Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

[skaraborgcraft]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

Its not to say it cant be done, it just needs a different mindset to the majority. I confess i would probably not choose to go cruising again without an engine, but i CHOSE not to afford it, it would have meant another 12 months hard labour. I only had hand tools, enough for general and emergency repair, enough paint to re-coat the entire boat once, spare sails, 4 anchors, spare chain and warps. I never felt i was missing out on anything while at sea, only when rafting up alongside some Swedish bloke who looked like he purchased the contents of an entire chandlery shop......but we were both in the same place. Have the essentials really changed from a good sound and clean bottom, good sails, ground tackle and a china tea-pot?

[TR]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

The original small ocean cruiser.

DSCN0421.jpgDSCN0426.jpgTrekka1.jpgTrekka3.jpg

[skaraborgcraft]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

^ Trekka was the first boat that put my thoughts about light displacement and offshore into gear. Trade offs at both end of the scale.
We need the OP to come back with more of his thoughts regarding his ideas and intentions.

[peb]

Grey Seal or Ron Mhor?

[BiggieSmallBoat]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

Some of these suggested boats are really fantastic and are opening my eyes to a world of plans I didn't know existed.

Annie is beautiful and seems to be an almost perfect candidate.

The Gartside catalog is also impressive -- at least for someone like me who has only been exposed to the plans that can be perused on this website. If anyone else has good sources where plans can be browsed, I'm happy to visit.

As for space limitations and cluttering up the mess, I think I'm well prepared for that already. The boat I am on is fairly average in terms of interior space and storage for a 27', and I don't have standing headroom at 6'. Boats like the Dana 24 and the Flicka 20 were what originally turned me on to the capabilities of small craft. 27' may be substantially bigger than 24', but then again, I've seen 24' boats that felt bigger than my boat.

In any case, I'm not too concerned about finding space for solar panels, batteries, and other cruising gear, and I'm accustomed to a life without the luxuries that most of us take for granted, but it is one of the reasons why I prefer a medium-to-heavy displacement boat.

I think the reason I said I preferred strip-planking could be a result of my lack of knowledge on the subject. I trust and know epoxy, but not as much wood, and a glass and epoxied boat over a wood structure seems like the best of both worlds in my mind.

[Rumars]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

If you like the Flicka 20 build or buy one. There is always one on the market and it can be buildt strip planked and glassed over if you prefer building. The Flicka newsletter has a serialized report of building one, starts with #52http://www.flicka20.com/flicka-newsletters

[Small boats rock]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

I too was looking for a tiny long range cruiser, and found an answer in William Atkin's 'Perigee' design. I saw her in the water for the first time last week (picture attached) and was delighted with initial sea trials (I cruised local waters for a week). The 1934 design was meant for carvel, but mine is epoxy strip planked and glassed inside and out for the purpose of creating a really strong boat. It is too early to make a recommendation of my particular choice, but if you haven't already, it is worth checking out designs on the Atkin web site.

Lack of building experience would not stop you from building as skills can be learnt as you go. However, a lack of building experience would likely lead to an underestimation of just how big a job it is to build even a small boat. If the dream is to build as well as sail then go ahead and build what you want using whatever method you want, and be ready to not have a life other than boat building... but if the main objective is to go sailing and building is just a necessary evil, stick with buying an existing boat.

afloat2.jpg

[Sailor]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

I just looked up used Flicka 20....... They ain't cheap. Saw one that had filled with rainwater under a tree. Needed a full gut job on the interior. Who knows what damage her supporting structure may have caused with all that weight.... 10 grand. For a 20 foot boat that needed to essentially be completely rebuilt. Hull and rig were sound though. Aluminum mast. I was figuring maybe 5-10k for one in reasonable condition. The good ones were up over 20 and even 30 grand.

