How to Buy the RIGHT Liveaboard Cruising Sailboat to Cross an Ocean | Sailing Balachandra E094

in this episode i talk about in detail what to look for if you're searching for or in the market to buy a good blue water liveaboard cruising boat capable of crossing an ocean last time on sailing bellachandra we sailed from barbuda back to antigua where we did some amazing hiking and enjoyed christmas and new year's celebrations hey guys i'm dan and my partner is noelle and we're sailing bella chandra we sailed all the way from nova scotia canada down to the caribbean and we're sailing all around the caribbean now making youtube videos some of them like this one just to help you guys out if you're planning on cruising one day if you haven't subscribed to this channel go below the video look for the big red subscribe button press that button in this week's video i'd like to go back to boat buying and talk about what you should be looking for if you're in the market for a good liveaboard cruising boat capable of crossing an ocean because of our other boat buying videos we've had a lot of questions about this topic our preferences and what we've been exposed to live aboard cruising around the caribbean there are a lot of misconceptions and poor choices that can be made which can lead to purchasing a boat that is inadequate for your needs or possibly not completely capable of doing what you want to do especially if you plan on doing an ocean crossing i want to say up front in this video i'm talking about the features on boats that you should be searching for not necessarily maintenance damage or any dodgy work that was done by a factory these are important factors with boat buying but they usually come into play more when you're at the surveyor stage i also want to mention that we're not including catamarans in this video as noel and i have pretty much no experience with catamarans and have very little to say about them at this point when searching for a good blue water liveaboard cruising boat you can narrow down your search very quickly and rule out a lot of boats with just a few key factors first off is the boat made for racing usually a race boat is identified by an open transom in the back probably two large steering wheels a very deep keel and a thin spade rudder a lot of modern racing boats will have a black carbon fiber mast and chances are there will be no dodger or bimini or any of the typical cruising features you would see on a cruising boat some racing boats are capable of crossing an ocean but chances are they would require a large racing crew and you would find the cabins relatively uncomfortable as racing boats are generally designed as working boats once you have identified the type of boat you would want to check the length of the water line or the displacement usually we talk about the length overall in the case of bella chandra she's a 44 foot boat but our length of the water line is only 36 feet length of the water line is the division where the boat is submerged under the water the longer a boat's length of water line gives the boat more stability in larger seas and it can also mean a larger displacement how much water a boat displaces is based on its gross tonnage a boat that displaces more water is usually heavier and a heavier boat can handle rougher seas however usually a heavier boat means less speed a good blue water cruising boat will have a heavier displacement than a light racing boat chances are most modern liveaboard cruising boats will fall somewhere in between a heavy displacement boat and a light cruising boat there is some debate over this however the general consensus goes that if you want a good stable blue water cruising boat you would be looking for a length of the water line of at least 32 feet many people have crossed oceans in smaller boats but keep in mind the smaller the boat the more risk and less comfort you will have also look at depth of keel how deep your keel is will determine where you can go and where you can drop your anchor our keel is 6'9 inches that prohibits us from entering the icw in some areas in the bahamas you can travel the world with a deep keel but it means that you will have to be very selective about where you drop your anchor good live aboard cruising boats may have a full kill a shallow keel or a deep keel it really depends on where you want to go in personal preference however most people prefer a keel that is six feet or less mass tight is also an important factor you could cruise around the world with just about any mast height however if you plan to do the icw on the atlantic coast of the united states which prohibits us from going under any of the icw bridges and we were not able to use the intercoastal waterway at all coming down from canada if bridges are not going to be a concern for you you can cruise with just about any mass type but it's definitely something to consider when searching for a liveaboard cruising boat standing headroom is probably your most important factor if you're tall you want to check the standing headroom in the cabin before adding a boat to your list a boat with inadequate standing headroom would make a poor choice as a cruising boat as you would be stooped over for most of your life while trying to live aboard very uncomfortable and potentially unhealthy you also want to find a boat that has a comfortable berth to sleep in for me finding a boat with a large