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Old 11-12-2017, 01:17 PM   #1
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Your short list....

Throwing out a question to all my TF brothers and sisters.

What would be your short list of boats in the 40 to 55 foot range that would make a good full-time live aboard for a single person, or couple, and be able to safely & comfortably handle an annual north/south, south/north (bash) migration from Mexico to Alaska and back again?

Requirements/necessities would include stabilization (active or passive), autopilot, radar, water maker, generator, A/C and heat.

Preferences/wants include full displacement, full keel, pilothouse, flying bridge, large full capacity, decent engine room access, fishable, diveable with room for solar panels. Nothing with huge amounts of horsepower.

Oh, I almost forgot the most important piece of the equation... A maximum purchase budget of $200,000 USD. Note: If boat is in need of a lot of upgrades etc. this amount would decrease accordingly.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Old 11-12-2017, 02:00 PM   #2
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We’ve done the trip twice from Alaska to Mexico. At 3,000 plus miles, one way, with no real side trips, I can’t imagine doing a round trip in a year.

That being said, a motorsailer would be my first choice. You can sail down from AK and have the power to bash into it on the way back.
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Old 11-12-2017, 02:14 PM   #3
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We’ve done the trip twice from Alaska to Mexico. At 3,000 plus miles, one way, with no real side trips, I can’t imagine doing a round trip in a year.

That being said, a motorsailer would be my first choice. You can sail down from AK and have the power to bash into it on the way back.
Yes, a "motorsailer" is a good option... Any recommendations/suggestions of a brand, model, year etc. etc.

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Old 11-12-2017, 02:15 PM   #4
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I agree with Larry. There aren't many good stabilized boats of that size under 200k other than motorsailers. They tend to offer the best bang for the buck for a passage maker.

If someone wanted a classic trawler look, an Willard 40 motorsailer would probably handle it well.
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Old 11-12-2017, 02:34 PM   #5
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For that price definitely a sailboat. Motorsailors are rare for a reason, typically because they don't do either particularly well. As others have noted that's one heck of yearly round trip in a slow boat.
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Old 11-12-2017, 02:53 PM   #6
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I’ve been on two Dutch motorsailers through the years but can’t remember the designers. They all had the tankage, engine size, heating systems and creature comforts. Performance was good as they were designed as motorsailers as was the build quality being Dutch. On the route you mentioned, you don’t have worry about air clearance or draft which is a plus. I’d be looking in the PNW.
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Old 11-12-2017, 02:54 PM   #7
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For that price definitely a sailboat. Motorsailors are rare for a reason, typically because they don't do either particularly well. As others have noted that's one heck of yearly round trip in a slow boat.
A bit off topic but I'll continue this discussion...

Estimating roughly 550 - 600 hours each direction this equates to approximately 20 to 25 full 24 hours days of sailing/motoring. Although not having done it before this certainly seems very doable in a 12 month period.

Note: Anyone... Please feel free to educate me if my brief analysis is incorrect.

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Old 11-12-2017, 03:13 PM   #8
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Using an average speed of 7 knots, then that's only 857 hours of boating a year to cover the 6,000 nm. We average between 900 and 1000 hours. Now, one question would be is he willing to deal with the fuel cost of a faster boat? At 12 knots, that leaves plenty of time at each end of the route, since the route only requires 500 hours. We average 17-18 knots over all situations combined.

While those hours sound like a lot to many, we did do a poll here some time back and 2 boaters here exceeded 1000 hours a year while 8 cruise 500 to 1000.
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Old 11-12-2017, 03:17 PM   #9
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A bit off topic but I'll continue this discussion...

Estimating roughly 550 - 600 hours each direction this equates to approximately 20 to 25 full 24 hours days of sailing/motoring. Although not having done it before this certainly seems very doable in a 12 month period.

Note: Anyone... Please feel free to educate me if my brief analysis is incorrect.

