search with similar parameters.. Enjoy!

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourcei...v=2&ie=UTF-8#q=What is a good blue water boat

 

[blt2ski]

You need a "boatis paranoysous sailis" is is 31.41592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286....' long, it is rather circular in its ability to handle ALL kinds of conditions. Please look one up.

Oh, is this an ignore thread.....I spaced on that.....carry on, have popcorn and beer and wine/whine along with some rum and moonshine to see us thru the night coming soon.

Marty

 

[Minnewaska]

Type the following into your web browser search engine, ie google......

site:sailnet.com [fill in search term here]

for the OP's request it could look like any of these

site:sailnet.com bluewater boats

site:sailnet.com passagemaking boats

However, feel free to ask any specific question you like, not everything has been asked and answered around here.

 

[Don L]

I've been doing a good deal of research to figure out which boat I want to eventually purchase. I know there will be compromises with whatever I end up choosing but one of the most important things which I cannot pin down yet is which boat manufacturers are the best for long voyages such as crossing the Pacific or Atlantic. I've found boats by several different manufacturers that I like but if they are not built for long voyages and a variety of sea conditions then I need to look at others that fulfill my other requirements. Can anyone offer opinions on which ones might be better suited for long ocean voyages?

MIGHT be more useful if you just tell what boats you have "found".

 

[killarney_sailor]

And how much money you want to spend. Big difference if your budget is $2 million or $20,000.

 

[Charlton]

Thanks for all the input and I'll definitely be following up on those threads and search results.
As for further parameters I only have three hard and fast requirements - a wheel instead of a tiller, a boat in the 30' to 35' range (+/- a foot or two), and electric Frig and freezer.
Boat makes I like include Hunter, Catalina, Irwin, Morgan and Tartan.

 

[killarney_sailor]

Next question is what part of the Atlantic and Pacific you might want to cross. Makes a big difference in the boat requirement. Also budget matters a lot. In setting your priorities there should be several things higher up the list than wheel steering and refrigeration.

 

[Minnewaska]

.....I cannot pin down yet is which boat manufacturers are the best for long voyages such as crossing the Pacific or Atlantic.....

...Boat makes I like include Hunter, Catalina, Irwin, Morgan and Tartan.

This is where you'll get into the rat hole. Some will say no Hunter or Catalina ever made was designed for a blue water passage. Others will rightly point to those that have successfully done so. Others again will even more rightly point out that it's the skipper's judgement and skill, not the boat that primarily matters.

I will add that for most of your listed OEMs, some their boats from one decade to the next are nearly indistinguishable as coming from the same factory. I would not be focused on a particular OEM as much as a specific era or model.

Final thought. Are you really going to launch off into the ocean? If that's just a dream, but are going to mostly do coastal cruising or 48 hr passages, then get the boat suited to what you'll actually use it for most of the time.

 

[Donna_F]

This is where you'll get into the rat hole. Some will say no Hunter or Catalina ever made was designed for a blue water passage. ...

I don't think the boats in his list (maybe with the exception of Tartan) were designed for offshore. Whether they can do it is another thing altogether. The Catalina "Ocean Series" stopped at the 387 (when it was in production). Only the 385 and 445 are currently listed. Personally I think their Ocean Series is still coastal boats that dream of going offshore.

Final thought. Are you really going to launch off into the ocean? If that's just a dream, but are going to mostly do coastal cruising or 48 hr passages, then get the boat suited to what you'll actually use it for most of the time.

Agree 100%.

 

[Charlton]

Just the kind of feedback I needed. Thanx

 

[blt2ski]

Something to add, there is the Mahina list that is floating in a sticky around here. A good list with "THAT" persons minimum list of specs one should shoot for. BUT, if you have 1 gal too little fuel, water, black tankage, you are off the list. You then have to ask yourself, is 1 less gal off shore going to kill you? or 1 more gal going to make you survive? probably not, but the list is still worth taking a gander at.

Another rating to look at, but again, you need to understand the how and what of the ratings, is the European rating system. IE class A, B, C and D rated boats. You can have a B rated boat that is literally a better built boat than an A. BUT, the A is rated for offshore work, as such, it has a designed area for a life raft, scantlings to handle IIRC a force 10 wind vs 8, waves a bit higher etc. You may also see an A8, B10, C12 for a given boat. Off shore is max 8 people, more local is 10, lakes will be max 12 people on board the boat. Another part of this is the most a boat will go to the side before going turtle. An off shore will be say 125 degrees, a more inshore 120 or less. A dinghy IIRC can go turtle on its own per say. You need to look at, and really understand the ratings before saying what is good or bad.......

Older boats say about 10-15 yrs or so old, will not have this rating, as that is about how long it has been in effect. ALtho a different rating system was in place from about 1980 to the initial of this one, after the fastnet race. This was to make sure boats could survive certain issues off shore.

Reality is, just about ANY boat in the 30-32+ foot range will go offshore and be rated per say. THere are smaller ones, Moore 24, Hobie 27, the mini 6.5M boats that go against this generality......

Marty

 

[TakeFive]

Do you REALLY want to go offshore? A bluewater boat will require you to sacrifice a lot of creature comforts in favor of storage for provisions, hullform for ocean, etc. As someone else said, a bluewater boat may also be a very poor choice for the sailing grounds where you will want to learn to sail.

Speaking of which, how much sailing have you done? Maybe you ought to experience it first. Sometimes the dream is better than the reality, especially with respect to going offshore.

Like others have mentioned, there are dozens of people who have come up here with zero experience and huge romantic dreams of cutting the lines and sailing across the ocean. It takes a lot of work. You'll spend years acquiring the skills, and many tens of thousands of dollars getting your boat equipped to withstand the trip. Or you can set more realistic goals and buy a much more affordable coastal cruiser and go have fun sailing right now. It's your choice. By just mentioning Hunter and Catalina, you've shown some of your naivete - as well as suggesting that you would likely be happier doing coastal cruising.

 

[Minnewaska]

I think some people look for a "bluewater" boat, even though they intend to coastal cruise, believing it would be safer. I'm not saying this is the OP's intent, it just got me thinking.

I say that premise is flawed. First, you are unlikely to ever see severe ocean conditions, let alone voluntarily launch into them, when coastal cruising. Sure, most of us have been in 10+ ft seas off the coast and some really nasty stuff, but a good coastal boat is perfectly well suited to it, especially for only a few hours until you get to port.

When it comes to some of the things that could debilitate a boat, such as losing a rudder, it's just not the same concern as blue water. If my steering column breaks, I get on the horn and wait for TowBoatUS to get to me. The concern over losing my spade rudder when coastal cruising, just isn't the same as considering what I would do 1000nm from shore. The bluewater ruggedness just isn't very necessary.

Then, consider that the heavy, cramped, hard to maneuver bluewater boat is going to be potentially more difficult to sail, slower and clearly more difficult to dock and now you're constantly more fatigued as well. Ironically, that can work against safety. I would rather be fast and alert on a quick coastal cruiser around here, with all control lines lead to the cockpit, than on a bulletproof bluewater boat where I had to go forward on the deck to bend sails and took longer to arrive in port.