I'm looking for a suitable boat for single handed cruising the Bahamas for a
year then up the East coast and eventually across to the Mediteranian. I
realize many sailors single hand with guests or spouses aboard but I will
have more than myself aboard only on rare occasions, and perhaps in port. I
was thinking of Beneteau 35 or similar. Would this be enough boat to be safe
and comfortable.Thanks in advance for the help.

JohnM wrote:
I'm looking for a suitable boat for single handed cruising the Bahamas for a
year then up the East coast and eventually across to the Mediteranian. I
realize many sailors single hand with guests or spouses aboard but I will
have more than myself aboard only on rare occasions, and perhaps in port. I
was thinking of Beneteau 35 or similar. Would this be enough boat to be safe
and comfortable.Thanks in advance for the help.


WESTSAIL 32........................................

Could be enough boat ,, but are you "enough" of a sailor to handle a boat
like this by yourself.

I sail single handed ,,,,,,,,, it is really really hard.


"JohnM" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a suitable boat for single handed cruising the Bahamas for
a
year then up the East coast and eventually across to the Mediteranian. I
realize many sailors single hand with guests or spouses aboard but I will
have more than myself aboard only on rare occasions, and perhaps in port.
I
was thinking of Beneteau 35 or similar. Would this be enough boat to be
safe
and comfortable.Thanks in advance for the help.

NE Sailboat wrote:

I sail single handed ,,,,,,,,, it is really really hard.

Really? I find single handing my boat of the same size actually easier,
despite "Strider" being much quicker turning on the helm than your Bristol
32. I don't have to explain things, there's no one in the way when I need
to reach a sheet quickly, nobody ever says, "What?" with that deer in the
headlights look when something needs to be done quickly. It's very relaxing
but I do get bored with the conversation in moderate weather.

Single handing in strong winds is very rewarding. There's enough excitement
that I don't miss the conversation and it's excellent practice and
confidence building for the times you are responsible for other people.
Figuring out how to handle jib sheets and a boat without self tailing
winches and with a helm you can only let go of for seconds is great mental
exercise.

Having a good trained crew than can do everything is easiest, of course.
Being away from the sailing world for several years, I don't know a lot of
people like that and I tend also to take non-sailors because I enjoy
introducing people to the experience. My new crew was getting quite
competent towards the last couple days of the cruise this summer and it was
very enjoyable to just sit there and watch an eager and energetic person "do
this - do that". We're planning a lot more sailing next summer and I don't
think single handing will ever have quite the appeal it did before.

--
Roger Long

Roger ,, I don't think the poster is talking about a day sail. I also
disagree completely with your opinion. Single hand sailing is hard work,
dangerous, lonely, etc. Just leaving whatever mooring, dock you might be
attached to is tough. Unless you have more than two arms?

Then, once released, the project of putting up the main, getting everything
together ,, et all.

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on earth who
can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

I get very frustrated. One minute I'm pulling on a sheet, next I'm back
resetting the helm

After everything is done, and a course is set, with a steady wind, then
things aren't so bad. But :::: the helm! That rotten helm.

If my boat had a windvane, and the windvane worked, then I suppose I would
be able to take a rest.

At the end of the day .... the docking, mooring. I hate this. I end up
anchoring out most of the time because there is no one to help with dock
lines, etc.

The one area I agree with you on is the self confidence factor. There is a
certain feeling of "I can do it" when you are the only one doing it.

Also,, when I screw up ............. there isn't someone sitting in the
cockpit screaming at me.

I also end up preparing for most trips ahead ... Always knowing I need
more room because I am the only one on board.

I'd rather have a crewmate. Someone to help out.

=====================================
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
NE Sailboat wrote:

I sail single handed ,,,,,,,,, it is really really hard.

Really? I find single handing my boat of the same size actually easier,
despite "Strider" being much quicker turning on the helm than your Bristol
32. I don't have to explain things, there's no one in the way when I need
to reach a sheet quickly, nobody ever says, "What?" with that deer in the
headlights look when something needs to be done quickly. It's very
relaxing but I do get bored with the conversation in moderate weather.

Single handing in strong winds is very rewarding. There's enough
excitement that I don't miss the conversation and it's excellent practice
and confidence building for the times you are responsible for other
people. Figuring out how to handle jib sheets and a boat without self
tailing winches and with a helm you can only let go of for seconds is
great mental exercise.

