The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Which Is The Best Boat For Offshore Cruising?

A few weeks ago we hosted two other cruising couples here at Base Camp and, as we were settling in for a pre-dinner glass of wine, it struck me that it would be hard to imagine three more different boats than those owned and cruised by the group.

Let’s look at that.  I will start with a short cruising bio for each couple.

Marilyn and Steve voyaged fulltime for over 25 years, including crossing the Pacific from Mexico to New Zealand and then recrossing the Pacific to B.C. (the hard way), before transiting the Panama Canal to cruise both sides of the Atlantic. A few years ago they sold their boat and are now land-yachting.

Thelma and Wilson have made extensive voyages in the North Atlantic, and Wilson singlehanded their boat from Newfoundland to Scotland and then returned doublehanded, with their son, to Nova Scotia against the wind in April—probably the toughest passage any of us have taken on.

And, of course, most of you know about our own voyages, over the last 26 years, on Morgan’s Cloud.

Now, let’s lift the curtain on the boats each couple own, or owned, in the same order.

Marilyn and Steve: a 40-foot steel replica of Joshua Slocum’s Spray. They had the hull built and then finished her out themselves.

Thelma and Wilson: a 38-foot wooden cutter designed by Atkin before World War II, but updated with a Bermuda (Marconi) cutter rig. Wilson self-built the boat some 20 years ago, all the way from a pile of lumber.

(Given that build project and his against-the-wind passage across the Atlantic in April, you must be wondering about the advisability of hanging out with Wilson, but having done so quite a bit over the last few years I can testify that he’s not actually that crazy, and really perfectly safe to be around.)

Phyllis and John: a 56-foot aluminum McCurdy and Rhodes-designed cutter with a modern—at least in comparison to the other two—fin-skeg hull form.

Three very different hull forms built in three different materials.

So what’s my point? Well, so much discussion in the cruising world revolves around what’s the best boat for cruising. (And a lot about the best hull material too.) And many, perhaps most, of those participating in that debate lean toward whatever boat type they own or have had the most exposure to. (I know I have been guilty of this confirmation bias.)

But really, all of that is pretty much a waste of time, because what really matters is what kind of boat works for each of us, is safe for our intended purpose, and, most importantly, makes us happy. And there are nearly as many different answers to that question as there are cruisers.

So, while I think it’s perfectly acceptable to say “I prefer this particular kind of boat for cruising”, saying that a given boat type is best is just plain silly.

For example, in the past I have been pretty harsh about modern lightly-built wide-sterned mass-production boats with huge interiors. But really, if the owner plans to primarily cruise inshore, doesn’t need a lot of gear storage, and, most important of all, likes that kind of boat, then the type can make perfect sense—writing the whole genre of boats off was definitely a mistake on my part.

That said, it does make sense to think about and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different boat types, because this debate can help those looking for a cruising boat decide what’s best for them, as long as we remain non-judgemental.

And that’s going to be my New Year’s resolution for 2018: More of the former (analysis) and none of the latter (harsh judgement).

That said, having as much varnish on a boat as Wilson does is just plain nuts.

Further Reading

Boat Design/Selection Child Topics:

More Articles From Boat Design/Selection:

  1. Colin & Louise are Buying a New Sailboat
  2. Q&A—Sailboat Performance, When The Numbers Fail
  3. Talking About Buying Fibreglass Boats With Andy Schell
  4. US Sailboat Show Report—Boats
  5. Some Thoughts On Smaller Older Cruising Boats
  6. Wow, Buying an Offshore Sailboat is Really Hard
  7. Hull Design Torture Test
  8. Of Dishwashers and Yacht Designers
  9. Which Is The Best Boat For Offshore Cruising?
  10. Meeting Up With Steve and Linda Dashew
  11. Cruising On Less Than $15,000/Year, Including The Boat—What It Takes
  12. How Not To Buy a Cruising Boat
  13. Where Do We Go From Here?
  14. The Boat Design Spiral
  15. Spade Rudders—Ready for Sea?
  16. Trade Offs in Yacht Design
  17. We Live in Rapidly Changing Times
  18. Long Thin Boats Are Cool
  19. Beauty and The Beast
  20. Q&A: What About Ferro-Cement Boats?
  21. Thinking About a Steel Boat?
  22. Your Boat Should Forgive You
  23. New Versus Old
  24. Rudder Options, Staying In Control
  25. “Vagabond”—An Extraordinary Polar Yacht
  26. Learning The Hard Way
  27. The Real Story On The MacGregor 65
  28. An Engineless Junk Rigged Dory—Another Way To Get Out There
  29. S/V “Polaris”, Built For The Arctic
  30. Boats We Like: The Saga 43
  31. Designers of “Morgan’s Cloud” Have A New Website
  32. Q&A: Interior Layout And Boat Selection
  33. A Rugged Boat For The High Latitudes
  34. Q&A: Homebuilding A Boat
  35. Q&A: Sailboat Stability Contradiction
  36. Are Spade Rudders Suitable For Ocean Crossings?
  37. There’s No Excuse For Pounding
  38. Q&A: Tips On Buying A Used Boat For The High Latitudes
  39. Used Boat For Trans-Atlantic On A Budget
  40. QA&: Is A Macgregor 26M Suitable For A Trans-Atlantic?
  41. Q&A: Used Colin Archer Design Sailboat
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Daniel Frey

???