bed in a private cabin was one of the deciding factors on purchasing bella chandra you want to make sure that the boat will have a suitable birth that you are comfortable with births way up in the v also called the v birth is typically not the most comfortable place to sleep on board however there are some boats with v-berths that are set back closer to the mid-ships which i'm told are quite comfortable on balachandra we sleep in the aft cabin sometimes underway we sleep in the seabirths at midships these are all comfortable places but when you're living aboard full time you'll want a comfortable cabin that will act as your bedroom as this is where you will be sleeping full time next you'll need to check a few key factors in a boat listing that will help you determine whether a boat is capable of passage making or if it's designed for coastal cruising or chartering a lot of boats were built simply just to do chartering they do make good cruising boats not necessarily ocean crossing boats as you'll find that sometimes they have inadequate tankage limited storage space and not a lot of displacement sometimes they're very fast but not necessarily the boat you would want to take across an ocean is the engine horsepower adequate for a boat of this size you can compare other boats and their engines to understand the proper horsepower sizing for the vessel you're looking at many of the popular cruising boats of today have engines installed in the 75 to 100 horsepower range on balachandra we have a 44 horsepower yanmar which seems adequate for our needs however a 75 horsepower engine would really get us moving but we typically sail just about everywhere it really depends on how much motoring you plan on doing you want to look at water tankage or water storage and or a water maker if a boat has a water maker on board chances are you will not need as much water tankage as you would be able to constantly make water if you don't have a water maker on board you will need a large amount of water tankage to supply you with water on a long passage or an ocean crossing with a water maker you can simply just make water whenever you need it we can cruise for long periods without having any access to fresh water ashore it's important to have adequate tankage so you don't run out of water when you're cruising fuel tankage is also important especially if you're doing a long passage like to bermuda or to cross an ocean you will need an adequate amount of fuel to handle periods where you're dead up wind and need to motor or in very poor conditions and choose to motor or if the wind completely dies and you're expecting a bad turn in the weather you may want a motor to move ahead and get to your destination having adequate fuel tankage means less jugs on deck and more fuel you can bring with you for a long passage or an ocean crossing a good liveaboard cruising boat should have adequate storage space for your gear spare parts engine parts tools and all of the provisions you will need for long-term liveaboard cruising having a shower on board adds a level of comfort and makes cruising feel less like camping for you and any potential guests some boats have an independent shower stall others like our boat may have a shower built right into the head you want to consider with living aboard full time whether the cockpit is going to be comfortable for you and your potential guests and making sure everyone is comfortable in your cockpit can make a big difference when living on a boat full time and cruising having a comfortable cockpit can add a lot of value and is worth considering having easy access at the companion way is another very important factor a good blue water boat will have a companionway built such that if the boat were to take a wave into the cockpit the water would not spill into the cabin below however some companion ways can be very difficult to climb down or even dangerous you'll want to make sure that the companionway on the boat you're looking at fits your physical capability on balachandra our dodger is fairly low and our companionway is near the cabin top to climb down we have to crouch low and elderly people would have a difficult time accessing our companionway on some boats the companionway is virtually a straight down ladder to me that is potentially dangerous underway again it boils down to personal preference and what you're physically capable of doing another very important factor which is often overlooked when purchasing a boat is the ease of working the rig from the cockpit are the winches accessible do you have a good perch when grinding winches where will you sit when you're piloting the boat and how accessible is the wheel what will happen when the boat heals over to 45 degrees and will you need to leave the cockpit for any reason while sailing when in rough weather at sea especially in high winds or doing a crossing you will be less inclined to leave the cockpit a good blue water cruising boat should be set up such that you should not have to leave the cockpit unless it is an emergency in which case you would want to have jack lines installed from bow to stern sails can be made but are very expensive the size of the head sail on a boat can determine whether the boat has been used for racing or for cruising racers would prefer a very large jib above 135 percent a good working jib would be 140 or less on balachandra we mainly fly our 100 jib as it is