Having a good trained crew than can do everything is easiest, of course.
Being away from the sailing world for several years, I don't know a lot of
people like that and I tend also to take non-sailors because I enjoy
introducing people to the experience. My new crew was getting quite
competent towards the last couple days of the cruise this summer and it
was very enjoyable to just sit there and watch an eager and energetic
person "do this - do that". We're planning a lot more sailing next summer
and I don't think single handing will ever have quite the appeal it did
before.

--
Roger Long

"NE Sailboat" wrote in message
news:gXneh.61$Li6.56@trndny03...
Roger ,, I don't think the poster is talking about a day sail. I also
disagree completely with your opinion. Single hand sailing is hard work,
dangerous, lonely, etc. Just leaving whatever mooring, dock you might be
attached to is tough. Unless you have more than two arms?

I think you're right that leaving and returning are the hardest... that's
very much dependent on the conditions and also the size of the boat (bigger
typically is harder).

I disagree that it's that much harder, especially when you're relieved of
the people underfoot when trying to do something. It's certainly not lonely.
It can be dangerous, but that's dependent upon how you treat it.

Then, once released, the project of putting up the main, getting
everything together ,, et all.

Ummm... autohelm?

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on earth
who can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

I get very frustrated. One minute I'm pulling on a sheet, next I'm back
resetting the helm

Invest in an autohelm. I have a remote for mine. I can be on the bow and
drive.

After everything is done, and a course is set, with a steady wind, then
things aren't so bad. But :::: the helm! That rotten helm.

If my boat had a windvane, and the windvane worked, then I suppose I would
be able to take a rest.

At the end of the day .... the docking, mooring. I hate this. I end up
anchoring out most of the time because there is no one to help with dock
lines, etc.

Takes practice/is never perfect/is highly dependent on adverse conditions.

The one area I agree with you on is the self confidence factor. There is
a certain feeling of "I can do it" when you are the only one doing it.

Also,, when I screw up ............. there isn't someone sitting in the
cockpit screaming at me.

I also end up preparing for most trips ahead ... Always knowing I need
more room because I am the only one on board.

I'd rather have a crewmate. Someone to help out.

I'd rather have a competent crewmate. Incompetents make things worse than
single handing.

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

Some of the older single handle great sailor like Moitessier, Hasler, James
and many others appear to have made good with average size sailboat.
Moitessier suggested that the ideal length for around the world voyaging is
around 32 to 34 feet.
He claims that it has better control in heavy weather sailing.
Although these suggestions were made with the traditional sailboat design
from 1960 to 1980 it gives me food for though.
I got involved in 40 foot waves with a 27 feet sailboat. One of the raison
I think I made it is because the boat and I were like a single cork going up
and down the waves. I do not know if I would have been able to make it with
a boat in the 40 foot range?

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"NE Sailboat" wrote in message
news:gXneh.61$Li6.56@trndny03...
Roger ,, I don't think the poster is talking about a day sail. I also
disagree completely with your opinion. Single hand sailing is hard work,
dangerous, lonely, etc. Just leaving whatever mooring, dock you might be
attached to is tough. Unless you have more than two arms?

I think you're right that leaving and returning are the hardest... that's
very much dependent on the conditions and also the size of the boat
(bigger typically is harder).

I disagree that it's that much harder, especially when you're relieved of
the people underfoot when trying to do something. It's certainly not
lonely. It can be dangerous, but that's dependent upon how you treat it.

Then, once released, the project of putting up the main, getting
everything together ,, et all.

Ummm... autohelm?

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on earth
who can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

I get very frustrated. One minute I'm pulling on a sheet, next I'm back
resetting the helm

Invest in an autohelm. I have a remote for mine. I can be on the bow and
drive.

After everything is done, and a course is set, with a steady wind, then
things aren't so bad. But :::: the helm! That rotten helm.

If my boat had a windvane, and the windvane worked, then I suppose I
would be able to take a rest.

At the end of the day .... the docking, mooring. I hate this. I end up
anchoring out most of the time because there is no one to help with dock
lines, etc.

Takes practice/is never perfect/is highly dependent on adverse conditions.

The one area I agree with you on is the self confidence factor. There is
a certain feeling of "I can do it" when you are the only one doing it.

Also,, when I screw up ............. there isn't someone sitting in the
cockpit screaming at me.

I also end up preparing for most trips ahead ... Always knowing I need
more room because I am the only one on board.

I'd rather have a crewmate. Someone to help out.

