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Boat shopping - but got off course.
In article ,
(Norm) wrote:
Well I spent last weekend down in Seattle - boat shopping. Initially
my wife and I were looking at boats between 36 and 38' but somehow we
ended up in the 40+ boats and of course we fell in love with one.
After we got home, we figured out how much the thing was going to set
us back including maintenance, needed upgrades, insurance and moorage
and decided against it. The boat was a beautiful Passport 40 but it
was old (1980) and needed a lot of work (wood decks to boot). The
work doesn't bother me as much as the expense in upgrades. Boat was
$120K+ and then add a bunch of other stuff on top just to get it ready
to go to Alaska (+$10k) and we were just out of our affordability
range.
Now we're trying to get refocused and once again looking for a well
built sailboat in the 35-38' range that is capable of offshore
passages, performs fairly well (don't really want a slug) & something
that isn't so old that everything needs to be replaced before
cruising. We can put down $60k and still have another $10k for
extras and getting it back up to Alaska. I don't mind taking out a
little loan if the price is up around 80$ for the boat, but I really
don't want to have to borrow so much that I'm tied to the dock and a
job paying the thing off.
Yesterday I was looking at a 36' Cape Dory on Yachtworld, but the
thing has a PHRF of 180. The Passport has a PHRF of 140 and most
people said that it was a slug. Now I'm confused.
Any recommendations on what boats to focus on?
You got good advice from the other posts.
While I love a fast boat, PHRF isn't the only story. We rate about 205,
but under sail rarely are passed by a boat with less than 15' more
waterline (about 40' LOD). While most of that is that our boat simply
hasn't been raced much lately and the rating is too old, based upon
older style sails and techiques, it's also because we have a suitable
set of sails for our cruising area and because I pay attention a bit
more than most to sail trim. [Don't even TRY to talk to me while we're
under sail, in other words. ;-) ] I would love to find a racing crew to
pick up some silver for a season or two before our rating was changed,
but am too wedded to my bride of a dozen years and The Admiral enjoys
our quiet time together too much, so we simply cruise. If it ain't fun
for her, it ain't FUN!
In general, the fastest boats will be settling down on their anchors as
the slowpokes arrive; not that much difference. The big difference is
that the slow, stable boats will be that much more likely to keep on
sailing because they've had a comfortable day rather than having to
constantly be on watch.
It's not entirely different than the sail vs. power debate. On the ICW,
most boats in an anchorage in the AM will wind up in the same anchorage
that evening. The powerboats (and faster sailboats) will have gotten
there faster, but they'll be more tired and will have had to refuel.
In other words, go for the creature comforts first, whatever that means
to you. You'll be happier in the long run.
--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/
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