a nice comfortable smaller jib and prevents our rig from taking heavy dangerous loads having a roller furling mainsail is a huge bonus if you can deploy and retract your mainsail with a minimum of effort it makes cruising full time much more comfortable comfort abort is very important when you're living full time on a cruising boat having easy access to the ocean for both swimming and collecting salt water is very important modern cruising yachts have a sugar scoop you can climb down and access the water or your dinghy from the back however in rough conditions accessing the ocean from the stern can be very dangerous a good cruising boat will have access to the ocean both for midships with a ladder or from the stern a ladder can always be added however some boats with large freeboard and poor access to the ocean means if you fall off you may not be able to get back aboard the drawback to having a sugar scoop is if you take a wave from the stern the wave may enter the cockpit which would be very uncomfortable while cruising but it does happen and is not a problem if your hatches are closed and you don't mind getting a little wet for us a good liveaboard cruising boat will have a roller furler on the headstay a roller furling jib is very important when short-handed however a lot of people do prefer hank on sales for racing hank on sales are ideal but for cruising the ease and convenience of a roller furling head sail means you don't have to leave the cockpit and it's quick and easy to stow your sail when necessary when liveaboard cruising your dinghy is the family car you will be using your dinghy very often you will be taking your dinghy with you wherever you go when you sail out in the open seat chances are you will not be dragging your dinghy off the stern as there is a potential for your dinghy to flip over fill with water or break away completely and be lost when we sail in the open ocean we put our dinghy on deck many cruisers also have dinghy davits installed at the back of the boat make sure the liveaboard cruising boat you're looking for either has adequate deck space to stow a dinghy or dinghy davits on the back many people will deflate their dinghy and store it however we've found that that type of dinghy is not durable and does not last for very long in the tropics it's important to have a way to bring a full-sized dinghy with you for if you ever have to change your dinghy you'll be happy that you have the deck space or davitz to store that dinghy while traveling in a marina and maneuvering between tight slips you would find a bow thruster very convenient however when liveaboard cruising full time chances are you will not be visiting many marinas unless you're in the mediterranean or in a place where marinas are necessary here in the caribbean you can get by just fine without ever tying up at a marina however if you plan to make marina as part of your cruising life you may want to consider a bow thruster when searching for a liveaboard cruising boat balachandra does not have a bow thruster and we're perfectly fine with this as we very rarely ever tie up at a marina next i'm going to talk about items that may or may not be included with a boat that's for sale that can be upgraded fairly easily in two categories expensive upgrades and inexpensive upgrades we'll start with expensive upgrades obviously the expensive upgrades may be prohibiting factors for you when purchasing a boat less expensive upgrades are ones you could probably do yourself it may not affect the purchase of a boat depending on your budget an arch on the stern of your boat means you can mount solar panels to it have dingy davits or tie just about anything you want to it in our case we hang our fenders off of our arch we love our arch our solar panels are mounted to it our wind generator is mounted to it some of our instruments are also mounted to it and i can't imagine life on this boat without our arch in the back an arch is a fairly expensive item and it may be a deciding factor for you when looking for a boat for us a propane stove is a must there are alcohol stoves and other forms of stoves out there but propane is widely available all through the caribbean the comfort and simplicity of using a propane stove on board is very important to us a good liveaboard cruising boat will have a refrigeration system of some kind more modern cruising boats will have newer refrigeration systems but typically most refrigeration systems work with a 12 volt compressor installed somewhere in the galley make sure the boat you're looking at has a decent refrigeration system a good liveaboard cruising boat will have an inverter of 1500 watts or more anything less than 1500 watts will probably not be adequate we prefer having anchor chain over rope this is an item that can be upgraded fairly easily but a couple hundred feet of anchor chain is actually quite expensive and should be considered in your budget we find that with cruising full time an all chain road with a good snubber is the best system for holding your boat through any kind of weather personally i would not be comfortable with the system that uses chain and road together some kind of anchor windlass is essential there are manual windlasses and electric windlasses we prefer our electric windlass as we raise and lower our anchor many times sometimes when anchoring we may test out several spots and have to raise and lower our anchor