Moving from mobo to pilothouse yacht

[Bosun Higgs]

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions so far, was up until silly-o-clock looking at them all. Will reply in more detail later, work sadly beckons.

Be wary of other boaters advice on boat choice - most of us are in love with our particular boat until our eye is caught by something else and we then change. Very few of us have a lot of experience of a wide variety of boats.

You need to form your own opinions and the best way to do that is to sail on other peoples boats for a while. Or at least charter.

[jonic]

Be wary of other boaters advice on boat choice - most of us are in love with our particular boat until our eye is caught by something else and we then change. Very few of us have a lot of experience of a wide variety of boats.

You need to form your own opinions and the best way to do that is to sail on other peoples boats for a while. Or at least charter.

+1

[MoodySabre]

It is only the Mk1 Moody Eclipse 33 that has an inside wheel. In the Mk2 they replaced the wheel station with an autopilot (with dual controls) to make more room.

I think all 38 Eclipses have inside steering.

Bear in mind that you might find sailing enjoyable and not just "being blown along" so get something that sails reasonably too.

[doug748]

.....

What would some ballpark fuel figures be on some of the aforementioned boats, if they were motored, rather than sail ?

I don't think anyone has responded to this?

Most small sailing boats that you might see chugging along under power will consume about 1/3 gall per hour.

You might expect to get around 1/2 gall per hour at modest throttle settings with your motor sailor, that should take you under 6 to perhaps 7 miles. Of course the more throttle, the more fuel.

This is just a guess, but I doubt if it is far out - unless you choose one of the bigger options with wacking big engine to boot.

[Coaster]

Most small sailing boats that you might see chugging along under power will consume about 1/3 gall per hour.

You might expect to get around 1/2 gall per hour at modest throttle settings with your motor sailor, that should take you under 6 to perhaps 7 miles. Of course the more throttle, the more fuel.

Alternatively you may prefer to consider fuel consumption on a litres per mile basis, as we do. Our 34' boat is used as a motor sailer, displaces about 8 tons in cruising trim and has a 38hp engine. In relatively calm water we usually use about 1/3 litre per mile. Our worst consumption was 0.7 l/M, achieved by bashing into particularly bad weather.

Many motor sailers use engine and sails simultaneously, usually referred to as motorsailing, when the wind is inadequate for the intended passage. That can give even better fuel economy, especially if a self-pitching prop is fitted.

[PaulGooch]

You can have a deck saloon yacht that sails as well or better than similar-sized cruising yachts, and you can sail from inside, motors well, no "cave" etc etc, and even have a shallow draft for the East Coast and fishing expeditions. Paul, if you'd like a look round ours (which is a lot smaller than you have said), then PM me. [Downside is cost and availability]

Thanks Ali, very much out of my budget though, unfortunately.

Just in case you have not looked back in the mobo section, I posted this link.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265708

Thanks Cliff.

It is only the Mk1 Moody Eclipse 33 that has an inside wheel. In the Mk2 they replaced the wheel station with an autopilot (with dual controls) to make more room.

I think all 38 Eclipses have inside steering.

Bear in mind that you might find sailing enjoyable and not just "being blown along" so get something that sails reasonably too.

After looking closer at the Eclipse, the 38 is out of budget and the 33 is a bit smaller than i'd like, nice looking boat though and ticked most boxes.

I take on board the sailing comments and would definitely like something that sails reasonably well.

[PaulGooch]

Thanks to everyone who's replied. We've had a good look at the suggestions that people have made. Also taken onboard the other comments. Given the comments about the Colvic, i've crossed that off the list. Several other suggestions looked interesting and ticked several boxes, but we found ourselves comparing everything with the Jeanneau Espace 1100. The Espace 1000 was close, but there were a couple of things i liked better on the 1100. Didn't like the 1300 much at all.

We like the look of the sugar scoop, which would suit our habit of mooring stern to. We like the size of the pilothouse, which would give everyone onboard somewhere to sit inside in poor weather (we like to use the boat all year round), rather than sitting "down below". We'd also prefer the pilothouse when just chilling in the marina. The rest of the layout and accommodation suits us too. The engine should be big enough to push it along sensibly if there is no wind and from what i've read, it only needs an f4/f5 to get going. The option of a lift keel could be useful here on the East Coast too.

Fuel costs are only part of why we plan to move to sail. We'd like a bigger boat and 35/40 motorboats are far to expensive to run and most would be out of budget. We also fancy a change from motor boating. On the fishing front, i'm not a hardcore angler and there really isn't any casting to talk of with boat fishing. Really just a case of dropping bait over the side. If we were sailing, we'd most likely do less fishing anyway.

We've made the decision to sell what we have and we'll get out on a sail boat or two before spending the money, but unless we absolutely hate it, which i can't see, it's a done deal. Our last boat was a 10 metre displacement motorboat and we wouldn't really want another. If we're going to plod around at displacement speeds we might as well have the option to sail

I may have over exaggerated (or simplified) the desire to not "have" to sail. I'd like to be able to sail as much as possible, but would like to be able to get out of the weather if i want and be able to just be lazy and use the engine "if" i wanted to.

[PaulGooch]

Eclipses come in several sizes, including a 38.....

The Jeanneau Espace is a nice compromise and comes in 10 to 13m sizes too.

Southerly 105/115?

The Southerly 115 looks a nice boat Jim, but the Espace is looking favourite, one of the 37 foot 1100's.

[ianat182]

Further to the recommendations . The Eclipse 33 is equipped with in-mast reefing system, as a result there is a slightly smaller sail area available, however she sails very well, fast enough to compare with a Sigma 33 on the wind, and no slouch downwind either.

I prefer the 38 for the added creature comforts, she also sails well and has a 38hp

I have sailed and demo'd all three of the Eclipses, and had excellent results from them.

One thing though is not to have the darkened glass cockpit windows as one customer did; in inclement weather, and steering from inside, the visibility is greatly impaired - on port tack especially so.

Lovely yachts to handle under power too.

ianat182

[PaulGooch]

Further to the recommendations . The Eclipse 33 is equipped with in-mast reefing system, as a result there is a slightly smaller sail area available, however she sails very well, fast enough to compare with a Sigma 33 on the wind, and no slouch downwind either.

I prefer the 38 for the added creature comforts, she also sails well and has a 38hp

I have sailed and demo'd all three of the Eclipses, and had excellent results from them.

One thing though is not to have the darkened glass cockpit windows as one customer did; in inclement weather, and steering from inside, the visibility is greatly impaired - on port tack especially so.

Lovely yachts to handle under power too.

ianat182

Thanks Ian, still not completely settled on anything yet. The Espace is our favourite from looking/reading on the 'net so far. But before spending any cash we'd like to see one in the flesh, along with one or two of the others discussed.

Have you any experience with the Espace to compare it to the Moody ?