Interesting and you’ve obviously thought it through. Great fun looking and pondering. I do struggle with the ‘80s centre cockpit types, for reasons I mentioned, despite feeling otherwise at one point. (And really wanting to love and buy an amel super maramu before locking in on the OVNI). There are whitby 42s around here among others that come up from time to time, they seem like real bargains for someone looking at that range/type. I was in Kingston once and a c&C 44 pulled in, single handed by a super nice older-than-me guy. Boat totally equipped for offshore which the owner intimated might never happen. no expense spared, which at first impressed me then I thought about why the various compromises may not work very well. But…. With all that gear removed- breathtaking lines. RIP Rob Ball. I was tempted by a landfall 48 at one point, was in the yard here (whitby ON) for a long time before it sold. Deep draft, which around here can be an issue. Seemed like a lot of boat for the money, though of course there’s no such thing as a cheap boat. Offshore boats are thin on the ground around here and even in Nova Scotia where I had a place and where my dad lives. I actually spent time in Brittany boat shopping as a result. Incredible. As hockey is to canada, sailing is to France. Should be no shortage of boats in your neck of the woods though, Happy hunting.
Dave Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 18, 2023, at 4:44 PM, Shawn Wright <shawngwri...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi Dave, > > Thanks for chiming in, some good points there. I have noticed that > relationship between cockpit sole height/boom height and aft cabin space, and > it is one thing I dislike about many of the newer C&Cs, although I could > probably get used to it. I recall spending a few hours in a 37+ and then > returning to our 35 and remarking how much more comfortable it was. But the > 37+ had an aft cabin. The 41 seems to be a fair tradeoff, with at least one > large cockpit locker; the 44 is a no go for me. I'm not sure where the LF43 > falls, as I haven't seen one yet, and the photos don't give much clue to > locker space, but I suspect it is tight. I fit 4 jerry cans in my 35 lockers, > along with a big plastic tub with 600' of prawn line, prawn trap, crab trap, > etc. and it's still not full. I don't think any of the new boats have lockers > like this, so I just have to get used to carrying more junk on deck I guess. > The LF43 cockpit appears to have gone with a low coaming approach for looks, > and has tons of headroom below, so the seat backs are low, and there is poor > backrest space everywhere it appears. Can be fixed with some rigid back > folding cushions though. One thing I know that I will give up is the ability > to singlehand, at least to/from a dock. I just can't see getting any centre > cockpit boat onto a dock in any kind of wind or current. That is one big > difference between the 43 and say a LF38. But our future is to sail to Mexico > and beyond, so day and short trip sailing around the coast like we do now > will be much less frequent. We love the feeling of an open-ended cruise, and > have done 6 weeks aboard our 35 entirely at anchor a few times, usually with > a re-provision stop after 2-3 weeks. The ability to go even longer in a boat > like the 43 is very attractive, as is the comfort level of being on passage > in a much heavier boat. I love sailing our 35, but in most cases, if the wind > is steady and there is sea room, I'm also happy to let the autopilot take > over. Our 35 tracks pretty well, but the wheel pilot is only good in moderate > conditions. One of the factors influencing the decision is the realisation > that although my wife and I have done a 2800M passage on another boat, we're > not ready to do one on our own, so the boat we get must have room for crew, > both on passage, and at anchor. That means 3 sea berths, and two private > cabins. The LF43 works well, the LF38 would be tight, and the 40 without aft > cabin, or any earlier C&C with just a quarter berth, really wouldn't cut it > at anchor, although the sea berths are fine. > > It's all about the tradeoffs, and which things you're willing to let go of. > Friends sailed south in their Ovni last summer, and are past Mexico now. Once > when we sailed with the in our 35, we could point higher and started to catch > them, but they were a lot more comfortable in the cold! > > Even if this particular boat doesn't work out (it's a long shot, since the > boat is in Florida and we're in BC, so we'd have to change plans big time), I > hope to come out of the experience with a clear indicate of whether the LF43 > is still on our list of boats or not. Because the list of boats I like is far > too long, and those we can afford is far too short.... > > -- > Shawn Wright > shawngwri...@gmail.com > S/V Callisto, 1974 C&C 35 > https://www.facebook.com/SVCallisto > > >> On Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 12:54 PM Dave S <syerd...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Shawn - Fwiw - I’ll chime in having spent many years going through this, and >> having gotten comfortable with the various trade offs and just closed the >> purchase of my next boat (alubat OVNI 435….) I’ve accepted that Driving the >> OVNI will be more G-Wagen than Lotus… >> IMO Any c&c is pretty moderate in design (vs a pogo or Colin archer) and is >> performance-biased so it’ll probably ‘sail well’, broadly speaking. >> The rest comes down to how you’ll REALLY be using the boat. How much time >> to windward, how often consecutive overnight sails, how much loafing in the >> comfy cockpit (go Hunter!) etc. I hadn’t fully thought it through when boat >> shopping, and I got very lucky choosing windstar (c&C 33-2) in a lot of >> ways. she can be single handed easily, and she goes to windward really >> well in all conditions, and I’m comfortable sailing in any conditions I’ve >> encountered here. I didn’t fully appreciate that for ‘out and back’ >> sailing, I’d be spending most of my time on the wind, (and loving it) and I >> wasn’t thinking much about singlehanding. Her cockpit is …. Tolerable … >> for entertaining and while she ‘sleeps several’ she couldn’t keep them >> hydrated for long. She has a big tall rig and here in Lake Ontario, that’s >> great. All this is relevant, all good for how and where the boat is >> used. She’s a great boat and I’ll miss the performance for sure. >> Otoh My dad advised that when he cruised his steel cutter he rarely sailed >> to windward, only steered when entering harbour or daysailing, and reefed >> his stout, conservative rig at sunset. He really valued the pilot berth, and >> hated not having ice. He also appreciated the ability to reduce sail and >> remain balanced, and the way she hove to. He told me a 150nm day was >> decent and that he was never too concerned about it. Not a lot said about >> light air performance, ever, but the boat was a moderate, modern (then) >> brewer design and no slug - it was a fun, respectable Wednesday night >> sailor- for what it was. >> >> In my recent search, in noticed a few things not often discussed: >> The relationship between cockpit sole height, boom height, dodger height and >> aft accommodation. Many newer boats have super tall dodgers, (rarely >> evident in brochure photos) shallow cockpits with no appreciable lockers, >> and condo-like master bedrooms. This is really evident in boats under say >> 45’. >> The ability to mount solar panels, stow a dinghy, and the ease of boarding >> are also things worth thinking about. (People treasure Amels for many good >> reasons, but….. ) In reeeally old boats, where does the propane tank go? >> Can you reach the Genoa sheets from the helm? Can you stretch out on the >> cockpit seats? >> Fun stuff. >> >> Dave >>
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