Micro Cruiser

...or lack perspective.
What do you mean by motoring long distances? what is a long distance? and why do you need to motor? sails work pretty well 99% of the time.

 

East coast to the Med? ..........27 footer at a minimum, and that small only if you have a taste for danger and discomfort. Sure it has been done with smaller boats but only for the most desperate and/or marginally deranged.

A mini cruiser could work well enough in the ICW, not so much for a transat.

 

crossing the Atlanitic is not an easy thing (does that count as an understatement or what). Of course you could buy a boat in Britain and sail it I around Europe. Dylan Winter and his keep turning left blog (sailing around britain), from memory only paid a few thousand dollars for his boat. He has been sailing quite successfully now for a couple years

I dont want do dish your dreams, not my intent at all. If you want to go down the boat building path for the experience, there are some really nice strip planked rowboats or kayaks that you could build. For sailing a second hand boat should allow you to go for less money, then you can save your pennies and sail for longer.

 

Dylan writes that as he has been sailing around Britain for five years now, and is now going up to the Shetland Islands, he needed a bigger boat, so he has gone from a 19ft Mirror Offshore to a 26ft westerly centaur (neither of these two boats I had never heard of before today). Looking on the internet, they seem to be asking $12K to 16K US dollars for the Centaur yacht. I assume they are asking price, and that if you offered say $10K cash for a $12K boat, it has a good chance of being accepted. So I think thats your ballpark price range.

If you follow what Dylan Winter did, sailing a 19ft Mirror Offshore boat in US for a while, sell it, then fly over to Britain and buy a 26ft boat then that would be quite practical. At least now you have a ballpark idea of dollars involved.

If you want to do it on less money, you could stick to warmer climates around Britain, and the Med, and buy a Mirror Offshore. Prices asking are about $3000 US. I assume this price to be very negotiable

I assume a 22ft boat would be priced between the 19ft at $3000 US and the 26ft at 12,000 US. That is one relatively cheap way of achieving your dream. Assume you sail around Britain in the warmer months, then head south for the colder months.

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/about/

dylan's blog (sailing around britain on not much money at all)

 

If your interested in a displacement power boat, then thats an option too. Dont know much about them. If you forget about crossing the Atlantic bit then you can go for a pure power boat. Becasue the amount of fuel you need to cross the Atlantic weighs too much for your boat to carry

 

I agree buying used is the way to go however if you really want hands on and a fast start here's another option, "Conversion" This is an example of a little pocket motorsailer converted from a lifeboat, that I played a hand in converting some 15 or so years ago. It's an example of what you can get into a 21 footer. She was built more for coastal work but with design changes/modifications it would be quite capable of some long distance open water work. The conversion was from a 21ft. open, engineless, double ender surfboat style lifeboat. The completed project included ; diesel inboard,a proper head, V birth, dual station steering and full headroom in the wheel house, There were a bunch of these open lifeboat hulls for sale in Ontario at around $1000 each. The name of the yard slips my old memory but if you're interested In one to convert I can dig it up. ---

P.S. Just came across an old advertisement photo showing the basic lifeboat hull form which the conversion was made --

 

Check out the Farthing 15, from Tom Macnaughton

Covey Island built one.

 

At this point the idea of building has all but faded. Buying it is.
Yes,there is some (lots of) lunacy involved in this here crossing study.
Which points us to the need for speed. What speed should the boat have,if it were yours? Size wise, the agreement so far tends to be over 25 feet,which is around the upper range where I'm feeling comfortable(in theory).
The idea of twin keels to settle on the hard when needed(or get caught by the tide) has warmed up to me as well.
Motoring long distances,at least in my book,means setting a certain rpm on the (diesel)engine, have the radar and proximity bits up and running,pointing her in the general direction,then going to sleep. This means a fuel efficient power plant. Can you push a sailboat(or motorsailer,upon which definition I fear to dwell) with one liter of diesel(or less) per hour? I'm pretty sure I can find space to carry some extra 50-100 gallons of fuel.
Do not need a nice kitchen,as long as I can sleep straight(and not curled up or something). If memory serves right, CDK's VW marine engines are close,though he's got a multihull.
Pricing wise,thanks to you,again,it's looking in the 10-15K range.
Engine wise,it's got to outlive me.Besides Yanmar,Mitsubishi or Kubota based units,what should one look for? Volvo I wont touch. Gas I wont touch. I don't mind investing a bit in a better propeller,and shaft if needed.
I first considered a trawler, but the price for a decent unit,and associated fuel use scares me. Which,naturally, pointed me towards a backup,in the form of wind power.
I was set on diesel electric, due to the fact that you can buy a portable generator anywhere,pretty much. And I wouldn't mind keeping one for backup.
Adapting the existing infrastructure might be Interesting. Afterall, messing up wont leave me dead in the water, just at the mercy of the wind gods.

