What is the best
cruising sailboat?
cruising sailboat?
Why did I choose a Tayana 37?
The age old question is:
"what is the best cruising sailboat?"
The age old answer is:
"We can't tell you what the best cruising sailboat is for you!"
The question is not well posed and the stock answer from boat owners is nothing short of copycat laziness!
What the guy who asked that question wants to know is:
"What cruising sailboat did you choose and why?"
When someone is serious about chucking the land job and buying a sailboat he has to have a lot on the ball. I am not talkng about money smarts. Most guys never get past the dream. Our curious buyer is not asking anyone to make the purchase decision for him. He will figure that out by himself.
What he needs to know is why each of us made the choices we did, what errors did we make and what would we do differently if we had it to do all over again!
"What cruising sailboat did you choose and why?"
When someone is serious about chucking the land job and buying a sailboat he has to have a lot on the ball. I am not talkng about money smarts. Most guys never get past the dream. Our curious buyer is not asking anyone to make the purchase decision for him. He will figure that out by himself.
What he needs to know is why each of us made the choices we did, what errors did we make and what would we do differently if we had it to do all over again!
I don't know why sailors who normally love to talk about their boat clam up at the question. So damn it, next time the question is posed, may I suggest you tell them?
Why I chose my Tayana 37
My original thinking, what I had to have:
I can't afford what I really wanted: I wanted a much larger sailboat. After looking around I decided on a Tayana 42. Then I started pricing them. The ones in good shape were priced through the roof. The ones that needed work were going to cost more to put into shape, both in time and in money, than the ones priced through the roof!
Next decision. What did I have to have?
- I had to have a sailboat with a center cockpit and an aft cabin.
- I had to have a sailboat with two heads.
- I wanted a sailboat with the least amount of woodwork possible.
- I had to have a generator.
- I had to have a water maker.
- I had to have solar panels.
- I had to have a wind generator.
- I had to be self sufficient.
- I had to have a livable floor plan.
- I had to have a sailboat that could take anything mother nature can throw at it!
CENTER COCKPIT: A center cockpit cruising sailboat has its good and bad points.
The number one bad point is the weather one catches being in the middle of the boat instead of on the aft end. You catch a lot more being in the middle! A little heavy weather is a lot of fun until you are out for about the fourth day. Then getting doused one more time is downright unpleasant!
The second biggest drawback to a center cockpit is the division of floor space. You lose a lot of sense of 'space' when you divide yourself into two cabins.
The number one bad point is the weather one catches being in the middle of the boat instead of on the aft end. You catch a lot more being in the middle! A little heavy weather is a lot of fun until you are out for about the fourth day. Then getting doused one more time is downright unpleasant!
The second biggest drawback to a center cockpit is the division of floor space. You lose a lot of sense of 'space' when you divide yourself into two cabins.
A center cockpit is a great layout for a variety of reasons. First, the cockpit is where you spend a lot of marina time and on the hook time. The layout is very comfortable.
Second, a center cockpit is very sexy.
Third, the two parts to the boat are separated, which can be a big benefit when you have guests.
Personally, I think a center cockpit on anything smaller than 40 feet makes things too cramped. That put my Tayana 37 out of the center cockpit range. Maybe one day I will find a rich uncle or hit the lottery. How about adopting me? Until then, my aft cockpit is a good choice! I didn't get a center cockpit.
TWO HEADS: I figured two heads were critical because if one went bad then the other works. But more importantly to me, I didn't want anyone traipsing through my aft-end stateroom to do their thing.
Second, a center cockpit is very sexy.
Third, the two parts to the boat are separated, which can be a big benefit when you have guests.
Personally, I think a center cockpit on anything smaller than 40 feet makes things too cramped. That put my Tayana 37 out of the center cockpit range. Maybe one day I will find a rich uncle or hit the lottery. How about adopting me? Until then, my aft cockpit is a good choice! I didn't get a center cockpit.
TWO HEADS: I figured two heads were critical because if one went bad then the other works. But more importantly to me, I didn't want anyone traipsing through my aft-end stateroom to do their thing.
After sailing with Greg to Veracruz I learned that two heads were not as important as I thought they were. We had seven crew members and two heads on Greg's Benneteau First 42. Surely, with seven men, second head was indispensible. As it turned out, we used the second head for storage. It was never once used for pooping!
