Introductions / How did you find sailFar.net?

[ThatBoatGuy]

She belongs to Kerri really but we are planning some cruising on her.  She's a 1984

No mods yet but I have plans... 

George

[prairie_sailing]

Stumbled into the site from another link...can't remember which one.  Good site...I'm enjoying the reads.

[CapnK]

George/TBG - Welcome aboard! Glad to have you both here (assuming of course that you are serving as Kerri's "proxy" here... or are you just her "doxy"?  ;D ).

Post some pics of that PSC when you get the chance, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to see her... :)

And whaddabout the Lucky Dolphin? Or your new other boat?  There are other "fleet commanders" like yourself here...  ::) 8)

[AdriftAtSea]

Welcome aboard George...and the Dana is a great little boat... very solid...

If you're Kerri's doxy, we don't really need to know... really...you don't have to tell us.   ;)

[pamdemonium]

I heard I was here... ;)
Kurt    FYI I am now in Norfolk, probably heading back south come November.   Hope to see you again.
Pam on the Pamdemonium (Norsea 27)

[AdriftAtSea]

Hi Pam, and welcome to Sailfar.net.  :D

[CapnK]

Hey there Pam :)

Good to hear from you, good to know that you are still out there and enjoying yourself. :D Norfolk? What are you doing all the way up there, hiding from 'canes? ;D ;)

The Delezynski's on their NS27 just weathered Hurricane John in La Paz, Mexico. Sounds like they made it through just fine.

Cool, get in touch when you come down! I'm in the same place as when you were here before, so I'll keep an eye out for you here or over at the anchorage. :)

[pamdemonium]

Hi Kurt
I am continuing to do the travel nurse thing.  Norfolk/Va Beach is pretty fun area, and the pay is much better than down there...more cruising kitty money, ya know?
My contract ends here mid-October, I don't know where I am going next.  This area is a good place to hide from the hurricanes too.  Ernesto blew like a large puppy but brought a ton of rain and flooded downtown. 
Take good care.

[AdriftAtSea]

I was down in Newport News for a wedding on Labor Day weekend... .what a pain in the butt that Ernesto was.  My first two flights got canceled, and when I finally got to Newport news, the airport looked like something out of a "B" horror movie.... only emergency lighting...

[CapnK]

Will look for you later this fall then, Pam. :)

I've read of a lot of folks up on the Chessie who had to deal with the surge/rain flood - sure do like my floating dock! ;D

The latest on hurrycane season '06 is that it would seem to be pretty much over with. If true - that's just fine with me! :)

[Godot]

Hello, my name is Adam and I'm a sailor.  It's been three weeks since my last sail.

I currently sail the upper Chesapeake in my Seafarer 24 (I'm berthed in Rock Creek off of th Patapsco River). 

Am I planning on sailing to some exotic locale?  No, unfortunately not.  The real world (including a real job, and most importantly, a real wife who is not all that thrilled with spending long hours under sail) keeps me pretty local.  But I am committed to doing a week or two cruise every year.  And in the meantime the dream lives on.

[Zen]

Hello Adam, welcome to SAA. You are among friends here  ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

Welcome Adam... I plan to be down in the Chesapeake area for a longer cruise next summer... so I'll have to keep you posted. ;) 

[CapnK]

Hi, Adam. :)

I'd imagine that most of the general population would consider just one weekend aboard our-sized boats as 'long distance' travel, much less spending a week or two aboard at a time. So -

Welcome to our minisule percentage. :D

[Godot]

Thank you, thank you. 

Yes, this does seem to be a group of similar mind to my own.  I'm glad to be here. 

I'll probably be adding some discussion soon as I try to decide if my boat stays with me; or if I change to another.  The size is fine.  She handles fine.  But I don't find her all that attractive.  And I'm not sure if I really like the layout (it would probably be better in a 27-28' boat).  Lot's of work is required if I keep her (I got her cheap.  Cheap means it needs work).  But, there she is and I wonder at the effort required in finding something more suitable to my eye.