.
While you were asking, I was posting. It's very doable. I'd tend to look at it like this too. 5 hours every third day will do it. 7 hours every fourth day. Just over 8 hours every fifth day. 12 hours per day one day a week. It's not a daunting amount.
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Old 11-12-2017, 03:18 PM   #10
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...Estimating roughly 550 - 600 hours each direction this equates to approximately 20 to 25 full 24 hours days of sailing/motoring. Although not having done it before this certainly seems very doable in a 12 month period. ...
South bound you should be ok time but you’ll be missing BC. Northbound, the weather can really slow you down since you are “going to weather”. They don’t call the trip from Cabo to San Diego the Baja Bash for nothing. San Francisco to Noah Bay you can kill a lot of time, again against the wind. You can get lucky but we waited three weeks in OR for a south bound window. I don’t know how much blue water experience you have but beating or going to weather sucks and very hard on the boat and crew. Just my 2 cents.
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Old 11-12-2017, 03:51 PM   #12
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Here’s a De Vries Motorsailer with 800 gallons of fuel and 1000 gallons of water. Asking price is $180. Bow thruster, watermaker, 12 vdc system, 6.5’ headroom, Now I’m excited.

1985 De Vries Motorsailer 50 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
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Old 11-12-2017, 03:57 PM   #13
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Thank you for your efforts.

Me thinks an 1800 horsepower Hatteras sportfisher project boat is not in my future. Several of the others are geographically undesirable not to mention I can't see any of them doing the northbound bash from Mexico to Alaska. I'd really have to watch my weather window and use extreme caution since all boats listed were unstabilized.

Note: I'm more inclined towards an older KK42 (or something similar) or possibly even a motorsailer like a Seahorse Marine Mandarin 52.

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Old 11-12-2017, 04:00 PM   #14
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Here’s a De Vries Motorsailer with 800 gallons of fuel and 1000 gallons of water. Asking price is $180. Bow thruster, watermaker, 12 vdc system, 6.5’ headroom, Now I’m excited.

1985 De Vries Motorsailer 50 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
I like it... a lot!

Note: I'm now I'm planning a transit through the Panama Canal.

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Old 11-12-2017, 04:37 PM   #15
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Yes, a "motorsailer" is a good option... Any recommendations/suggestions of a brand, model, year etc. etc.

.
Funnily enough I spotted this one for sale this morning.
Almost ticks our boxes


ADAMS MOTORSAILER.,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cookt...er-/1090428556
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Old 11-12-2017, 04:46 PM   #16
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The real reason motorsailors are rare is that the people who understand their strengths are rare....

The uneducated cruisers see their weaknesses more than their strengths.

Like swiss army knives and clones, they exist for a reason.
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Old 11-12-2017, 04:46 PM   #17
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Funnily enough I spotted this one for sale this morning.
Almost ticks our boxes

ADAMS MOTORSAILER.,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cookt...er-/1090428556
She's Purdy!

I see something interesting... She's been listed for sale since September 2015 which leads to the question... Why?

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Old 11-12-2017, 04:49 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry M View Post
Here’s a De Vries Motorsailer with 800 gallons of fuel and 1000 gallons of water. Asking price is $180. Bow thruster, watermaker, 12 vdc system, 6.5’ headroom, Now I’m excited.

1985 De Vries Motorsailer 50 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
Nice boat. But how much better than the OP's existing DD?

I am biased, but here is an option. It has Naiads.

1980 Ocean Alexander mk1 Power New and Used Boats for Sale -
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Old 11-12-2017, 04:59 PM   #19
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Nice boat. But how much better than the OP's existing DD?

I am biased, but here is an option. It has Naiads.

1980 Ocean Alexander mk1 Power New and Used Boats for Sale -
To be clear... I don't currently own a DD. It's still my dream boat at this point but the stars just haven't aligned perfectly for me to sail away in a SHM DD.

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Old 11-12-2017, 05:03 PM   #20
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A photo is worth a million words .
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