Meg1122 said..Donk107 said..Hi Cisco
I was actually thinking the other day about whether a x racer would be a good buy
There's very few cruiser traveling in ex-race boats.
I'm guessing it's because when you live aboard and cruise, particularly as a couple or family you want to be comfortable, race yachts don't tend towards comfort or long term living aboard. They tend to have minimal, open or unsecured stowage, so that sails etc can be quickly and readily accessed and little privacy for crew members. When you cruise full time you need to have secure stowage and lots of it for all the provisions and requirements of daily life that are needed for long term living aboard. All the extras that racing boats don't have onboard are the things you need and want onboard for a life at sea.
You would most likely for a start have to incorporate more adequate stowage, work out how to stow tenders and outboards, increase ground tackle, the water line, drains etc may need to be adapted due to extra weight considerations, basically effecting the initial design concept of the vessel from weight and balance to handling at sea. I think it's a case of 'horses for courses', I personally wouldn't recommend an ex race yacht for someone who wanted to cruise. Race yachts are purpose built and designed to race with no input or thought given to long term living aboard, cruising yachts are purpose built for a crew to live aboard for extended periods, weekenders are built for limited cruising/live aboard ect, and I think each suits its own specific purpose.
Some racing boats may be strongly built (some are also lightly built and only intended to be sailed hard over just a few seasons), undoubtably they are fast, they also tend to be uncomfortable, wet, exposed to the elements, minimally equip with any of the comforts of life and uninsulated. I imagine it's fairly difficult to fit a bimini or dodger on a vast open cockpit to keep out of the weather and dry. A lot of the simple things you would want onboard to make life at sea pleasant aren't found on a racing yacht, most cruisers aren't in a hurry, I guess it's called cruising for a reason.
Let me re qualify my original statement of opinion, "Ex racing yachts make the best cruising yachts."
Ex IOR racing yachts make great cruising yachts.
All the points you raised are valid re storage, bunks and load carrying capacity etc.
Remember that IOR stands for "International Offshore Racing Rule". I do not know what the rule was exactly but I do know it was constantly being changed due to designers producing "rule beater designs" and the measurement rule became so complicated that the IOR standard was abandoned.
The late 70s and early 80s saw some brilliant designs emerge probably the most successful of which is the S&S 34 (3/4 tonner) and others such as the Joubert Currawong 30 (1/2 tonner), the Peterson Santana 30 (1/2 tonner) and the brilliant series of Peterson 40 odd foot 2 tonners one of which I owned for 5 years.
The first two letters of IOR mean "International and Offshore" which imply a common standard of yacht capable of international travel to racing events like the earlier Americas Cup rule. If you could not sail the vessel to the race venue, you could not compete in the race.
As far as the argument goes on comfort of a so called "cruising yacht" opposed to a "racing yacht", and I have said this before, any vessel at sea under 1,000 foot long is "uncomfortable".
What is comfortable is sailing the ex racing yacht converted for cruising getting into the anchorage before 17:00 and having the pick down, firing up the BBQ and having Sundowners while the so called "comfortable cruising yacht" is still out there battling the weather trying to get into the anchorage at 23:59.
Certainly the more recent crop of racing yachts do not lend themselves to conversion to cruising yachts with their huge beams, light displacement, light construction, ultra powerful rigs that only just stay up, minimal load carrying capacity and minimal crew comforts.
It is easier to slow down a fast yacht than it is to speed up a dog yacht.
not a S & S 34
