wrote:
Thanks for all the input. I realize that the C&C 33 was not designed
to cross oceans. But this is the boat I have and don't really want to
spend the time and resources to find the "right" boat, anyway. If I
did have those kinds of resources I would probably buy a West Sail,
Pacific Seacraft, Hans Christain, or something of the like in the
32'-34' range. Unfortunately I don't have and extra $80,000 laying
around. From the advice that I've received on this forum I would
gather that based on the assumed experience of the posters that the C&C
33 is certainly capable of crossing the Atlantic, pending all systems
have been upgraded. This being said, allow me to post another
question. What would likely be the points of failure on the C&C 33
were it to encounter boarding seas and squalls. I need to know what
systems will require the most attention.
Rob Minton

Rob
I think C&C's have a pretty good reputation for build quality so I
don't think you need to worry too much about structural integrity.
After all, I don't think that many boats actually break up and sink.
What stops a voyage is a broken mast, broken rudder or blown out sails.
Its generally felt that small boats are not as comfortable at sea as
larger, heavier, boats so there will be some challenges with regard to
sleeping, cooking, navigating.
Storage space will also pose some challenges but you could store a lot
of freeze dried food on a 33 if you had to. Water capacity will need
the most consideration.

What to improve?
Well keeping the mast up is number 1 so obviously you need to at least
have the standing rigging carefully inspected. Its probably rod
rigging and this stuff has proven to be quite durable but again it
needs to be inspected or replaced. If I had the money I'd replace it
the year before I went and test it thoroughly. If you can't afford new
rod you could add some redundancy to the standing rigging by adding a
solent inner forestay and running backstays. Then you would have two
forestays, maybe 3 if you have the babystay, and 3 backstays. That
should hold the rig up in a blow. You would also want to inspect the
chain plates and their attachment to the hull. I've heard of this
happening too often but I always worry about the gooseneck breaking at
some point, perhaps during a gybe. I think I'd have this looked at and
critiqued for offshore use.

You need the rudder to stay in the boat and keep turning. I'd check
that system carefully and probably replace the steering wire. Also
make sure the emergency tiller really works.
As one poster mentioned the hatches on these 20 year old boats often
leak. I would replace the forward hatch with an ocean capable version.
Increasing the size of the cockpit drains / thruhulls may be a good
idea.

A lot of people will point to the glued-in ports as a weakness. I
don't know. They are fairly long but not that tall so they might take
some pounding. The safest approach would be to fit removable lexan
storm shutters. You could leave the original plexiglass in place and
fit an additional quarter inch layer of acrylic on the outside. This
would overlap by an inch and be held in place by bolts going through a
stainless steel trim plate. Some folks do this just to stop the leaks
rather than rebed the existing plexiglass.
Some other things to look at would be how well the batteries/fuel
tanks/water tanks/stove are kept in place.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for all the input. I realize that the C&C 33 was not designed
to cross oceans. But this is the boat I have and don't really want to
spend the time and resources to find the "right" boat, anyway. If I
did have those kinds of resources I would probably buy a West Sail,
Pacific Seacraft, Hans Christain, or something of the like in the
32'-34' range. Unfortunately I don't have and extra $80,000 laying
around. From the advice that I've received on this forum I would
gather that based on the assumed experience of the posters that the C&C
33 is certainly capable of crossing the Atlantic, pending all systems
have been upgraded. This being said, allow me to post another
question. What would likely be the points of failure on the C&C 33
were it to encounter boarding seas and squalls. I need to know what
systems will require the most attention.
Rob Minton

You name it. Things can and will break.You could lose the keel, the rudder,
roll the thing and lose the mast, someone else mentioned the largish
portlights could get blasted out by a wave, you could lose a key bit of
standing rigging and lose the mast, steering gear could fail, blah, blah.
OTOH, you could have fairly light winds, not break a thing but not have
enough fuel to make the crossing between motorsailing, motoring, and keeping
the batteries charged. If you're stuck on the price point, I would do a
little more research, and choose another boat. Go to yachtworld, punch in
your price point and see what's available, then do some more research.

http://www.yachtworld.com/index.html.en

There are a LOT of boats out there better suited for the task, hopefully you
can find one that you can afford.

John Cairns

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 15:26:17 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:38:46 GMT, Don White
wrote:

Commodore Joe Redcloud© wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:35:51 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:


On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 15:06:17 GMT, Commodore Joe Redcloud©
wrote:


I was beginning to believe you had no sense of humor. Now it's been
confirmed.

================

Aye commodore, whatever you say.


Take a pill, will ya?