With luck I'll be able to buy a home with enough land to start construction on the boat that would truly suit me.  Whatever that may be.

For the past couple of years I have been somewhat in love with the Selway Fisher Black Swan .  It is only 22 feet long; but it is big for 22'.  I've been very tempted to talk to the designer and see if it couldn't be stretched to 26-27' or so.  I think this would be about the perfect size for me.  I really do like the looks of this boat.  And I wouldn't mind getting back into a gaffer (my first homebuilt was an unbalasted 16' "Weekender" gaffer designed by Stevenson Projects.  Fun, but a little too small and not seaworthy enough for my sailing habits.)  They really are a lot of fun to sail.  There is a performance penalty to windward; but downwind gaffers rule!

I also recently checked out the bateau.com Vagabond 26.  It has much more modern styling and I like the way the interior is drawn.

Both of these projects are of a complexity level to allow completion within a reasonable period of time; but capable enough to suit my dreams of far off shores.  If I where to decide to build I would definately keep my Seafarer 24 until launch time of the new boat.  If I decide that building is too much for me to do at this time (or more likely a year or so from now) then maybe (maybe!) I'll change boats.

I don't know.  My seafarer really is a great sailor.  I guess, though, that there really isn't any need to rush to a decision. 

[CharlieJ]

REALLY interesting to see the differences between your Seafarer 24 and my Seafarer Meridian 25.

[Frank]

The 24 bears a resemblance to a C+C 25,Mirage 24 or a Northern 24.....all 1/4 ton racers back in the 70's.....it may well have been designed to compete in that class

[CapnK]

Good eye, Frank.

Adam - What year was Godot built? Before I saw Franks pic, something about her reminded me of the Contessa 26 - perhaps the sloping cabin trunk. I'd like to see one of those Black Swans - they could give Flicka's a run for their money in the "saltiest looking small boat' contest. :)

[Godot]

Godot was built in 1973.  The sloping house was called the "futura" cabin.  They also had a more traditional style doghouse.  The Futura offers standing headroom in the main part of the cabin, while I believe the traditional styling didn't.

It's interesting to compare the specs (as lifted from Sail Calculator Pro v2.72 at http://www.image-ination.com/sailcalc.html).  The Contessa and SF24 are very similar in LOA, LWL and beam; but the Contessa is 32% heavier.  The Contessa has a better Capsize Ratio (if you believe in this measurement), although the SF24 is still below 2.0, which is widely considered the margin where a vessel is reasonably safe offshore.  I've also included the Meridian and Mirage 24 in this chart, just for the sake of comparison.  You will notice that Charlies Meridian far exceeds either the SF24 or the Contessa 26 in Capsize Ratio and motion comfort, and displaces slightly less than the Contessa.  It is also almost a foot narrower than the SF24 which would explain what appears to be a smaller interior (and also the lower capsize ratio, of course).  The Meridian also beats out everyone in motion comfort. 

	Contessa 26	Seafarer 24	SF Meridian 25	Mirage 24
LOA	24.41	24	24.53	23.6
LWL	20.72	20.75	17.46	19.3
Beam	7.5	7.8	6.98	8.5
Displacement	5183	3920	5036	3700
SA	296	257	244	312
Capsize Ratio	1.71	1.98	1.63	2.2
Hull Speed	6.1	6.1	5.6	5.89
SA/Disp	15.81	16.54	13.29	20.87
Displ/LWL	260	196	422	230
LWL/Beam	2.8	2.66	2.5	2.27
Motion Comfort	25.33	17.95	29.66	15.94
lbs/inch	548	578	435	586

[AdriftAtSea]

Of course, the Meridian also has the smallest sail area, the narrowest beam, and the largest overhangs of the four boats, which leads me to believe it is far more tender initially than the others... but I could be way off base.