Ocean crossing with motor-yacht

I have seen some "real" passagemakers who left their feathers in the med, even repaired 2 of them.
Med is cruel to the arrogant, like all waters.

 

I for my self will stick with my Morgan sailboat for true adventure, and will party at the water front bars in my Sportfish. I'll save buying a trawler for when I'm old and grey, sitting at the yacht club with the other old people who also never take their boats out of the bay or the intercoastal even though they know they could.

 

Aggie, you do have a good point. A sailboat is fun for adventure and a sportfisher boat is great for just hanging out and fishing, of course. But you discredit a trawler's usefulness. It's like having a cruising sailboat without sails, just as capable and safe, but without sailing's fun.

 

"just as capable and safe"

Oh pullleeeezzzz! How many trawlers are self-righting?
Kelly

 

well put kelly. I second the thought.

 

That's for sure, but still, you can't expect a full displacement trawler to self right...That's just obsessing over details!

 

Anyone going offshore must accept the risks, know the limits of themselves and their vessel, and take adequate care to ensure a safe voyage. This seems to be the general sentiment shared by everybody here, regardless of their boat preferences.

Some boats are built to cross oceans. Some are built to cross duck ponds. Some are built for rivers, the Great Lakes, canyon running, sitting by the pier, etc, etc. Get something that is designed for what you intend to do with it.

*****
Something was mentioned earlier about the shape of wheelhouses and their windows on offshore craft. Rakish Italian-styled yachts with their swept-back windows are shaped to look expensive for photos and gawking tourists. The forward angle of the Portugese bridge found on most passagemakers puts the glass at an angle where the helmsman does not get glare off the windows when heading towards the sun. It also helps deflect uber-big waves to the sides instead of channelling them over the bridge into the cockpit, and allows the wind to help rain run down the glass instead of forcing it upwards.

 

"Some boats are built to cross oceans. Some are built to cross duck ponds. Some are built for rivers, the Great Lakes, canyon running, sitting by the pier, etc, etc. Get something that is designed for what you intend to do with it." That's the rule! If you get a boat that is intended to do what you're gonna do with it, then you're fine. So, a Chapparal offshore? Nope.

 

Honestly, even the Chapparal 350 is not suitable. If you want a fancy-shmancy boat for going offshore, you could try the Bayliner 289 (not exactly THAT boat, but something with a hardtop like that). What about a downeast yacht? Take a look. Too much available, too little that's any good. But a key issue is your price range. Up to $100k?

 

Thank you so much for your replies. Unfortunately 35-40 feet boats are about double the price so except from saving for a couple of years more I will have to take a fairly bigger loan. Anyway if business goes well next year I might start thinking this option. My price range is £100.000 (that is UK sterling). This is not how much I would like to spend though…instead it is my upper limit. I am not considering used or custom boats….I like the Bayliner range and together with Chaparral, Cruiser, Doral and Four Wings are on my list. The Cruiser 280cxi http://www.cruisersyachts.com/cruisers_content.html is something like on offer right now, $100.000 and this is something I can afford. On the other hand the UK price will be higher and if consider that I am looking for a twin diesel engine and all the electronic extras I do not think I will avoid paying my upper limit price…Anyway I hope relative prices will reduce till the spring of 2007 when I am planning to buy the boat….

 

If you plan on going out during relatively decent weather and stay no more than 30 miles from land, then I guess, as long as you have a full canvas kit, diesel engines and a liferaft, you'll be fine...$200,000 US$ is about 100,000 pounds sterling, so you've got alot of options. Bayliners are certainly a no, but what about Regal? Nice boats. And what about grand banks?

 

Grand Banks are not an option (for style reasons). The thing with Regal is that I don’t like the horizontal dinette area. In other words the reason I am more on Cruiser and Chaparral is the interior (the exterior is pretty much the same in most of the range). I am looking for a separate dinette area where I can play cards and drink beer with my friends. In Regal the dinette is more like cinema style. Don’t like the idea of transforming a bed or paying for a 30+ feet cruiser for this privilege. However the 2007 models might have differences from the current models and in such case I will consider Regal too.

At the end of the day it will be a matter of choosing between 4-5 2007 models just on the base of the best dealer’s offer. I think I already have an idea of what “offshore cruiser” means, which was my main question. Obviously it means that I will not be able to cruise the world but after good planning I will be able to make a trip in Tunisia.

Even I am resident in UK for a lot of years I am not British (hopefully). I am Greek so Greece is where the boat will be based. My first destinations will be the Greek islands and after a couple of years experience I will start visiting destinations in Turkey, Italy and Spain. Places like Tunisia will be the further I will be able to go according to what I learned already about this kind of boats. And obviously I will not plan such a trip without getting at least 3 years experience.

I apologise for keep monopolizing this forum with my case…I noticed that whenever a reply is written the post appears again in the top of the front page. Probably some people will be already bored with my silly post title.

 

"whenever a reply is written the post appears again in the top of the front page"

That is just the way the message board software works. Nothing any of us can do about it, so don't worry about it. If you want to discuss a different topic (example BrandX versus BrandY) simply start a whole new thread.

Kelly

 

Clearly, Phatzih, you'd want to go as big as you possibly can. Secondly, it's best to have diesel powerplants. So, big and diesel. What size yachts are you looking at? Under 35' but bigger than 30', I would think? How about the Cruisers Yachts 320 Express with the Volvo twin diesel sterndrive or the Yanmar diesel inboard?

 

The bottom line here folks, is the original poster didn't have a clue what a major crossing (channel, med, Atlantic, etc.) is about, he's never been there. He has a pocket full, or is expecting to have, a bunch of likely unearned cash. This is a classic combination a fool and his . . .

He, I'd venture to say, has never been in open water, never been in a storm, where all, including the skipper (who's doing everything possible to maintain some level of control) aren't holding on to their lunch, though some are better skilled then others in this regard. He's only interested in the idea of this yacht, not the use. He's a boating magazine reader and likes the pretty pictures and wants to be "just like Mike" an arm chair quarterback who's never thrown a ball (might mess up the $100 doo)

He'll never cross the ocean (in a airliner maybe), he'll have to beg a ride to get to the med, because he is unable or unwilling to learn the skills and purchase the equipment for success.

It's easy to have high ideals when you've never done anything. It's easy to discount the experiences of the folks who have, when you're clueless. You don't need a trawler or workboat conversion, but you do need an open water designed craft.

Some people do, while others only read about the folks they've envied and drooled over for many years worth of magazine subscriptions.