Commodore Joe Redcloud©

You'll have to tread lightly here commodore.
Mr. Wayneb has been known to ridicule other posters contributions and
announce that he's plonking them in public. Makes him feel superior I
would wager.

Oh, my! I didn't realize the situation was so serious! He should get on
famously
with Jon Ganz, who has made a career out of sending complaints to ISP's
of
anyone who points out that he is a totally humorless putz.


And, you're a liar and a very angry person. What's your point?

And Jonny's off to the races, folks! Very predictable.

Ok. We all get that you're a very angry person. What are you now
contributing to the thread?

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"John Cairns" wrote in message
news

wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for all the input. I realize that the C&C 33 was not designed
to cross oceans. But this is the boat I have and don't really want to
spend the time and resources to find the "right" boat, anyway. If I
did have those kinds of resources I would probably buy a West Sail,
Pacific Seacraft, Hans Christain, or something of the like in the
32'-34' range. Unfortunately I don't have and extra $80,000 laying
around. From the advice that I've received on this forum I would
gather that based on the assumed experience of the posters that the C&C
33 is certainly capable of crossing the Atlantic, pending all systems
have been upgraded. This being said, allow me to post another
question. What would likely be the points of failure on the C&C 33
were it to encounter boarding seas and squalls. I need to know what
systems will require the most attention.
Rob Minton

You name it. Things can and will break.You could lose the keel, the
rudder, roll the thing and lose the mast, someone else mentioned the
largish portlights could get blasted out by a wave, you could lose a key
bit of standing rigging and lose the mast, steering gear could fail, blah,
blah. OTOH, you could have fairly light winds, not break a thing but not
have enough fuel to make the crossing between motorsailing, motoring, and
keeping the batteries charged. If you're stuck on the price point, I would
do a little more research, and choose another boat. Go to yachtworld,
punch in your price point and see what's available, then do some more
research.

http://www.yachtworld.com/index.html.en

There are a LOT of boats out there better suited for the task, hopefully
you can find one that you can afford.

John Cairns

I believe he said it's the boat he has... so, my suggestion is to plan well,
inspect carefully, but above all, go for it!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On 30 Dec 2005 09:26:04 -0800, wrote:

What would likely be the points of failure on the C&C 33
were it to encounter boarding seas and squalls. I need to know what
systems will require the most attention.

=========================================

Rob, all kidding aside, the first point of failure on most small boats
in those conditions are the skipper or crew. Someone becomes seasick,
injured or terminally frightened. Seriously. Knock downs causing a
man overboard situation or injury are fairly common, as are serious
waves coming onboard. After that you've got all the usual gear
failure possibilities: dismasting, ripped sails, broken boom/goose
neck, engine failure, line/prop entanglement, fouled/failed bilge
pumps, clogged cockpit drains, hatch and deck leaks, rudder failure,
steering cable failure, hose/seacock failure, engine mounts,
batteries, autopilot, etc. None of those are hypothetical, having
either experienced them myself at one time or another, or know people
who have.

Picture your boat being picked up by a 15 foot breaking wave and
thrown down into the trough a few times. Imagine the possibility of
things breaking or coming adrift from the impact. It happens, and
steep 15 foot waves are not uncommon in a storm. Imagine someone
spraying you with a cold fire hose while all of this is going on.
Imagine what happens if these conditions persist for a day or two or
three.

Offshore, any one of these events can snowball into something more
serious, and eventually crew fatigue or hypothermia begins to set in.
That's about the time someone calls the coast guard for a rescue. A
lot of those boats are eventually found floating or washed up on a
beach somewhere, indicating that the rescue could have been avoided if
the captain/crew had been stronger or better prepared.

My advice would be to consult with an experienced marine surveyor and
tell him what you have in mind. Pay close attention to any issues
that he finds and get them all fixed in a first class manor. Then
plan a series of shake down cruises where you will be exposed to open
ocean conditions for 2 to 5 days at a time, preferably with some
experienced crew. Weaknesses in the boat, gear and your own
preparation will begin to show up, and you will learn how to deal with
them when you are not 1,000 miles from assistance.

After that you might be ready to go.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On 30 Dec 2005 09:26:04 -0800, wrote:

What would likely be the points of failure on the C&C 33
were it to encounter boarding seas and squalls. I need to know what
systems will require the most attention.

=========================================

Rob, all kidding aside, the first point of failure on most small boats
in those conditions are the skipper or crew. Someone becomes seasick,
injured or terminally frightened. Seriously. Knock downs causing a
man overboard situation or injury are fairly common, as are serious
waves coming onboard. After that you've got all the usual gear
failure possibilities: dismasting, ripped sails, broken boom/goose
neck, engine failure, line/prop entanglement, fouled/failed bilge
pumps, clogged cockpit drains, hatch and deck leaks, rudder failure,
steering cable failure, hose/seacock failure, engine mounts,
batteries, autopilot, etc. None of those are hypothetical, having
either experienced them myself at one time or another, or know people
who have.

