Any SR owner consider owning a sailboat (... here it comes!)

[Two Peas]

I know, I know. Bring on the flames.

But...

I've enjoyed sailing, but have not owned my own sailboat. I am drawn to the idea of making long passages under the power and quiet of sail. What boater doesn't get inspired by CSN's "Southern Cross"? (Jimmy Buffet's version is ok too)

So, am I nuts? Have I lost it? Who here can tell tales of making a 10, 20, or 30 day crossing? (and only using 50 gallons or less of diesel)

I'm slowly getting the bug...

 

[Sundancer]

I've considered it. I see it as a cheaper way to get into a displacement trawler. I'd keep the sails covered and just motor around!

 

[mddickens]

Personally, I love sailing (see avatar), and if I lived on the coast, I'd probably have a sailboat instead of a powerboat (there I said it), but boating on an inland lake that doesn't get much wind in the summer makes that impractical IMO so I have a powerboat and I love that too. Too many boats, not enough time or money!

 

[fc3]

What you "save" in fuel costs with sailing you "pay" in work and time. All that hoisting, and jibing, and grinding, oh my! Then after doing all that work you get rewarded by traveling at one fifth (or less) of the speed you were able to attain by just pushing the throttles forward.

I guess if you're retired and have lots and lots of time for it, then the slower speeds don't matter. On the other hand, if you are older, do you want to work that hard just to go 5 knots?

Best regards,
Frank

 

[mddickens]

What you "save" in fuel costs with sailing you "pay" in work and time. All that hoisting, and jibing, and grinding, oh my! Then after doing all that work you get rewarded by traveling at one fifth (or less) of the speed you were able to attain by just pushing the throttles forward.

I guess if you're retired and have lots and lots of time for it, then the slower speeds don't matter. On the other hand, if you are older, do you want to work that hard just to go 5 knots?

Best regards,
Frank

Personally, I think that there's a lot of satisfaction from sailing well (from a technical perspective, configuring the boat and sails properly), and yes, it all comes down to how one values his/her time at that time. From that perspective, sometimes I'm a power boat kinda guy and sometimes I'm a sail boat kinda guy. I get a charge out of both.

 

[Two Peas]

I guess if you're retired and have lots and lots of time for it, then the slower speeds don't matter. On the other hand, if you are older, do you want to work that hard just to go 5 knots?

Best regards,
Frank

Assume the discussion I'm looking for is centered around the idea of being retired (or semi-retired) and well-heeled, looking for adventure and sun.

 

[fc3]

I guess it depends on how well "well heeled" one means. If that's very well-heeled, this would work. 15kts cruise, ocean crossing capable, and can be handled by a couple. Big money. Otherwise if not quite so well heeled, then there is something like this. 6 kts, which is darned slow, but it's a consistent 6 kts not subject to the capriciousness of the wind resulting in the concomitant whines, "Are we ever going to get there?". And only 1.6 gph providing a range of 3400 nm. For me, those would be my choices. Your mileage may vary. Offer may be restricted by law. Please see the prospectus for additional investor information. Offer not valid in NJ, NY, MI, IL, CA , etc, etc, etc. because they need that money more than you do.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Two Peas]

I guess it depends on how well "well heeled" one means. If that's very well-heeled, this would work. 15kts cruise, ocean crossing capable, and can be handled by a couple. Big money. Otherwise if not quite so well heeled, then there is something like this. 6 kts, which is darned slow, but it's a consistent 6 kts not subject to the capriciousness of the wind resulting in the concomitant whines, "Are we ever going to get there?". And only 1.6 gph providing a range of 3400 nm. For me, those would be my choices. Your mileage may vary. Offer may be restricted by law. Please see the prospectus for additional investor information. Offer not valid in NJ, NY, MI, IL, CA , etc, etc, etc. because they need that money more than you do.

Best regards,
Frank

Thanks Frank. I've looked at lots of Nordhavns and other motor cruisers / displacement vessels. I find them quite interesting, too.

What I'm curious about here is if there are any sailors amongst us CSR'ers who have made long passages?

 

[Lazy Daze]

The longest I've done on a sailboat was about 6 or 7 days. From Brooklyn to Maine. It was a good trip. There's enough sailboats in our family (relatives - we all boat in the same place) that I don't need to buy one myself (plus, we usually have some little ones on the store lot that I can "borrow". Retirement is a ways off for me, but yes, I've thought about it. I'm just not sure if it could be my "only" boat! :grin:

 

[chumbley]

I've thought about it. Not for here, of course, you would have to tack about every 74 seconds on our lake, and I don't want to work that hard. But I'd definitely consider it if I was cruising the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, etc. It would definitely be about the journey as much as the destination.

My wife has sailed a good bit (in Utah of all places - on the Great Salt Lake). Me, not so much. So I would have a LOT to learn. Or maybe I could be the Admiral?