I'd rather have a competent crewmate. Incompetents make things worse than
single handing.

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

NE Sailboat wrote:
Just leaving whatever mooring, dock you might be
attached to is tough.

This varies greatly depending on a number of factors (boat, dock
configuration, wind, current, etc.). I used to singlehand my last boat
with no trouble at all (a Catalina 30).

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on earth who
can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

An autopilot makes this easy. If you have a tiller, they can be had for
only a few hundred $$. Wheel pilots are more expensive.

If my boat had a windvane, and the windvane worked, then I suppose I would
be able to take a rest.

Wind vanes are great for thelong haul, but for jsut putting up the
sails, etc. an autopilot works much better.

NE Sailboat wrote:
I also disagree completely with your opinion. Single hand sailing is
hard
work, dangerous, lonely, etc. Just leaving whatever mooring, dock
you might be attached to is tough. Unless you have more than two
arms?

It's not my opinion you are disagreing with, it is my experience. For you,
it may be hard, lonely, dangerous, work but I find it relaxing, stimulating,
and even medative. This applies to docking as well. My landings in the
slip from hell are almost always smoother and better when I'm alone because
I'm fully focused and able to act with exact timing instead of worrying
whether the crew will step off at the right moment, remember to put a turn
on the cleat instead of pulling from chest height in a panic, etc.

I do a lot of things slower and the preplanning required makes for a lot of
the enjoyable mental exercise. Where I might just cast off and back out
with a crew, I will move the boat to a different position, double lines back
short enough that they can't foul the prop but will just fall off the horn
of the cleats when I start moving. As I back out, there is almost always
some helpful person on the dock yelling, "You forgot your dock lines!" but I
just motor out into the open and walk around calmly retrieving them.

Try buying two bow and stern lines each about 3/4 the length of your boat.
Take time to lead them outside everything with the ends tied together. You
can then step ashore with the ability to control both ends of the boat.
After making on line fast, the other will be right there without falling in
the water or being on the deck of the boat that has blown just out of reach.

I do all this with two arms and, as I said, it is easier than with any but a
very experienced crew.

Then, once released, the project of putting up the main, getting
everything together ,, et all.

It's not a project. It's seamanship. It's why we spend all this money to
be able to enjoy this.

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on
earth who can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

You are not doing this right. I sometimes have to go back and make a helm
adjustment but it's not a big deal. I usually get everything ready to
hoist, go back and position the boat, and then haul away. My boat is as
quick turning as any when unattended. If I can do this, you should easily
be able to manage it in your long keel Bristol 32.

Little things learned over 43 years help. Are you overhauling your sheets
before hoisting? The drag of a partially hoisted sail pulling the sheets
through the blocks will accellerate and turn the boat. If the sail can
swing freely, it will have less effect on the boat.

I get very frustrated. One minute I'm pulling on a sheet, next I'm
back resetting the helm

This gets close to the core problem. Attitude is important. Once you get
frustrated, the parts of the mind that anticipate, stratagize, and react
constructively to unexpected problems begin to shut down. This is above
all, a mental exercise. Nothing will help as much as learning to get into a
"zone" where snags are just something you deal with.

But :::: the helm! That rotten helm.

Come on, the Bristol 32 has about as sweet a helm as you are ever going to
find on a sailboat. My E32 has marvelous control authority but her least
attractive trait is that she turns instantly and quickly as soon as you let
go. If I can do all this stuff calmly on an E32, you can do it on a B32.
Do you have a wheel? If so learn how to use the brake. Sometimes setting
it so it just drags works better than locking it. If you have a tiller, look
at one of those "Tiller Tamers".


At the end of the day .... the docking, mooring. I hate this.

There's the nub of the problem. Have you considered golf? You'll never do
it right unless you enjoy it, even when it isn't going right.

I'd rather have a crewmate. Someone to help out.

Well, as to why you don't have a crewmate, I just won't touch that with a
ten foot pole. I will say however, that you are much more likely to find or
retain a crewmate if you learn how to do everything calmly by yourself and
project a reassuring sense of competence and control. My current number one
crew detested boating up until last spring. Sailing or boating with her
former husband was like being in a storm at sea. It was a constant crisis
from the time they left the dock until they returned during which everything
she did was wrong. Now she is completely in love with cruising and looking
forward eagerly to going to Newfoundland, Labrador, and even beyond.

