Singlehanding

[Tim]

??? Shipscarver, are talking about   http://www.sfbaysss.org/

I just checked the site seems pretty up to date to me.
Tim

[Captain Smollett]

2. Are there perchance, ideas on the easiest long term, blue warer capable, small cruiser to singlehand.   

John Vigor's 20 Sailboats to Take You Anywhere is a great place to start.

Any blue water capable boat under 30 feet or thereabouts should be good for the singlehander.  Pretty much most of the boats represented by the members of this forum qualify.

As but a couple of specific examples of small boats that have made solo circumnavigations; 2 men and 2 women long distance singlehanders are represented:

Jean De Sud, Alberg 30, Yves Gellinas
Atom, Pearson Triton, James Baldwin
Southern Cross, Southern Cross 31, Pat Henry
Inspired Insanity, Southern Cross 28, Donna Lange


Edit: Fixed Typo in Souther Cross 31

[AdriftAtSea]

One minor correction, Pat Henry's boat was a Southern Cross 31, since they don't make a 32. :)

I'd second Capn Smollett's recommendation of John Vigor's book. 

A couple other boats that are in it include the Albin Vega 27, Contessa 26, PSC Dana 24, and the Westsail 32.  IIRC, the Westsail 32, Satori, was one of the boats to survive the "Perfect Storm".  The Contessa 32, larger sister to the Contessa 26 of Tania Aebi fame, was one of the survivors of the 1979 Fastnet disaster.

I hope this helps. :)

[CapnK]

Has a Dana ever been 'round? I can't think of one that I've even heard of doing long distance cruising, though I'm sure some have...

Shipscarver, re: Q#2 - that's a biggy. :) There are a lot of boats that can do it, but there's inevitably compromise in each and every one. Like in Nicks thread - his boat is great for the trip, Contessa's have done it a few times, but you can read there that he wishes he had standing headroom.

Vigor's book is a great place to start, with 20 different boats to look at, and after you learn more about those, you can narrow your choices down to half a dozen or so that are in your price range, look nice to you, have the features you want, that sort of thing. Once you get a relatively small list, start 'window shopping', but without intending to buy for a while.

Watch the market, see what boats come up for sale how often, what kind of shape they're in, what extras they have. Start getting ready, because sooner or later that 'right boat' will happen, and you'll be off on your journey, whether on the water right away, or with a fixer-upper that you need to make ready first. :)

[Captain Smollett]

One minor correction, Pat Henry's boat was a Southern Cross 31, since they don't make a 32. :)

Ooops.  Fixed.

[Shipscarver]

I was referring to:  http://p4.forumforfree.com/sss.html
And, thanks for getting me to the other site.

[Lynx]

#2 - Needs more explaning. For me, none would be easy for my body so I did not opt for that. Instead I am just coastal/inland cruising.  I need a much bigger boat and a crew do to ocean hopping.

There some very strong small boats being made. Price range new is around $ 125000. Well worth it for a trouble free voyage.

[Captain Smollett]

There some very strong small boats being made. Price range new is around $ 125000. Well worth it for a trouble free voyage.

$125,000 ???  ???

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying (not at all ulikely), but I think we need to be a bit careful lest we give the impression that is what it takes to "head out."  If money's at all a factor, why would you buy new? Take off one or two zeros, there, and one can easily have a blue water boat.

Lot's of Alberg 30's on the market for under $20,000, and mine was under $10,000.  What's the going rate for an Ariel in decent shape, around $5000 or so?  Shoot, a BCC in decent shape can be had for well under $100,000, and they are on the VERY PRICEY side of small blue water capable boats.

Singlehanding? Planning to remain solo? Spend about $5000 on an Ariel or perhaps a Bristol 27 (two of my personal favorites in the mid 20's), double that in new sails and rerigging and odds-n-ends, and you STILL have less than $15,000 in a ocean going boat. 

And if you are willing to put in the sweat equity on a true project boat, you can do it for 10x or so less.  I've seen Triton's for $500, for example. (Ask Charlie Jones what they paid for Tehani when they bought her...).

That a good blue water boat has to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars is a myth perpetuated by the sailing rags and is probably the single biggest reason a lot of less-than-independently-wealthy people give up on the idea of cruising.  I know I almost gave up on the dream back when I believed that lie.