 

Hi D

Last post for a long time from me, I dont want to spin your mind. Here is a conversion of a 22ft fiberglass yacht into a trimaran. Here you can buy one for $2500 US dollars. Conversion would cost more on that. Seemed successful. They cruised the Med. I dont think you can buy a Soling in US (not sure), but you might be able to buy something similar. You wont be able to sail it to Europe, just too dangerous, but it seemed to go well.

http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/the-one-of-a-kind-austrian-soling-trimaran/

I think your on the right track with your project

The first boat I brought up was 22ft, not too big, not too small. The Nomad had the berths in the middle of the boat which I thought was a better layout than the Westerly 22, which had berths at the bow, and berths at the stern. You only need two good ones, not four bad ones. The tides in Britain are high, thats why there are more twin keelers there, at low tide they sit on the bottom. In the med there are no tides. Britain is cold and wet, think the med would be nicer.

Inboard diesels are expensive to fix if they go wrong. I did not touch my 3hp Yamaha for 2 years, took it on the water, started first pull. A diesel that works well is good, repairs are expensive. I find them noisy, they are good for long trips, very economical in fuel.

I think your on the right track, be careful how much you spend. Have fun, do your thing

 

Confucius was a pretty little serviceable craft for such use: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/sa...foot-off-shore-cabin-sloop-cruiser-45035.html

 

I had a look, I think the Soling comes in 22ft and 27ft, saw one with a tralier for sale for less than $1000 advertised six months ago in NE USA, said it was fully restored. Good little conversion project. Sell the lead in the keel for a couple hundred dollars. Sail south to Mexico, central america, carribean, pull up on the beach at low tide. More fun than anchoring 200 yards offshore. Others seem to be asking $7000 for a Soling in US. The one converted to a tri I think was 27ft

 

The smaller soling is called "yngling". That trimaran might be the one in every 500 monohull-> multi conversions that actually works out?

 

d1970, if you don't have experience and you want to cross the Atlantic with a small boat, the first thing you need to do is sign up to a sailing school, or find a knowledgeable friend who teaches you, because to make the crossing safely with a motor boat without sail of the dimension that you want at medium speed of 6 knots should load about 3000 liters of fuel (3000L = 792 US gal), and a boat so special should be designed from scratch.

 

That looks interesting. I looked at multihulls, the one negative kind of breaks it for me(cannot self right). I wont need accommodations for 4,just one. So where the berts are located, it matters not.
That little Confucius boat looks awesome.
Now,what are the chances I can find a boat with steering inside an enclosed cabin?
Being hit by waves is not exactly my idea of fun.
A 22 footer would be perfect. A trip down south before the bigger leg across the pond is a good idea.
A sailing school will be a must, I can't tell bow from stern.
It will have sails for sure, cannot beat free power(at the cost of maintaining sails).
Yes, I realize diesels are expensive to fix,one more reason to try and convert it to diesel electric. I mean,how hard can it be to attach an electric motor to the shaft,and use any portable generator?
Thanks lads. Tons of info on here, and quite a few knowledgeable people too.

 

Slim. You'll end up having more overall fun sailing from a good cockpit with a dodger since you'll have to go to deck to handle the sails anyways. Take a look at some 6.5m mini transat designs. They are overpowered for cruising but designed to be safe and fast enough if you want to see 5-6kn awg.

Not too hard. But you should prepare to motor for days with good speed. A cheap 300cc diesel gen promises 1,5 kw constant output. You'll end up with max. 0,5kw on propshaft, less than the smallest outboards. That will get you nowhere. There's 3-4kw of aircooled heat to ventilate, having to fill up the tank every 2 hours. Oil would have to be changed every week