Be careful some have a history of keel modification and failing.

One races in SA and does fairly well for what it is. Its sailed very well though.

I wouldn't call them a comfy cruiser. I would call them an older fitted out racer. A fast comfy cruiser is a Jeanneau Sunfast 37

Yeah I've checked out the coroners report and history. Also of a few others thatve happened too.
I'm chasing the keel / surrounding structure already and waiting to find out.

i cant believe how cheap this era of boats is selling for, though hull to keel joints can be an issue they are simple well built performance cruisers that weren't bumped excessively to fit horrible rules my only concern for distance sailing would be slaming to weather in choppy conditions and load carting capacity

in my opinion the cole 43 is a better cruising boat because its heavy displacement will give smoother windward performance and load carrying though sacrificing downwind performance and handling still maintaining high averages
though the farrs have a more modern interior a lot would depend on what style of boat you like are familiar with.The big overlapping headies on the cole might make it a bit of a handful to depower in a blow short handed

Ramona said..
Jonathon is selling a lifting keel Farr 43 on eBay. Currently under 20 grand. Might need some crew to sail this.

wow ramona pity thats sold a lot of boat for not much would have been tempted

sydchris said..

boty said..
in my opinion the cole 43 is a better cruising boat because its heavy displacement will give smoother windward performance and load carrying though sacrificing downwind performance and handling still maintaining high averages
though the farrs have a more modern interior a lot would depend on what style of boat you like are familiar with.The big overlapping headies on the cole might make it a bit of a handful to depower in a blow short handed

+1 on the better cruising boat (admittedly I'm biased ) . You want something for cruising that will look after you, rather than having to fight it all the time. Twin furlers with a #2 on the forestay and a #4 on an inner forestay will take care of your cruising needs.

That's pretty much my old set up on the Olympic 40.
There's also a very nice vessel in SA for sale and there's a couple of very nice Coles I'm tempted by. I'm considering going up in size it's just the costs associated with it that's holding me back.

I did two Hobarts on a Cole 43. Lovely boat but whether they are easy to handle and a better cruising boat than an 11.6 type would seem to depend entirely on personal preference.

All else being equal, they sail at a fairly high angle of heel, and the windows are very small which makes them feel rather shut-in. The masthead rig makes it hard to depower by doing anything other than roller furling, which can make for an inefficient sail.

There are many lightweights that don't have to be fought all the time, and Rumrunner and Solo Globe Challenger didn't look after their crews all that well when they rolled 360 degrees. While that doesn't indicate that they are problematic, it may indicate that the difference between a "seaworthy" and "unseaworthy" boat is actually of very little significance in the real world in bad conditions.

On the other hand, there are some highly experienced people who rate them highly and I certainly wouldn't say no if one ended up in my Xmas stocking. They are so lovely to look at, and their handling and motion can be lovely.