 

[Tonka Boater]

If I were retired and/or lived in Florida I would definitely consider a sail boat. We were in Puerto Rico earlier this year and we chartered the below catamaran for a day with 3 other couples. We went under wind power once we were in open waters and I LOVED it! Our max speed was 10.7 mph but we averaged 6 mph. A little slower than I like to cruise but it was silent. Once we approached our snorkeling destination the captain and 1st mate switched to the outboards to help back down on the anchor but the trip was otherwise under wind power. I was impressed with the 1st mate's ability to dock it too with twin 40hp outboards.

This is about 5 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico in April of this year.

 

[jmunro123]

I was thinking our family would be going into a sailboat from day one. We all when and looked a bunch of Hunters and settled on a 2006 Hunter 33. Nice boat, auto helm that tacked for you, winches all the way aft so easy to get to, roller furling main and Jib so not hoisting sales, nice interior. Perfect. As far as speed I was willing to do power sailing when you run the engine at the same time you are sailing. So the spped is like 8 knots but cost about 2 gph max depending on the wind. This boat was a desiel.

But my wife said she was concerned if I feel off the boat she would be screwed and could not come back to get me. I suggested Sailing lessons and had a certified instructor to teach her. Her exact words were 'I can't sail and have no interest in learning' . So , I started looking at Power.

 

[rcknecht]

Yes... I am cheap enough to enjoy the efficiency of a sail boat... My wife does not like the way they heal over in the wind... Also, sailing is a sport, and if the wife was not willing to learn, it was not going to happen... The closest I will come to owning my own sail boat, will be a trawler, when we retire, maybe... I have respect for the sailors that use their boats...

 

[Turtlesboat]

The only time I would consider a sail boat is if I wanted to make LONG passages, like crossing the Atlantic or Pacific. The cost of ropes and sails offset whatever fuel savings you'll see puttering around the coast. All the sail boats running up and down the coast in the ICW all run under power, with no place to sit, going 6kts. They're all miserable, grumpy, tired, unshowered, with a stiff walk kind of crowd.

 

[dpvandy01]

I guess it depends on how well "well heeled" one means. If that's very well-heeled, this would work. 15kts cruise, ocean crossing capable, and can be handled by a couple. Big money. Otherwise if not quite so well heeled, then there is something like this. 6 kts, which is darned slow, but it's a consistent 6 kts not subject to the capriciousness of the wind resulting in the concomitant whines, "Are we ever going to get there?". And only 1.6 gph providing a range of 3400 nm. For me, those would be my choices. Your mileage may vary. Offer may be restricted by law. Please see the prospectus for additional investor information. Offer not valid in NJ, NY, MI, IL, CA , etc, etc, etc. because they need that money more than you do.

Best regards,
Frank

Nordhavn 43 or 47 is on my list of things to do..... a long long long way off.. I've got a bunch of "heeling" to do though.

 

[comsnark]

For cruising. . .a number of my friends thing the answer would be a Catamaran, such as this one http://www.cata-lagoon.com/400_pres_uk.php?PHPSESSID=dd760c16056220371a8c211cb4e7c5f0

These boats are faster than equivilent mono-hulls and really don't heel when under sail. Stability at anchor is much better than a powerboat and worlds better than a monohull sailboat.

Huge mounts of lounging deckspace. . .lots of space in the hulls for cabins and heads; with galley and lounge in between.

Different strokes for different folks. NOTHING is cheap when it comes to cruising.

 

[Two Peas]

The only time I would consider a sail boat is if I wanted to make LONG passages, like crossing the Atlantic or Pacific.

Exactly what I'm dreaming about. Start with a year in the Caribbean, then head through the canal and across to Tahiti and the West side of the Pacific.

This is what happens from reading Joshua Slocum's book...

 

[magster65]

Sailboat... not me. Sailing is work... I do enough work at work. I go boating to get away from work and besides, I don't like leaning. If you're talking about sacrificing speed to afford a much bigger boat like a displacement trawler... then yes, absolutely. I like the idea of a command bridge with 2 station steering and full cabin with lots of windows... I'll go 8 knots for that :smt001
As soon as it's affordable and practical I'll be going for something like this.

 

[Turtlesboat]

well before you make up your mind on a sail boat, go sit on one for several days. If you think a sundancer is cave like, you'll really know what cave like is on a sail boat. I anchor out most weekends, I see lots of blow boaters anchored around me. NO ONE is outside because there's no where to sit. We're all stretched out on the deck, eating meals in the cockpit, dangling out feet in the water on the swim platform. Can't do squat on a blow boat except sail and sleep.

Not many boats I can afford that have a 3000 mile range, but then again I would probably run out of everything after 500 miles going 6kts on a blow boat so that range is not all that real.

 

[VinceR]

We sailed for years. Our last sailboat was a Morgan we kept on Clear Lake (Galveston Bay). We miss sailing. However, we enjoy our power boat. Easy to use and fast.