multiple times in one day having an electric windlass on board makes doing this very convenient if you're living aboard and cruising full time around the world having an electric windlass will save you a lot of turmoil however i've heard other people say they prefer the workout but lifting that chain over and over would be very uncomfortable chances are you will want to purchase a boat that already has a dodger and a bimini installed having a dodger and bimini made for you is very expensive and could be a prohibiting factor depending on your budget you will want to check if the boat has an autopilot installed you can install your own autopilot however it's another expensive item and not easy to install an autopilot is an essential item for a blue water cruising boat if it's not included with the boat you're looking at you should seriously consider installing a decent autopilot you also want to check the type of prop you would have some props can be very expensive especially those with working gears also some props are undersized for their boats and could be upgraded to increase speed and maneuverability it's a good idea to check what kind of prop the cruising boat you're looking at has if the boat you're looking at already has a water maker installed that's a huge plus a water maker is a very expensive item and very good to have on board balachandra does not have a water maker we do wish we had one but it was not a deciding factor on purchasing the boat as we have adequate water tankage for blue water cruising and now we'll talk about the less expensive upgrades that probably won't affect your boat sale unless you have a very specific budget other less expensive upgrades you may want to consider are a good quality anchor decent batteries like lithium ion or lead acid that are fairly recent in date good modern solar panels a wind generator and some decent modern navigation electronics some of these items can be upgraded and may not affect your boat sale it really depends on your budget now we'll talk about easy upgrades that really should not affect the sale of a boat a generator is something you can purchase fairly cheaply today and store on board honda makes one that's very small and may fit into one of your storage compartments you'll want to check if a dinghy or outboard is included however some dinghies have been heavily used and may not last very long but getting a good dinghy and outboard included in the sail is always a plus running rigging will at some point need to be replaced but this should not be a deciding factor on purchasing a boat you can go out and buy affordable running rigging from time to time especially if a boat shop has a good sail on a boat with lazy jacks or a stack pack is always a good thing however you can install your own lazy jacks or stack pack or have one made fairly inexpensively having a hot water heater is essential up north or if you prefer a hot shower but a hot water heater here in the caribbean would not be necessary i would not base a sail off the condition or absence of a hot water heater in the north a furnace or a good heating stove on board is essential if you plan to be living aboard but a good eberspacher or wabasto furnace or dickinson heating stove can be installed by any boat owner and i would not expect that to be an essential item an insulated hull would be a plus but again this is also something you can do on your own having a decent salon table below is not necessarily an essential item and one can be fabricated having a good table in the cockpit is a nice accessory but also something that can be added on your own we built our own cockpit table from teak that we found at a used boat store and it works very nicely for us usb ports throughout the boat can be added at any time it is not a difficult install and should not affect your preference in boats other accessories you may be looking for like kitchenware life jackets good mattresses the quality or age of the salon cushions fenders included extra lines or winch handles are all items that can be added on your own these items should not affect the boat sale no matter how ugly or beautiful you may find the cushions in the salon so that's the end of this week's video of what to look for in a good blue water cruising boat i hope you guys found it helpful if you have any questions for me just leave them in the comments below or send me a message through facebook thanks for watching if you like this video please don't forget to subscribe just go below the video look for that big red subscribe button press that button you can leave a like or a comment below and if you haven't checked out our patreon page it's always a good time to do so patreon is a place where you can give back if you like the videos that we make and you want to support us thanks see you later

Channel: Sailing Balachandra

Views: 255,128

Keywords: boat buying, sailing around the world, liveaboard, cruising, how to, crossing an ocean, crossing oceans, choose the right boat, sailboat shopping, sailboat diy, sailing budget, cost, selling a boat, tiny house, bluewater boats, bluewater, boat deal, la vagabonde, delos, project atticus, ran sailing, sail life, sailing uma, bums on a boat, millennial falcon, sailing nervous, old sea dog, offshore, passage making, provisioning, parts of a boat

Id: 2Zpu0q4M8PE

Length: 19min 36sec (1176 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 17 2021