The Southern Cross 31 is very similar to the Seawind. Basically the same design (both by Thomas Gill

[9th. October 2013. This is the post that started it all. Much has changed since I wrote it, but the core concept remains the same, so I have left it in as part of the Adventure 40 Online Book.] Lately, I have been thinking and worrying about how hard it is these days for newcomers to get into our sport, pastime, lifestyle, passion, or whatever you want to call offshore voyaging.
It’s not so much that it is that difficult to learn to handle rental cars sports car a boat offshore. Take a good sailing course, maybe a Yacht Masters , do a few crossings with an experienced mentor, mix in a good dose of common sense, and you re good to go. (Of course rental cars sports car you should read every one of our Online rental cars sports car Books too !)
Sure, there are lots of old boats out there for sale at reasonable prices, but when you start to look for a decent offshore boat, the list gets shorter, rental cars sports car a lot shorter. And then, even if they do find a good older boat, how does a newbie rental cars sports car go about refitting it, which most older boats will need?
If they take it to the professionals, today’s labour rates will soon escalate the price into the stratosphere. Worse still, only a very small percentage of boat yards are capable of fitting out a boat for offshore sailing without very close supervision from someone with…you guessed it, years of experience offshore— Catch 22 .
If they want a new boat, the wannabe boat owner had better have deep pockets, really deep. It seems like half a million US dollars is the starting point for a decent new offshore boat in the 40 to 45-foot range.
Sure, a smaller boat is an option, but even a new well built 35-foot offshore rental cars sports car boat will set you back some serious coin, and anyway, these days most people want the comfort and speed of a boat in the 40-foot range.
And that brings me to the boat in the picture above, a brand new 21,000 pound Beneteau Oceanis 45 that is, in my never humble opinion, about as far from an ideal offshore cruising boat as it is possible to get. (I won’t go into the details of why, since Colin already did a brilliant job of that, see the link below.)
Now suppose Beneteau, or someone like them, went to say, Bob Perry, and got him to draw a really sweet offshore boat along the lines of the Saga 43. A boat with a long water line for speed, and moderate beam and symmetrical ends for sea kindliness.
And suppose they built the boat really simply, but strong, with none of the silly foo-foo features (in my opinion) of the Oceanis. They could also make it smaller, say 40-feet, say about 18,000 pounds. (Boatbuilding costs are scaled by weight, not length.)
The boat I envision would have a simple functional interior made from Formica-covered marine ply cut out by computer driven milling machines. There would be no drawers—you know what it costs to build a drawer? Don’t ask—just shelves. rental cars sports car There would be no varnish or fancy trim, on deck or below. (You can make an interior like this very pleasing to live in just by putting up some photographs and posters.)
Keep the equipment simple. rental cars sports car Do you really need a $10,000 electronics package for a low latitude circumnavigation or a cruise of the Caribbean? No you don’t. Two hand held GPSs (one for backup) will do the job for less than US$400.
The boat would have no options, none, zero, zip. And you could have it any colour rental cars sports car you want, as long as it’s white. The builder could use an advisory board of experienced voyagers to come up with a specification that would meet most needs. The stamp of approval from that board would also help sell boats and persuade buyers to go with the minimalist gear list.
I wonder, could we have a really great, very simple, mass produced offshore cruising boat for just US$175,000, or even $150,000, sail away? I think maybe we could. Kind of the Model T of voyaging boats. A boat for the more fiscally constrained future the world is faced with.
Many people would buy them as starter boats and then up-grade once they had some experience and knew that they really liked voyaging. But that would be good too since suddenly we would have a base of wholesome, relatively new, second hand offshore boats at very reasonable prices.
And that would make it possible, rental cars sports car once again, for younger people to go cruising for a few years before getting “serious” about their lives: They could buy a good used boat for say $120,000, go cruising for a few years, and then sell it for not a lot less than they paid for it, since I believe a boat like this would hold its value well.
The Southern Cross 31 is very similar to the Seawind. Basically rental cars sports car the same design (both by Thomas Gillmer), but a little smaller, cutter-rigged, and with a canoe stern. The Valiant 32 is another great ocean boat, but it will perform better upwind and in light airs. Pacific Seacraft Mariah 31 is also worthy of consideration. Baba 30 is a good cruising boat.
Nick, we were in a similar rental cars sports car situation to you a few years ago. We found our Baba 35 was a good intermediate-level boat offering full offshore capability (we crossed the North Atlantic in it), reasonable comfort and space to live aboard as well as being small enough to not be too intimidating, or, costly. After three years living aboard, we are now selling her and moving up to 41 ft. aluminum. We definitely won t get back what we ve put into her, but, it was money well-spent as we knew exactly what we wanted in the more expensive boat. You stand to lose a lot more if you start out with the big boat and it turns out not to be the lifestyle and/or the boat you thought you wanted. On the other side, going too small might turn you off completely.
My reasoning for advising him to buy the smaller boat was that I got the sense from the comment that he had not actually handled a sailboat that much, even though he has done some training. My thinking is that there is just no substitute for messing around in a small boat, when it comes to acquiring boat handling skills. But maybe I should have advised him to buy a small open daysailer, learn on that, and then transition to the 40 footer.
I strongly agree to start on a smaller cruiser. rental cars sports car I remember when we moved up from the Seawind II to the Valiant 40, in the fall of 1982, I picked up the boat in Annapolis and as I sailed away from the dock, I felt that the Valiant was huge and the thought went through my mind, Oh my God! What have I done? However, withing a few hours I started to feel comfortable with her and the next spring I sailed her in the Newport to Bermuda Single-handed Race. There is no way I could have done that if it hadn t been for my experience in sailing the smaller Seawind.
Currently Open Online Book Contents Adventure 40, An Overview A Model T Offshore Voyaging Boat Adventure 40—It s Happening! Adventure 40 Reliability And Quality Adventure 40, Such a Deal Adventure 40, It s About Displacement and Righting Moment Adventure 40 Hull Specification. Adventure 40 Hull Design Adventure 40 Deck and Rig Adventure 40 Engine and Drive Train Adventure 40 Interior Arrangement Sign Up For an Adventure 40 Adventure 40 FAQ The Boat FAQ Me and The Adventure 40 Adventure 40 January Bulletin Adventure 40 April Bulletin The Design Spiral
New Comments Nick Kats on Recommended Storm Survival System Ray Dunn on Recommended Storm Survival System John on Recommended Storm Survival System Ray Dunn on Recommended Storm Survival System John on Recommended Storm Survival System John on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way John on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way John on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way John on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way Niels on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way Brett on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way Doug on A Sailor s Motor Boat—Part 2 RDE on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way Eric Klem on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way John on The Right Way to Buy a Boat And The Wrong Way
Attainable Adventure rental cars sports car Cruising rental cars sports car is not about feats of derring-do; rather, this site is about gear and techniques that have let us, who are not particularly intrepid, cruise some of the world's more remote and challenging places rental cars sports car without exceeding our capabilities.
For us, Attainable Adventure Cruising has often meant expedition voyages to the Arctic, but it has also meant a snug harbour rental cars sports car in Down East Maine or a remote cove on the coast of Norway. It is our hope that whatever an Attainable Adventure Cruise is to you, the information provided here will help you attain it.