Long Range Cruiser

All my life I’ve had a dream of exploring the world from the sea side, i.e. looking shoreward. With that goal in mind I worked hard and with a few lucky breaks I’m on the verge of realizing my dream.
My taste in boats is more toward the “if is functional it is beautiful” side. Varnished woodwork is fine for interior trim everything else is better with several coats of paint. The only water to ever touch the inside of my boat should be in tanks (no potential for leaks). She should be not too big or too small and seaworthy enough to handle open water. Enough range to cross “the pond” and easy enough for an older couple to safely handle.
Now that I’ve laid out my basic requirements I have to figure out what boat meets my needs. I’m open to suggestions.

 

You need to be a little more specific about whether you are looking for a powerboat or a sailboat. Your statement "range to cross the pond" implies a powerboat but your post could just as easily be aimed at a sailboat. Nail that down and you will get some opinions. You will also be asked to post a statement of requirements or SOR of the boat your are seeking. The SOR is really the starting point and you will just waste your time until you come up with an SOR.
Good luck with your search
Chuck

 

Not mentioning whether my preference was power or sail was intentional as I was hoping for some pros and cons from each side. It is my understanding that over a long run, sails aren’t much cheaper then modest power. When you factor in that most sail boats have engines, the picture becomes muddier. In that an older couple is not as physically able as a young bunch of sailors I tend to lean toward sails as a means of steadying and getting home if a problem arises.

Not too big and not too small means enough room for the skipper and the admiral to have some personal space and space for grandchildren on short cruises. I’m not a fan of the fat trawler yachts that need huge engines in order to move. 60' would be on the top end of length and 45' would probably be on the short end. As good water is hard to find in many ports I’m in favor of water makers. I believe that fuel conditioning equipment would also moderate some of the anxiety when fueling.

Are solar panels practical for keeping the house batteries topped up/ light ac requirements? I know that there are many on this forum that have years and mile of experience and I was hoping to hear from them.

 

Are you looking to build or buy? It wasn't stated, so i figure I had better ask.

So, just to clarify what you've said so far your boat needs to have:

Transaltlantic range.

Comfortable space for 2 with room for guests.

A vessel that two people can safely navigate without excessive physical exertion.

May be sail or power.

In addition, you would like to have:

Watermaker

Ability to run on solar. This will probably be moot if you end up with a powerboat because the batteries will be charged off the engines when under way, though solar for when not under way might work.

probably in the 45-60' range.

Did I miss anything?

My initial thought is that 60' is a lot of boat for what you've described. 40-45' is probably closer to where you want to be, and of course costs grow exponentially as a function of length.

 

In refrence to solar power, I was just thinking in terms of not having to run a generator for most electric power requirements. I'm also thinking that if this boat is primarily a wanderer, docking would mainly for resupply. Efficiency is important, more mpg equals more interesting places to vist on less fuel.

 

Boats get very wet on the inside too. In rough weather you'll trail your wet gear in.

 

Many many old cheap sailboats have the scantlings to cross blue water.

Not one smaller (under 60ft) in a thousand power cruiser is built for ocean work.

Just packing 3000miles of fuel and water for a month aboard takes a huge portion of the vessels volume.

Long skinny boats (power or sail) are easiest to push , but very unpopular as dock fees are usually length charges , so most modern bloat boats look like footballs .Hardlt sea worthy.

Look for a sail boat that is fine when self steering is in charge , forget refrigeration at sea , and your dream boat will be cheap to keep, and should be $10-50K US depending on your personal requirements.

FF

 

Fred I agree (Not one smaller (under 60ft) in a thousand power cruiser is built for ocean work.) That is why I'm leaning toward new construction. In terms of new construction which makes more sense, metal or wood composite? (While old wood construction can be repaired almost anywhere it requires too much upkeep.

 

Read threads "The perfect passagemaker" page 9, containe 26 pages of info. "Poor Mans passagemaker" page 15, contains 13 pages of info. (will add more as I locate the threads, there are about a zillion of them )

 

One in a thousand:

http://dashewoffshore.com/fpb64_intro.asp

 

Solar. I highly recommend solar for top-up on a wandering, anchoring out boat. You do a gen run in the morning to 80% or so and turn the boat over to solar. Solar is sized to-
1. Maintain an unoccupied vessel indefinitely.
2. Top up batts in addition to house load during the day.
3. Be capable of powering all essential nav, steering, and instrument functions 24/7 while offshore if everything else stays shut off.

Number three is usually the driver. Such a system can be fitted to virtually any cruser style vessel.


The human effort required to cross an ocean is a major concern for short handed sailors. If you design for frequent, no hassle passagemaking, its going to be something of a dog the rest of the time, which will probably be 96%. Better in my opinion is to plan to have addition crew on all offshore passages and do your pottering around as a couple. Now the boat is starting to look like something other than a floating bomb shelter.

My specific recommendation at this point is to purchase something smaller and get some practice. If you pickup, say, A Pacific Seacraft 37 for 100K and keep her for a year, Theres no way she won 't completely pay for herself and the crusing you do on her when you go get your 60'er. That first year of experience will save 100K in mistakes. You can get some offshore time as a couple on the 37, so when you have crew on the 60, you know what you're about.

 

Phil are you speaking about sail or power? I understand that standing watches on a ocean pasage are booooring and that from a safety standpoint additional watchstanders can be a life saver.

 

Watches on ocean passages are certainly not boring. There is a lot to do at sea, and you need to do that stuff 24x7.

 

David, are you speaking in terms of sail or power? To the best of my knowledge on a power boat your chores are keeping watch over the gauges and electronic gizmos. Isn't that why power is better then sail when short handed?

 

I was referring to a boat that sails well and does passages under sail. The majority of piloting might be motor. Like 90%.