On the other hand, there were times when we could not find a berth for all of us to sleep, and Greg's boat was loaded with berths! We could have used the room taken up by the second head for another berth.
The no traipsing through my stateroom excuse no longer worked. La Vida Nueva does not have an aft stateroom. I didn't get the second head. Good decision.
LEAST AMOUNT OF WOODWORK: It was good thinking then, and it is good thinking now, to have the lowest maintenance exterior possible. On the other hand, I have managed the woodwork. You can usually get someone to do it for you, and if not, you will certainly enjoy doing it yourself. When people see a yacht as beautiful as mine pull into the marina they are more likely to help.
The no traipsing through my stateroom excuse no longer worked. La Vida Nueva does not have an aft stateroom. I didn't get the second head. Good decision.
LEAST AMOUNT OF WOODWORK: It was good thinking then, and it is good thinking now, to have the lowest maintenance exterior possible. On the other hand, I have managed the woodwork. You can usually get someone to do it for you, and if not, you will certainly enjoy doing it yourself. When people see a yacht as beautiful as mine pull into the marina they are more likely to help.
One thing I am glad I didn't get was teak decks. Teak is so expensive it is usually cut into thin layers for decks. Once you take your teak down a slight notch it becomes impossible to fix! Your teak is below the screws used to secure it. After seeing people slave to keep their decks in shape, and watching a few teak decks get ripped up, I was not looking forward to this expensive feature. They say teak decks are hotter than heck under foot, as well!
The benefit of having a boat as spectacular as La Vida Nueva is the attention you get. Lot's of people will walk by a newer Hunter just to take a look at a spectacular boat like mine. I got a lot of brightwork.
GENERATOR: How am I going to run the microwave, flat screen t.v., computer, and washing machine without a generator? You can also save a lot of money in fuel using a generator rather than the main engine. The answer is, live in a condo! I am living on a sailboat!
What I didn't realize is, you need to run your engine once a day to charge the batteries and keep a happy motor.
Batteries need to be run up...and then run down to keep them from getting senile. I didn't know batteries have memories! A battery that is always up will eventually lose it's poop, just as a battery that is always down will.
You have to run your generator frequently to keep it charging. As long as you are going to run your engine once a day, why run both your engine and your generator? That is a waste of fuel and a waste of generator.
People with generators also talk about how much time and money they spend fixing them. I want to be a tourist, not a mechanic. Nor do I want to pay a mechanic. So fixing a generator is not my idea of fun. When we say fixing, of course, it is not just fixing. Changing the oil and maintaining the generator and the engine and the outboard is a lot of work.
Then, of course, we have the matter of fuel. Who wants to pack two types of fuel with them when sailing? As it is, keeping a stock of gasoline for the dingy is a chore. On the other hand, a diesel generator costs a fortune!
Finally, a generator is heavy meaning it slows you down, and it takes a ton of space. I didn't realize one of the most precious assets aboard a cruising sailboat is space! You would be amazed at how nice life gets when you don't have to move this to get to that, and when you can get all of the stuff out of the cabin and into the locker when at anchor. I didn't get a generator. I have mixed feelings.
WATERMAKER. Watermakers cost a lot of money and a lot of maintenance. Whenever you leave the boat you have to pickle the watermaker. That is just another pain in the tail on top of all the other things you have to do to leave your boat. Watermakers also take up space.
In my friend Ken's Tayana 37, the water maker protrudes loudly into the pilot berth. I didn't like how much room it took up or where it was located. However, Ken has a lot more water than I do. His boat is also for sale, by the way, and it is spectacular! The most spectacular Tayana 37 on the market!
On the bright side, Water in the Caribbean costs a fair amount of money. That makes one cringe when washing down the deck. A nickel or dime a gallon can go fast when one gets to cleaning. I didn't get a water maker, I wish I had one.
SOLAR PANELS: If you don't have a generator then you must have some way to supplement the batteries. Solar panels are a good way to go. In a recent voltage test on my one remaining panel after Hurricane Dolly robbed me blind, I had a solid 12 volts. She is a blessing. I got solar panels. I will be upgrading.
WIND GENERATOR: Most people say a wind generator puts out more energy than their solar panels do. It is an inexpensive and low maintenance energy source depending upon which one you buy. Solar panels supplement when there is no wind. Mine wind machine is an Ampair, which thanks to Dolly is not working. I got a wind generator. I want to upgrade to two.
