Have You Thought of Going Back to Sailing? Join the Party…

The Bermuda 40 is one of the favorite sailing yachts in this country. It’s beautiful from all angles.

Most of my boating friends are seasoned boaters and cruisers…and getting older. My circle includes people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. They don’t feel they are slowing down, well, maybe a little. But all are realistic. We no longer lust for a carefree life in paradise, as many of us already did that. Today there are other priorities, our spouses are inseparable from family and grandchildren, and our physical aches and pains remind us that the clock keeps ticking.

And, not surprising, many of us have now done the cruising we wanted to do. We have checked off our bucket lists, trips taken to Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, and offshore passages to faraway lands. We still have the vitality and overall health to keep going, hopefully, and most have planned things well enough to have the bucks to support whatever is next.

A friend recently made a comment that resonated within my group.

“I still want to be on the water,” he said. “But since my wife and I have taken our powerboat to all the places we really wanted to go these past three years, I think I would like to get another sailboat.”

He feels it is enough now to be closer to home and enjoy what is in his backyard. Just be on the water, harnessing the wind with a reasonable sail plan, rather than driving the boat at 20+ knots to the next stop. The simple peace and quiet energy of wind and waves without engines. No need to go anywhere, just precious moments of now.

Chesapeake Bay is a wonderful playground for boaters of every kind.

My friends have owned dozens of boats, power and sail. They are experienced and seasoned sailors and yachtsmen. Bermuda races, transatlantic and Pacific crossings, European canals, Alaska, tropical cruising in the Bahamas, Caribbean and Mexico…they remind me of characters in books that captivated us in our youth. Roth, Chichester, Graham, Hiscock, and Guzzwell come to mind. They did not write books about their accomplishments, but they lived them.

I asked my friend what kind of sailboat he will consider next. The couple sold their 54-footer years ago and we thought that page had turned.

His situation is different now. His wife is no longer interested in a serious boat life. They have grandchildren, a wonderful home, and she is quite satisfied staying in one place. She might come along for the day, on occasion, but only if the boat is large enough to be comfortable. And has a roomy enclosed head. Sound familiar?

The sailboat must now be less complicated. After years of owning cruising boats, we want fewer and simpler systems. We are a hands-on lot, and we look forward to boat projects, stopping short of replacing heavy 8D batteries.

One friend said he has been looking at an Alerion 38. It has an asking price of $180,000. It is a 2006 model, with diesel saildrive. And it looks right.

The look of the boat is at the top of the list in terms of importance. At this stage of life, it must tug at the heart, the lines and overall profile a joy to behold. This may be the last boat, after all, so it needs to be a looker, enough to make us stop and stare as we row away in an anchorage or walk up the dock.

Over the course of several days, I canvassed other sailing friends about this idea. Most have given it some thought.

What strikes me is that these folks are not the typical target audience for boat dealers, brokers, and manufacturers. They are prospective customers, of course, but most brokers think they are interested in larger and more comfortable trawlers or motoryachts. But that ship has sailed. Already been there.

One friend said he thinks of a vintage Tartan between 36 and 40 feet. It has the look, is comfortable down below, has an enclosed head, and lasting quality. Another friend loves the Baba 30 from the ‘70s and ‘80s. While it is a full keel boat that would hardly be competitive against a Beneteau of the same size, it has tons more character and sails reasonably well on Chesapeake Bay. And the boat can be found in okay condition for not a lot of money. It too has the look.

Generally, my friends think an older cruiser is an ideal starting point. A new boat has more standard equipment than they want or need, so the used market has greater potential for less cost. True, most used cruising sailboats are loaded with the gear and systems of the long-distance cruiser. We won’t need this stuff anymore, and much of it is old technology or worn out anyway. A 30-year-old generator is no one’s friend, and who needs a watermaker for sailing on Chesapeake Bay for an afternoon? Custom stainless tubing contraptions over the cockpit for canvas enclosures and solar panels will come off, as will sailing and deck gear once considered necessary. We can also remove the self-steering gear and sell it to the next sailor planning a world cruise.

As for size, a Seattle broker told me years ago that a larger, 40-foot boat is easier to sail short handed than a small boat. Mostly I have found that to be true, especially with better sail handling management and a couple of electric winches. In addition to being more comfortable and slower to respond, it has the added safety of wider side decks and a more secure cockpit.