[Don Z.]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

I believe plans for “the original small ocean crossing yacht” are available from our sponsor:

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/sea-bird-26-1909

[navydog]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

I just looked up used Flicka 20....... They ain't cheap. Saw one that had filled with rainwater under a tree. Needed a full gut job on the interior. Who knows what damage her supporting structure may have caused with all that weight.... 10 grand. For a 20 foot boat that needed to essentially be completely rebuilt. Hull and rig were sound though. Aluminum mast. I was figuring maybe 5-10k for one in reasonable condition. The good ones were up over 20 and even 30 grand.

Don't bother with reeks and wrecks. There are plenty of good quality boats going cheaply.

[Hugh MacD]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

Gotta agree with Navydog. There are too many really worthy boats out there that just need some love and use. There was an Eric Jr completed hull up on Vancouver Island a while back that I think went for the cost of materials.

[Small boats rock]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

Gotta agree with Navydog. There are too many really worthy boats out there that just need some love and use. There was an Eric Jr completed hull up on Vancouver Island a while back that I think went for the cost of materials.

Eric Jr, now that's a nice design. I cast my eye over her lines a few times back when I was still trying to decide on the right design for my build. I'd put her right up there with folkboats and vertues.

[FF]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

A course on a boatbuilding school will pay itself back many times. You will be spending several years building. And consider a kitboat. Frank

[BiggieSmallBoat]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

I've done the whole, "go small, go now" thing. I didn't even know how to sail when I bought my current boat, and was baptized quickly in salty offshore passages. I'm glad I did it that way. I got to sail some of the most beautiful stretches of ocean and islands on the planet, for a very good price. In my opinion, too many people who want to live the cruising dream spend far too much time finding the perfect boat, or making their project boat "perfect", that they loose sight of their dream, or, when they finally get out there, discover it's not what they thought it would be.

At this point though, I'm more interested in the process, the skills I'd acquire along the way, and coming out the other end with something that I can look at say "I built that". And, if at that point I still am in such a fortunate position in my life where I can untie the lines, and set off across an ocean, I'll have the perfect craft to do so. If not, that's OK too, as I think I'll derive satisfaction from the process.

Of course, maybe it'll be frustrating and miserable and it won't be cathartic at all. Most of the work I've done on my current boat has been miserable, difficult and expensive. But a big part of that has to do with the inconveniences of living on it at the boat you're working on, suffering in hot sweaty boat yards (in the tropics) and dealing with finding parts and tools on remote islands and faraway places. And so I think one of the things I would look forward to most is the fact that, even on the frustrating days of the build process, I'll always be able to shut the door to the shed and walk away to deal with it another day -- which is a luxury I've never had on my boat.

==

Anyway, I've been doing my homework, and and slowly convincing myself that cold-molded construction is probably the way to go. I thought before that strip-planking would be better, but that was mostly an argument from an ease-of-construction point of view, and I hadn't considered that it be a less-stable method for a boat of this size.

I really like Gartside's Hannah II 24' Cutter, though I'd probably consider adding extra water tanks for endurance if I were to build it -- perhaps epoxy/wood conformal tanks below the floors or elsewhere.

I think at the very least I'll take some sort of boat-building course, and get some general woodworking experience. Though I do believe most can learn almost anything on their own, it's always much more efficient to get it straight from an experienced person.

[J.Madison]

Re: Advice on ocean-crossing pocket cruisers

If you're doing it for the enjoyment of building, cold molded is not very enjoyable. It makes a good boat, but it is a slog to get through. Here is what I would do, build a glued lap dinghy now. That is your introduction. It will teach you to loft, line out, spile, and persevere. When complete it will serve as a weekend diversion and eventually as tender to the bigger boat. Then i would build the mother ship carvel. Hannah II can probably be built faster carvel than cold molded, though it does take more skill and better materials. You don't say where you will wash ashore, and that will have a lot to do with what materials are available.

If you were building just to go sailing, I would say strip build or buy a used boat. If you were going to use a crew of semi-skilled helpers I would say cold molded. Working alone for the enjoyment of it, carvel planking all the way.