Richard Casady wrote:
On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:28:40 -0000, Justin C
wrote:

What makes a boat a "high latitudes" cruiser? It's a term I've seen a
few times and I'd like to know what makes it different to a "blue water"
cruiser.

Heating on yachts is often a bad joke. Presumably a hi lat boat has a
good furnace. There is one originally intended for trucks that is
supposed to be pretty good.

Casady


Thinking about this answer a little more; the same attributes that make
a boat a good high latitude cruiser are pretty much the same set that
would work for a "single handed - long range cruiser."

In both cases the crew is going to be more concerned with basic
necessities and comfort than for speed. So the boat design is focused
on safety and comfort and those two things are very interlinked for if
the crew gets tired and depleted then they will be prone to make
mistakes. The boat needs to have high safety margins for when the
inevitable mistakes happen.

One of the basic facts of high latitude sailing is that there are few
others around to help you out. Even if you have a crew with you the
boat needs to be self sufficient, single or high or both.

Singlehanded Sailing: The Experiences and Techniques of the Lone
Voyagers by Richard Henderson is good.