So what boat size is optimal for offshore voyaging? There is no one number. Rather, we must understand our own expectations before we can zero in on that. John tells the story of a smart guy that saved him from getting this wrong.
Boat Design/Selection
Phyllis and John have spent the last few months researching buying a smaller cruising boat. Here’s what they have learned so far. Also some thoughts on getting a good survey.
Saildrives are becoming ever more common on cruising boats. But are they a good idea, or just yet another way to make the builder’s life easier while making the owner’s harder? John has some thoughts.
There are a huge number of second-hand fibreglass cruising boats for sale, but very few good ones. Here is how to weed out some of the junk.
One of the common debates in any sailor’s bar is which hull material is best. John settles the argument…it depends. But he does make some solid recommendations for hull materials most of us should avoid and the one that the majority should choose.
John and Phyllis want to buy a 40-foot sailboat. There are thousands of second-hand boats for sale, but most of them are not fit to go offshore. So how do we weed through all the junk to find a decent and safe boat at a fair price? And what about refitting an older boat? This is the first of a series of articles to answer those two questions.
One of the saddest things that can happen to a cruiser is buying a fundamentally bad boat, and there are plenty of those out there to tempt the uninformed. Here’s how to make sure that the boat you buy is well designed.
When the subject comes up of buying an old and tired boat and refitting it as a way to get out there ocean voyaging inexpensively, John tends to start throwing around a lot of cold reality, and generally being a spoil sport. But sometimes this approach can work.
John links to a must-read article on hull design for heavy weather and highlights a couple of really important things he learned from it.
A thought on yacht design that will help us end up with a better boat.
The debate is incessant in the cruising community: what is the best cruising boat? John comes up with an answer that may surprise you.
Meeting up with Steve and Linda Dashew is always both fun and fascinating, with a lot to learn about offshore voyaging in boats of any size, even though their designs are way beyond the reach of most of us. John shares two of those lessons.
In Part 3 of his analysis of the Golden Globe Race, Colin examines the boats selected, cost of refits, and most importantly, how that relates to realistic budgets for cruisers planning to buy an old boat and upgrade it for ocean voyaging.
Colin’s eagerly anticipated update on his involvement in the 2018 Golden Globe Race as project manager for one of the competitors.
In the last two chapters we looked at whether we even need a get-home option for an offshore motorboat and concluded we do, so we looked at six options. In this chapter John reveals his winner, and why.
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