One thing I brought with me from aviation was the concept of practice. If
you are going out and just starting to cruise, as it sounds like you did
last summer, you are setting yourself up for frustration. Now that you know
the boat, plan on a few days next spring with no goals other than practice.
Put the sails up and down, dock and undock. Try different things. Think
ahead. Think of the snags not as frustraging interruptions but as the keys
to doing it smoothly by anticipating them.

Experience helps but none of this can be done by rote. Attitude and getting
in to a zone of calm and creative problem solving is vital.
The brain also has a way of processing lessons over time when you get away.
The improvement in my handling of the boat this summer over the first was
amazing, right from the first day. You'll find next season much easier.
But, only if you get your attitude adjusted.

--
Roger Long

Roger ,, your long posting brings up a number of subjects ,, here is my
answers to some.

It is my opinion that single handed sailing is dangerous. Yet, I spent most
of last summer single handing. Let's face it, **** happens. When you are
ten miles offshore and **** happens and you are by yourself ..............

Is it relaxing? Yes, that I agree. But it could be just as relaxing with a
couple of good crewmates.

Docking a boat by myself isn't my worry. The worry, or apprehension is
caused by the other boats which I might bang into. I don't want to miss a
little and smash into some motor boat. I don't dock very often anyway, but
I don't like to do it when I am in a busy area.

You go on as if I have no experience. 31 years, sailing. That is some
experience, I'd say.

And, I still would rather have a crewmate!

As for going out cruising ... I have cruised from Conn, to Maine. I will be
out again next summer.

Crewmate of not, I will be out cruising. But, I'd still rather have someone
along.

There is a reason that Joshua Slocum became so famous.

The first person to
complete a solo circumnavigation was Joshua Slocum. Slocum was a retired
Master Mariner, originally from Canada, but subsequently a citizen of the
USA. He sailed in 1895 on a route that took him across the Atlantic, down
South America and through the Strait of Magellan, and then on to Australia,
South Africa and home. He had rebuilt his 35 foot sloop Spray by himself
before he sailed and proved a good and safe sailboat bringing him safely
home in 1898.

Even with the publicity gained by Slocum there was no attempt to repeat his
voyage for more than 20 years and this, again, was also in a boat built by
the sailor. In 1921 Harry Pigeon set off from California in his 35-foot yawl
Islander and completed a fairly uneventful circumnavigation. Alain Gerbault
of France followed in 1924 in his 39-foot cutter Firecrest. The year 1942
would appear an unlikely time to try to circumnavigate the world, but that
was when Vito Dumas set out from his home in Argentina in his ketch Legh II,
making the voyage completely in the Southern Hemisphere.


More than 20 years passed before anyone attempted another solo
circumnavigation. This time it wasn't a cruise like the previous voyages but
an attempt to beat the sailing times of the great Clipper ships. Francis
Chichester set out from England in his 56-foot ketch Gypsy Moth IV taking
107 days to reach Sydney. After a re-fit he continued his voyage, which
totaled 274 days at sea. Even as he returned Alec Rose was setting out in
his 36-footer Lively Lady and completed his circumnavigation, with two
stops, in 11 months.

After Francis Chichester brought Gipsy Moth IV back to Plymouth in 1967, he
challenged all single-handed sailors and adventurers. In his mind a nonstop,
solo circumnavigation was the only voyage left. Although a non-stop voyage
was seemed an impossible achievement, people were soon announcing their
plans to make the attempt.

Chichester's challenge manifested itself in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden
Globe. In January of 1969 Robin Knox-Johnston answered Chischester's call in
his 32-foot ketch Suhaili, after a 9 month beating though the Southern
Ocean. Knox-Johnston proved that what once was though impossible, was indeed
possible and in fact possible with one of the slowest boats to have actually
crossed an ocean.

After the Golden Globe most of the circumnavigators were cruises. In 1970
21-year-old Robin Lee Graham made history by becoming the youngest person to
solo circumnavigate the globe. He completed most of his 5 year journey in
the 22-foot Lapworth sloop Dove. After Graham completed his journey many
people realized that a circumnavigation or even a journey across an ocean
was possible and in fact within reach of people with just a little bit of
sailing experience.
========================

If single handing is as easy as you make it out to be ....... why are the
above folks so revered.

==========

Roger, I appreciate our differences on this subject and your opinion. If
you see me out on the high seas next summer say hello.






