This is my first post and I like the "down to earth or should that be surface" nature of the forum.

I'm attempting to wade through the many options of choosing a first boat. I've some sailing experience and regularly crew in club racing on a racer/cruiser in a Beneteau First 35 as bowman. I know a lot about what happens forward of the mast but the rest is only theory for me! I joined a yacht club to learn to sail, being something I've always wanted to do, and have been surprised by the differences of cruising versus racing. I appreciate and understand why people opt for one or the other and sometimes a bit of both.

Not being a competitive person by nature I don't see racing as a high priority but but appreciate its value in sailing skill development and it would be nice to measure my sailing skill improvement from time to time. Small cruises up and down the WA coast appeal to me so I lean towards a boat I can spend a few days on and will be single handing most of the time as SWMBO would be a very fair weather sailor at best!

However I want a boat that can sail and I mean by that one that does respond to good sail trim readily and I also want a "good sea boat" ie can sail in typical WA windy conditions ok. The boat also needs to have some visual appeal ie not a totally run down racer style of interior, chalky gel coat and a general air of neglect. To me about the 28' to 30' mark seems about right and I started looking at Viking 30, being a popular boat raced in my club and were sometimes used for cruising. I must have looked at about 25 in various clubs and to me, most appear used for racing on a limited budget and have zero appeal. ie the gel coat is very poor and most have been painted but are looking shabby again. I'm not criticizing here but its how they come across to me.

Price has been interesting, the most expensive advertised vessel is probably the worst example I've seen. For a while I liked Peterson 30s and the Van de Stadt 28/Spirit 28 seems a good starter with rave reviews in their day. I read some concerning comments about "pinched in stern" designs being hard to handle on a run with spinnaker flying, however I suspect its all relative and many of the older 1/2 tonners are of similar design.

Any suggestions and comments would be appreciated as would how much attention I should pay to design numbers such as Displacement/Length and Sail Area/Displacement in trying to sort out where on the sailing spectrum a particular yacht sits. I know its an impossible ask but would welcome any and all ideas.

First thing is what is your budget.
Lots of different boats will suit your needs.
As HG says that 32/33 ft mark is a good size if you do get her onboard she will appreciate a few comforts. Single handeling or even short handed its not so much the type of boat more the setup of the boat. You will find self tailing winches so much easier also winch placement if you can easily reach from helm position. All lines running back to the cockpit all make soloing easier.
the rounding up you are talking about in the IOR boats down wind with kite up if you are solo will you be carrying a kite in anything over 12 knots? You will probably be goose winging the head sail which is a lot easier to control.

This seems a bit expensive, but does look nicely kept.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/jarkan-europa-10-under-offer/176014

Coming off a nice First 35, to looking at early 80's era yachts is probably going to take some getting used to and the WA market is very limited.

Have you considered a getting together a Private Syndicate? It's not for everyone, but I'm in a syndicate of 4 in a nice 40'er and it's working great. Get a much bigger and newer boat than I could afford/justify at my stage of life with younger kids and all their activities. It's perfect for family trips to Rotto for a week, can take a load of friends out, or just go solo. The regular costs of pen, insurance etc become nothing, 4 hands with maintenance keep the boat immaculate and we can afford to put money into the boat for improvements. Also gives an instant crew for racing. We bought it in Airlie and each sailed a bit of the way over the top home to Perth fitting in with work leave etc.

I have a Tartan 37, which is supposed to be the ideal racer/cruiser. I love her.

Spacesailor 24 or 27?
Designed by Kim Swarbrick, built in WA. They also designed the SS18, 20, 22, S97, S111, S80
The 24 & 27 are very roomy for their size with high freeboard and excellent sailing pedigrees having been designed for WA conditions really.
Plenty around the place at various yacht clubs too.
The 24s are going for around 10K + on Gumtree while the 27s are in the 30 + range. There are some very well loved 27s around too as they still race as a fleet at South of Perth YC and hold State Championships.
Being just yourself and SWMBO a boat that's a little smaller than 30 may be easier to handle sailing and things like berthing, mast lowering if going in/out of the River.

Well you could be a masochist like me and buy a sailboat of a design that you really like that has lots of deferred maintenance that needs doing and has had very little equipment fitted. So being in original condition saves the annoyance of having to undo stuff that the previous owners did that you may not like or to replace stuff that no longer works or needs updating. This is a lot of work and expense though. I think far more expensive than the alternative which is to look for a sailboat that has had a lot of work already done, if you like the work that has been done.

Since you mentioned the UFO design, I wonder about this listing that claims to have spent over 100k in the last 5 years:

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/ufo-34-make-an-offer/145506

I am impressed with the photo proving the owner is a masochist, the one with him fairing it with a torture board, that is on my todo list.

dmarco said..
Wow what a fantastic response, thank you all very much indeed.

Interesting the majority of opinion for a larger "starter boat" though with any pretense at cruising I can see why and points well made.

I thought I watched all the adds but didn't see the Cole 32, ironically I recall seeing that yacht at SOPYC and being impressed by its lines when I was looking at yet more Viking 30s.
It certainly appears an attractive proposition and I'll have a look at it again tomorrow. I like that style and reminds me of a UFO and or S&S 39.
The Cavalier 32 in Vic is a stunner indeed, long passage?
The prices yachts are attracting these days is criminal for the owners.

I've no problem coming off the First 35 as crew as I think if I stayed on maybe I'd learn to sail, by my definition, over another 5 years! The problem is not me coming back to the cockpit or wherever but no one else wants to go forward, so I've been doing bowman for 2 years now. I'm doing the Dirk Hartog Race and cruise return so hopefully that will be a learning experience. Even with my own boat, if I'm available, I'd still be happy to crew on the F35 whilst the owner wants me on the bow or anywhere else for that matter.

I'll make more comments when I've time to digest all the above and thank you very much again.

Do you crew on Mulberry?

EC31 said..

twodogs1969 said..
Gumtree: Cole 32


Please view this ad:

Cole 32,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/applecross/sail-boats/cole-32/1122315148?utm_source=com.android.mms&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

Price: $25,000 Negotiable


And it is in perth

Bargain.....

I have always been a fan of Cole 32's. This one seems a good buy but it would need a headsail furler to make it a good cruiser.