John, I had to laugh a lot about the end of the article.

I really like your fine sense of humour and self irony.

I found it in many articles before, but now it is really time to mention it.

And I completely agree with your conclusion. It is useless, to discuss which cruising boat is the best one. Tastes and needs are so different. And sailors are probably the most individualistic people on earth.

But let me finish with telling you, that my AMEL Santorin is the best cruising boat in the world… ?

Happy 2018!

Daniel

Francisco Moreno

Daniel,

You are completely, absolutely, irremediably wrong. Every Amel owner ought to know the Amel Super Maramu is, quite of course, the best cruising boat in the Solar System.

???

Here’s to a great 2018,

FM
currently Herzliya, Israel

Hans

Daniel, very well said ! I agree to everything you write, except the one about the best crusing boat, which undoubtedly is my 33ft. steel Reinke Taranga sloop… 😉

Stein Varjord

Hi John.
There are reasons to believe that some dinners and such with the mentioned people have had much laughter! I like it.

All will agree, of course, with your statement that there is no boat that is the perfect boat, and it all depends on what It’s intended use is and personal preferences. Thus, there is an endless number of right boats. That makes it hard to get to useful conclusions. You have already narrowed it down quite a lot in the title, as that suits the purpose of this site.

I assume you’ll get into the topic either way, but I’ve often found that discussing this type of issues, it’s easier to not discuss solutions at all, until the “problem” has been sorted out completely. Not what type of boat is the best, but
What would you like to do with it,
Where would you like to go
How many will sail it
What type of sailing do they like
Which comforts do they want
Which price level is realistic
How long will the boat be used before sale
Which type of style boat do they tend to fall in love with
How many showers do they need, (and why so many???)
And so on

Then move on to prioritizing. Which single issue is the most important. And then the following numbers up to maybe five issues that are all essential. Then look at the other issues. Is it acceptable that any one of them can be not satisfied? If not, put it somewhere on the priority list.

With that priority list and the supplementing wish list, one can look at rough categories of boats and the sizes and rough price levels. That process will normally immediately show that the emotional priorities are not the same as the theoretically evaluated priorities, so the list needs to be developed some, since emotional needs are just as important as practical ones. Buying a boat cannot be done well without some love.

After this, things narrow down gradually by testing the list on boat types while adjusting the list rigorously. If one boat type is liked over another and the list doesn’t explain why, the list must be edited. The effect of this is mainly to get aware of ones own wishes and emotions. Also the process normally changes some of those items. Sometimes the whole thing is changed upside down. I’ve seen catamaran fanatics (I’m one) decide they’ll go for a monohull and visa versa.

This type of process is personal and develops over time, but I think it might be useful to discuss here some different rough generic usage profiles for long distance cruisers and how they may fit specific boat types. I think that could help many new sailors a lot.

Marc Dacey

Another fruitful way to analyze the pluses and minuses would be, I think, to take a hard look at current production boat trends in light of intended use. A lot of sailors start inshore/coastal on a boat fit for that purpose and want to take the same boat offshore. It’s not the same, as many here know, and it’s not always advisable to do so, but it’s hard to explain to those with an intermediate skill set why they should perhaps rethink their boat selection. I know I can usually spot the passagemaker visitors in any given marina or YC, and it’s got little to do with fin- or full-keel underbody and everything to do with the way their decks are organized and “state of readiness” I can discern.

Marc Dacey

You do indeed, but maybe not as directly as “Signs it’s time to change boats” or something along those lines. And, of course, I don’t necessarily mean “bigger” or even “better”, but “fit for purpose”.

Because I was sentimental and our offshore-capable boat was on the hard in refit mode, I kept our first boat for a few years in shared deals just to have something to sail when we chose. It was very informative on a number of points, like I suppose having a Fiat 500 and a Land Rover is informative during a Nova Scotia winter.

Wilson

Well, John, I will be happy to teach you the joys of varnishing if you think you can show me that there is any joy to be had in unravelling marine electronic and computer interfaces. I will go first: your hands on lessons can start as soon as you are back in the jurisdiction …

That aside, I agree with your thesis. It would be a very boring world if we all decided to go on the same voyages and agreed on the “best boat” in which to do them. And, if we did, AAC would not be the interesting and useful site that you and Phyllis have created.

Wilson

Robert

Great article! Brought a chuckle from a lot of people. Thanks again!

Rob