[TJim]

Alberg 30 just hit ebay.  Looks pretty good.  That's one you can't go wrong with if it's in decent shape....

[AdriftAtSea]

Not everybody has the skills to restore a $500 boat the way Charlie has. :)

[CharlieJ]

Charlie AND LAURA . Let's not leave her out cause she did 60 % of the rebuild all by herself while I was building a customer boat.

Without her Tehani might STILL not be completed. At least not to the standard she is currently.

And actually Tehani cost us about $1500 all together counting the trip to New York and return.

[BobW]

Shipscarver, that site you referred to was a quick-fix when the server handling the SSS forum crashed last summer.  The site Tim gave you is the SSS site, and the forum can be accessed by the Forum link on the home page.  Be careful though, some of the other pages are still linked to the non-working forum. 

I agree with John's assessment of the amount of money needed to purchase and outfit a small seaworthy vessel for singlehanded cruising.  There are plenty of boats to be had for a lot less than $125,000!  A rule of thumb I've heard over the years is that it takes between 50 to 100% of the purchase price of a new boat to properly outfit it.  Even if that $125,000 was for a completely outfitted new boat, it's too much money.

And, not every inexpensive boat out there needs the same level of work Tehani needed. :-)

[CapnK]

For 125K, less what I paid for my boat, I could fix her up *really* nice, and cruise for 10 years with a higher budget than I have planned right now, without having to work along the way... ;D

Of course, my boat is 40 years old, not new.

If today I were to try and find - or have made - a hull constructed as well as this one is, it would cost a lot more than 125K.

[AdriftAtSea]

Sorry Laura, my sincere apologies... ;) I hope Charlie got you something nice for Valentine's Day. :)

Charlie AND LAURA . Let's not leave her out cause she did 60 % of the rebuild all by herself while I was building a customer boat.

Without her Tehani might STILL not be completed. At least not to the standard she is currently.

And actually Tehani cost us about $1500 all together counting the trip to New York and return.

[CapnK]

Sorry Laura, my sincere apologies... ;) I hope Charlie got you something nice for Valentine's Day. :)

Something pink, and girly, and not a power tool.

;D






(Yeah, I know L *likes* power tools as gifts, but she works in a hardwrae store now, and gets better prices than you do, CJ. :D )

[AdriftAtSea]

Hey CapnK... Don't joke about it... today would have been Gee's 40th birthday... so missing Valentine's Day for me was a serious problem... and I always had to think of two good gifts. :)

[CapnK]

Sad to hear that, Dan. Must be bittersweet, today.

Two gifts every year, eh? Were you like CJ, giving her tools, and telling folks she actually liked it that way?  :D

---

For me, there was good timing, in a way - I had a girlfriend, but that was until last weekend.  ???

On the bright side - I am saving money this Valentines Day.  ;D

---

(Boy, did this thread get hijacked in the last few posts, or what? :) )

[AdriftAtSea]

Never got her power tools... gave my sister-in-law a Makita cordless drill for her birthday once though... ;) 

[LauraG]

I appreciate the ackowledgement of my hard work. I sometimes feel like I don't get credit because I'm a woman, but I'm beginning to understand that it's because Charlie is the one that always does all the talking!  ;D

BTW, I love working at the hardware store, Kurt. Lots of stuff to learn about and great discounts. Now if they would just finish the remodeling we'll have a couple more aisles of marine stuff! :)

[Captain Smollett]

If today I were to try and find - or have made - a hull constructed as well as this one is, it would cost a lot more than 125K.

Man, that's a mouthful.  You need to repeat that one loud and often.  It must sink in.

"To get the quality of design and build of a 60's era boat today would require A LOT MORE than the cost of most NEW production boats."

Wow.

today would have been Gee's 40th birthday.

Wow, Dan.  That must make Valentine's Day and all the hoopla about it tough.  I'm hoping at least it's a time to remember the times you had with a smile.

I sometimes feel like I don't get credit because I'm a woman

Don't worry, Laura; we all KNOW who restored that boat.   ;D

(with envy, I might add...I wish my work turned out half as good...)