Picture your boat being picked up by a 15 foot breaking wave and
thrown down into the trough a few times. Imagine the possibility of
things breaking or coming adrift from the impact. It happens, and
steep 15 foot waves are not uncommon in a storm. Imagine someone
spraying you with a cold fire hose while all of this is going on.
Imagine what happens if these conditions persist for a day or two or
three.

Offshore, any one of these events can snowball into something more
serious, and eventually crew fatigue or hypothermia begins to set in.
That's about the time someone calls the coast guard for a rescue. A
lot of those boats are eventually found floating or washed up on a
beach somewhere, indicating that the rescue could have been avoided if
the captain/crew had been stronger or better prepared.

My advice would be to consult with an experienced marine surveyor and
tell him what you have in mind. Pay close attention to any issues
that he finds and get them all fixed in a first class manor. Then
plan a series of shake down cruises where you will be exposed to open
ocean conditions for 2 to 5 days at a time, preferably with some
experienced crew. Weaknesses in the boat, gear and your own
preparation will begin to show up, and you will learn how to deal with
them when you are not 1,000 miles from assistance.

After that you might be ready to go.

Excellent post!!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Thanks all. The points of view on this forum are, needless to say,
colorful. So far there has been the "go for it", the "hell no I
wouldn't go", the "it COULD make it", the "it WILL make it". But
underlying all of these points have been "IF you do go, THEN you should
do______." And that is what I've been looking for. I've considered
selling and buying something else - but so much freakin' hassle. And
I've considered upgrading all systems on the boat I've got. I'm going
to haul her out for several months and then make a decision. I'll
definitely talk to you guys soon. I've found more info and opinions on
R.B.C. than on any other forum. Have a good new year.
Rob Minton

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:57:22 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 15:26:17 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
m...
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:38:46 GMT, Don White
wrote:

Commodore Joe Redcloud© wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:35:51 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:


On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 15:06:17 GMT, Commodore Joe Redcloud©
wrote:


I was beginning to believe you had no sense of humor. Now it's been
confirmed.

================

Aye commodore, whatever you say.


Take a pill, will ya?


Commodore Joe Redcloud©

You'll have to tread lightly here commodore.
Mr. Wayneb has been known to ridicule other posters contributions and
announce that he's plonking them in public. Makes him feel superior I
would wager.

Oh, my! I didn't realize the situation was so serious! He should get
on
famously
with Jon Ganz, who has made a career out of sending complaints to
ISP's
of
anyone who points out that he is a totally humorless putz.


And, you're a liar and a very angry person. What's your point?

And Jonny's off to the races, folks! Very predictable.

Ok. We all get that you're a very angry person. What are you now
contributing to the thread?

The thread was doing just fine until you came in and started telling
people to
ignore me, because you are having another of your patented homo
hissy-fits. I
actually know something about C&C's since I have owned several of them and
currently own one. I was also the "someone" in this thread who posted the
link
for the C&C website that you now recommend.

You need an anger management class!!


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks all. The points of view on this forum are, needless to say,
colorful. So far there has been the "go for it", the "hell no I
wouldn't go", the "it COULD make it", the "it WILL make it". But
underlying all of these points have been "IF you do go, THEN you should
do______." And that is what I've been looking for. I've considered
selling and buying something else - but so much freakin' hassle. And
I've considered upgrading all systems on the boat I've got. I'm going
to haul her out for several months and then make a decision. I'll
definitely talk to you guys soon. I've found more info and opinions on
R.B.C. than on any other forum. Have a good new year.
Rob Minton

Yeh, but don't listen to Commode Joe.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 11:03:25 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

wrote in message
groups.com...
Thanks all. The points of view on this forum are, needless to say,
colorful. So far there has been the "go for it", the "hell no I
wouldn't go", the "it COULD make it", the "it WILL make it". But
underlying all of these points have been "IF you do go, THEN you should
do______." And that is what I've been looking for. I've considered
selling and buying something else - but so much freakin' hassle. And
I've considered upgrading all systems on the boat I've got. I'm going
to haul her out for several months and then make a decision. I'll
definitely talk to you guys soon. I've found more info and opinions on
R.B.C. than on any other forum. Have a good new year.
Rob Minton

Yeh, but don't listen to Commode Joe.

What are you so afraid of, Jon?



Ok!! I think I won this troll....

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com