LIVABLE FLOOR PLAN: Bob Perry designed the Tayana 37. Robert Perry still aroud and happy to answer your questions!Actually, Tayana stole lots of Perry ideas. I was lucky enough to email him on that very topic. Perry is a guru in cruising sailboat circles. Since he did a fair amount of cruising he figured out what works and what looks pretty. A Perry planned boat is almost always ready for serious cruising!
Many sailboats have unrealistic floor plans. For example, there is no ready pilot berth near the companionway. In a heavy sea a berth in the foe castle is an invitation for sea sickness. Now I need two heads!
Having a pilot berth is critical so you can collapse when coming off of watch. Having it in a stable part of the boat prevents vomit. La Vida Nueva has two pilot berths. A third was rigged above one, but when they put in the propane heater they took it out. I may put it back. Lots of pilot berths means room for lots of crew, a good thing on a long passage.
Others boats have massive galleys, great for harbor parties, a disaster at sea. My Tayana 37 has a galley that is quite functionable, but small enough to keep you from flying.
Others are so cramped inside there is no room for storage. A famous Pacific brand of boat is famous for that. Storage means having the luxury of home! Surprisingly, the size of the boat does not determine storage. Some big ones are atrocious. The Tayana 37 has more storage than many bigger boats.
A shower that does not rain onto the toilet. having a camper shower is fine for two weeks. After that, having to cover the toilet paper, usually to no avail, every time you wash your private parts is a lot like camping. It is amazing La Vida Nueva has it's own shower stall!
A roomy main salon. Many cruising sailboats have tiny main salons. Too much space is taken up by center cockpits, an extra head and huge kitchens. La Vida Nueva has a nice sized main salon.
A separate nav station. Having the main table as a nav station, or an afterthought for a nav station makes sailing a challenge at a time when you need all of your faculties. La Vida Nueva has a seperate nav station. I wish it were bigger and I wish it were farther away from the companionway.
SAILBOAT THAT WILL TAKE ANYTHING: There are a lot of pretty boats. It took a long time to figure out what was underneath the fiberglass, which cruising sailboat was more stable=prone to roll over=critical=check the roll over factor, stiff hulled, solid rigged and in short, ready to take a kick in the teeth and get up to do it all over again! La Vida Nueva and Hurricane Dolly Hurricane Dolly, captain murphy, sailboat, dramatic footage, cry with me!
I am not going to tell you which boats are made like paper kites. I don't want a knuckle sandwich or a cold shoulder from the guy at the dock. If you do your research you will hear the tales and can come to your own conclusions. For an inexperienced sailor this was the most critical decision I made. A Tayana 37 is built like a tank. La Vida Nueva has been through Hurricane "Gale" and Hurricane Dolly and come out the other side. La Vida Nueva and Hurricane Gale! Hurricane Gale, heavy weather sailing and darn scared!I got a true blue-water boat!
I can tell you which boats are meant for heavy weather sailing. Tayanas. Hylas. Pacific Seacraft, Shannon, Island Packet, Pearson, Swan, Hallberg Rassey, Hans Christian and Wauquiez. There are a lot more! These are just examples. Not all models of all brands are the same. Nor do I suggest all of these boats sail well, I just am saying I think they will take a hard blow!
WHAT I HAD TO HAVE AND WHAT I GOT
center cockpit and an aft cabin. I didn't get it. Not a problem.
two heads. I didn't get it. It was a good decision.
Least amount of woodwork. I got lots of brightwork. Mixed thinking.
I had to have a generator. I can live without it. Good decision.
I had to have a water maker. I want one! But then I need a generator!
I had to have solar panels. I got them, will be upgrading.
I had to have a wind generator. I got one, will be upgrading due to damage.
I had to be self sufficient. I am self sufficient.
CONCLUSIONS:
What I had to have in a cruising sailboat when I started looking and what was best for me were a long ways apart! I am very grateful for my 'had to have' list because it gave me a place to start. However, it turned out my dream sailboat was not the one in my head, but the one in my hands. How much equipment, how many feet, the layout, the dependability in a blow, these are all factors to be traded off. I have lots to learn and will no doubt have some changes of heart.
I can't tell you what boat to buy. I don't think that was your question. This is the boat that works very well for me. When you finally make your decision please email me and let me know what works for you, and why!
Happy sailing,
Uncle Tim
