Picking the right boat for our trip

What sailboat is right? “The one you have,” says the Guide. Our boat was a Catalina Capri 16.5 – a dingy. That meant that we had to find a boat. We sold the Catalina and started hunting.

For a trip of several months, one will spend so much to prep and then maintain the boat that it isn’t realistic to rent a boat, one must buy a boat. If you like to shop for chunky things like cars, computers, espresso machines, then you will likely enjoy the process of shopping for a boat.

We considered some basic criteria:

#1 Cost – be realistic and firm. It isn’t about just buying a boat, you need to transact the purchase (survey, travel, lawyer). Prepare the boat (add radar, BBQ, update interior, replace worn parts). Maintain the boat (anti-fouling, engine servicing, cleaning if you aren’t at the same location, marina fees). All this before sailing anywhere.

#2 Age – we had no desire for a brand new delivered yacht, nor did we have the budget. We chose instead to pursue something 8-10 years old. We knew some repairs would be required – see criteria #1.

#3 Size – we wanted something two adults could handle, a family of four could enjoy with a modicum of privacy (a personal private space), and that wouldn’t require an upgrade to a larger boat later on. There is a big debate about “starter boats”. At our age and stage of life, we decided to go to the mean length of cruising boats in the hopes that should we pursue a life afloat, we’d not need to buy a new boat to do it. See criteria #1.

#4 Type/Class –We figured since we were sailing the Mediterranean a cruiser would work. It is spacious and comfortable but I suspect the tradeoff will be storage. If we go blue-water, I do expect we’d have to make some upgrades.

#5 – airiness & light – this one was personal – knowing we’d spend a lot of time on and in the boat, we wanted something with lots of windows (and shades) and light/neutral interior colours. A dark interior would not serve.

I can think many other things that we considered but those 5 were fundamental before anything else.

We shopped a few but ended up choosing a Jeanneau Sun Oddessy 44i. It is approximately 8 years old and has more than we need (air conditioning, electric toilets, heat) and fits our other criteria well. Plus it was already in the Med.

Our first week was a bit of a weather bomb and we weren’t able to take her out but we have been living on her and we can confirm it is airy & light inside, comfortable for a family of four, and has storage but should we go on extended trips, we will have things stashed, hung up, boxed, and placed in many different places.

We’ve been able to personalize our “rooms” and are maintaining a “clean as possible” main room so we don’t have things spilling everywhere plus tidiness helps us live more amicably as a family.

She is beautiful and we are happy to call Forty Two home for the coming months.

Kevin