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




"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
NE Sailboat wrote:
I also disagree completely with your opinion. Single hand sailing is
hard
work, dangerous, lonely, etc. Just leaving whatever mooring, dock
you might be attached to is tough. Unless you have more than two
arms?

It's not my opinion you are disagreing with, it is my experience. For
you, it may be hard, lonely, dangerous, work but I find it relaxing,
stimulating, and even medative. This applies to docking as well. My
landings in the slip from hell are almost always smoother and better when
I'm alone because I'm fully focused and able to act with exact timing
instead of worrying whether the crew will step off at the right moment,
remember to put a turn on the cleat instead of pulling from chest height
in a panic, etc.

I do a lot of things slower and the preplanning required makes for a lot
of the enjoyable mental exercise. Where I might just cast off and back
out with a crew, I will move the boat to a different position, double
lines back short enough that they can't foul the prop but will just fall
off the horn of the cleats when I start moving. As I back out, there is
almost always some helpful person on the dock yelling, "You forgot your
dock lines!" but I just motor out into the open and walk around calmly
retrieving them.

Try buying two bow and stern lines each about 3/4 the length of your boat.
Take time to lead them outside everything with the ends tied together.
You can then step ashore with the ability to control both ends of the
boat. After making on line fast, the other will be right there without
falling in the water or being on the deck of the boat that has blown just
out of reach.

I do all this with two arms and, as I said, it is easier than with any but
a very experienced crew.

Then, once released, the project of putting up the main, getting
everything together ,, et all.

It's not a project. It's seamanship. It's why we spend all this money to
be able to enjoy this.

And the big issue is the helm! Unless you are the first person on
earth who can be in two places at once. Someone, must steer.

You are not doing this right. I sometimes have to go back and make a helm
adjustment but it's not a big deal. I usually get everything ready to
hoist, go back and position the boat, and then haul away. My boat is as
quick turning as any when unattended. If I can do this, you should easily
be able to manage it in your long keel Bristol 32.

Little things learned over 43 years help. Are you overhauling your sheets
before hoisting? The drag of a partially hoisted sail pulling the sheets
through the blocks will accellerate and turn the boat. If the sail can
swing freely, it will have less effect on the boat.

I get very frustrated. One minute I'm pulling on a sheet, next I'm
back resetting the helm

This gets close to the core problem. Attitude is important. Once you get
frustrated, the parts of the mind that anticipate, stratagize, and react
constructively to unexpected problems begin to shut down. This is above
all, a mental exercise. Nothing will help as much as learning to get into
a "zone" where snags are just something you deal with.

But :::: the helm! That rotten helm.

Come on, the Bristol 32 has about as sweet a helm as you are ever going to
find on a sailboat. My E32 has marvelous control authority but her least
attractive trait is that she turns instantly and quickly as soon as you
let go. If I can do all this stuff calmly on an E32, you can do it on a
B32. Do you have a wheel? If so learn how to use the brake. Sometimes
setting it so it just drags works better than locking it. If you have a
tiller, look at one of those "Tiller Tamers".


At the end of the day .... the docking, mooring. I hate this.

There's the nub of the problem. Have you considered golf? You'll never
do it right unless you enjoy it, even when it isn't going right.

I'd rather have a crewmate. Someone to help out.

Well, as to why you don't have a crewmate, I just won't touch that with a
ten foot pole. I will say however, that you are much more likely to find
or retain a crewmate if you learn how to do everything calmly by yourself
and project a reassuring sense of competence and control. My current
number one crew detested boating up until last spring. Sailing or boating
with her former husband was like being in a storm at sea. It was a
constant crisis from the time they left the dock until they returned
during which everything she did was wrong. Now she is completely in love
with cruising and looking forward eagerly to going to Newfoundland,
Labrador, and even beyond.

One thing I brought with me from aviation was the concept of practice. If
you are going out and just starting to cruise, as it sounds like you did
last summer, you are setting yourself up for frustration. Now that you
know the boat, plan on a few days next spring with no goals other than
practice. Put the sails up and down, dock and undock. Try different
things. Think ahead. Think of the snags not as frustraging interruptions
but as the keys to doing it smoothly by anticipating them.

Experience helps but none of this can be done by rote. Attitude and
getting in to a zone of calm and creative problem solving is vital.
The brain also has a way of processing lessons over time when you get
away. The improvement in my handling of the boat this summer over the
first was amazing, right from the first day. You'll find next season much
easier. But, only if you get your attitude adjusted.

--
Roger Long