We will essentially take the boat back to its original design, when it did not need all that stuff to go sailing. Robin Knox-Johnson would approve.

Not surprising, several of my friends, including a couple of women, said the Hinckley Bermuda 40 would easily top their list. Superb construction, beautiful lines, and who cares if it is not particularly comfortable as a cruising boat? Who would not want to go out sailing for the day aboard this jewel?

I made a list of my friends’ comments. I thought it would make a nice summary to bring into my broker’s office.

Here is the list. I am sure you can add to it. They are in no particular order:

• ·      No need to get the latest technology and features, just a quality boat that sails well, looks great, and is fun to be aboard

• ·      Dutchman, Stack Pack, Leisure Furl or some other mainsail control system to make it easier to handle

• ·      Enclosed roomy head

• ·      Simple galley, although refrigeration is good

• ·      Easy to sail short handed

• ·      Air conditioning is fine but only for the dock. If the boat has a generator, it is likely a cantankerous beast that is old and tired. Remove it and paint the space. A good place to simplify the engine room

• ·      No coral reefs in Chesapeake Bay, so anchor chain with nylon rode is a fine choice

• ·      Couple of electric winches to make sailing easier

• ·      No need for the spinnaker poles and gear found on older sailboats. Remove the clutter and simplify the mast area

• ·      Set boat up as a sloop, ideal if self-tacking jib

• ·      Remove complex and elaborate systems and gear. No need for a watermaker

• ·      Minimal electronics

• ·      Rethink electrical needs and size accordingly. Not looking for multiple days on the hook. Lithium batteries might be worth it except if they require expensive conversion of wiring, chargers, and controllers

• ·      Simplify the engine room space as much as possible. Maybe even consider electric propulsion

• ·      Most enjoy working on the boat rather than hiring technicians to do everything. If we can get to it, we can maintain it. One of the joys of boats is working on them

• ·      Overall size more related to comfort than miles per day

• ·      Really pretty, beautiful lines that speak to the heart and soul

• ·      Sail where we avoid the crowds of powerboats and other boaters and their wakes

• ·      No need for racing gear of any kind

• ·      No solar panels or wind generator or generator

• ·      No self-steering gear necessary

• ·      No dinghy or outboard; davits, stern anchors or other cruising “essentials” not needed for a day on Chesapeake Bay.

The goal is not to reduce weight, although in some boats removing weight from the bow and stern will result in better sailing performance.

What would I choose for this project? One boat comes to mind right away. I loved the Valiant 40/42 since I first stepped aboard at the Lake Union Boat Show in Seattle many decades ago. Rugged, beautiful, powerful. Richard Worstell built the Valiant line in Texas for Valiant owners. Everything in the boat can come out of the companionway. That means a 25-year-old Valiant 42 is less likely to have mystery wires and hoses that vanish behind a bulkhead or under the cabin sole.

The Valiant 42 (below) has long been one of my favorites. It just looks right and is as capable as any sailboat in the world.

Yeah, I know, it is an early Bob Perry design and some design elements, such as the canoe stern, were a compromised nod to the fashion of the day, rather than a necessary requirement of a bluewater performance sailboat. (One wonders what Bob Perry would have drawn if left to his own creativity.) By today’s standards, dinghy access is terrible, there is no swim platform, etc, etc… But it sure is a fine looking yacht in my mind, and a lovely sailboat for spending a day on the water. As long as you ditch the davits, horrendous canvas enclosures, solar arches, Rube Goldberg steering gear on the stern, and everything else that seems to have made its way aboard over the years.

The point of my checklist is to return the boat to its original configuration, keeping the factory hard dodger, but removing spinnaker/whisker pole and gear, remove or simplify whatever systems have crept aboard after 30 years of various owners, and take it back to being a simple boat. There is not much I can do with the v-drive under the original Westerbeke diesel, now sometimes found with a newer but similar engine of 45-55hp. In the limited engine space, I would try my best to make it as accessible as possible.

And I would modernize it where I can to help with arthritis, limited flexibility, and the other considerations of an older sailor. Electric winches come to mind.

I check online listings from time to time, and people are holding on to these boats for good reason. But I’m still looking.

We shall see…