Best boat for Offshoresailing
The question everyone asks themselves!
The price for sailing for a week is difficult to specify as there are so many factors involved. To keep the price down, I start from the home port of Porto Santo so you need to find a flight to Madeira and from there take the ferry to Porto Santo. The price is affected by the number of people and where we plan to sail. After we have discussed this, I can calculate the price. I often sail with share cost/paying crew and then it usually ends up at € 30-€ 60/day/person.
Depending on the setup, you can influence the price. The idea is to be able to sail cheaply and safely while also having the opportunity to gain knowledge in offshore sailing.
When choosing a boat to sail across oceans, there are a lot of things you need to take into consideration. Gaining knowledge about what is a good or right boat for you is something you need help with. The best help is probably from sailors who have already crossed oceans in different boats. There are boats that are ocean-classed and my experience is that the classification that the boat industry has chosen to follow is completely useless. For me, it is about safety when the forces of nature test the boat and crew. To be ocean-classed, in my opinion, the boat must have watertight bulkheads in the bow and stern. ARC has produced a safety list that I think is good to follow when it comes to equipment and communication options. Of course, there should be a ship's pharmacy on board that can take care of infections and illnesses that often require medical care in hospital. In my opinion, the safest boat should be strong in construction and then steel or aluminum is the best choice to achieve strength. Of course, the material must be of good quality and maintained continuously. I also believe that monohulls are safer than catamaran hulls.
My choice of boats
A few years ago I started looking for a boat and found a boat that I had the opportunity to buy. It was a Svan 441 that was in Gosport/England. I was able to buy the boat when I had sold a house that I had built over 8 years. Of course, after a couple of years I realized that I did not have the resources to maintain and renovate and equip the boat for long-distance sailing. I sold the boat and managed to get my money back. After a lot of searching I found a boat that I thought was a good fit. A JNF 38 built in steel in New Zealand. I sailed with it for a couple of years and realized that it might not be the right boat after all. I sold the boat and this time I also got my invested capital back. I then found a Garcia 54 in Poland that was being renovated. I sailed the boat home and renovated it for 4 years. I replaced almost all the equipment with new ones. I sailed for a summer and realized that 54 feet is big and expensive and usually requires a crew. I sold the boat and got my invested capital back and more. It's not common to get back more than you bought the boat for after renovation. I found a new fully equipped Ovni 385 in Gothenburg that has everything I could want from an ocean sailing boat, and the fact that it is in very good condition and has been taken care of by the previous owner is perfect for the type of sailing I have planned. The path I have taken to find the boat that suits me is probably not something I can recommend, but it worked for me. It is probably better to try to find the right one the first time you buy a boat and then tweak the boat you have bought. To find the right one, you need to make a list of things that you cannot compromise on. I then think about length, space on board, centerboard or keel, one or two rudders, hull material (GRP, steel, aluminum), feel free to discuss this with people who have already sailed around the world and come to an agreement on what applies to you. Then you just have to go out and look for a boat that you have the resources to buy.
Meet The Captain
