Lee308 wrote:
These two choices seem to vary widely in sailboats between 25 and 32
ft. What are your opinions on each. This boat will be a crusier, not a
marina livaboard.

A lot depends on what you consider a cruiser. Do you mean a 3 week
cruise each summer? ICW? Island hop the Bahamas? Frequent long
distance passages? Since you don't specify, I'm guessing you haven't
yet done the first, but you're dreaming of the last.

Speed of boat is not an issue.

Of course it is. If speed is truly not an issue, the best option is
an small electric motor that will allow you to get around in tight
quarters. Otherwise, you would always sail with what wind is offered.
Cruisers got by with no or limited power until very recently.


1) Diesel inboard or over the stern gas outboard?
Outboard easy to reach and repair/replace, no worry of shaft seal
leak and less thru hulls, but small diesel's are very fuel effcient
plus large alternator.

There are very few outboard driven boats over about 28 feet.
Actually, weight is the bigger limiting factor. If you go above about
8000 pounds you need a bigger outboard, and the downside issues get
large. Fuel economy and noise are against the outboard if you're
powering a long distance, and they can be useless in some bad conditions.

One of the worst "middle of the night adventures" I've had was on a
friend's heavy 25 footer when a squall came in and changed our cozy
anchorage into a dangerous lee shore, with rocks only a few boat
lengths away. The boat was pitching so severely that the outboard
prop was coming out of the water; we had to raise sail, haul anchor,
and bear off to gain speed before we could tack away from the rocks.

My current boat, a 36 foot catamaran, is one of the few larger boats
offered with both outboards or diesels. About 2/3 are outboards, with
the speed advantages of being able to raise the props and the reduced
weight being the primary factor (other than cost). Maintenance is a
wash; its nice to be able to replace an outboard on the fly, but many
of the outboard owners have had to do that in the middle of a vacation.

We went with diesels, because we figured we would have to get a genset
if we had the outboards, and this would offset the weight issue, which
is significant in a catamaran.


2) Over the stern rudder or binnacle/shaft type rudder?
Once more, seems the over the stern rudder would be less
problematical and repairable even at sea. No thru hulls or gears
would seem better.

Are you asking tiller vs. wheel? I prefer the tiller for small boats,
a wheel for larger boats. If you're asking about the rudder hung on
the stern or a post, that depends a lot on the total design of the boat.