In this video, How to buy the RIGHT Liveaboard Cruising Sailboat to Cross an Ocean, We return to to boat buying to answer some of the most frequent questions...

Closed Captions (CC):
in this episode i talk about in detail

what to look for if you're searching for

or in the market to buy

a good blue water liveaboard cruising

boat capable of crossing an

ocean

last time on sailing bellachandra we

sailed from barbuda back to antigua

where we did some amazing hiking and

enjoyed christmas and new year's

celebrations

hey guys i'm dan and my partner is

noelle and we're sailing bella chandra

we sailed all the way from nova scotia

canada down to the caribbean and we're

sailing all around the caribbean now

making youtube videos some of them like

this one just to help you guys out if

you're planning on cruising one day

if you haven't subscribed to this

channel go below the video look for the

big red subscribe button

press that button in this week's video

i'd like to go back to boat buying and

talk about what you should be looking

for

if you're in the market for a good

liveaboard cruising boat capable of

crossing an ocean because of our other

boat buying videos we've had a lot of

questions about this topic

our preferences and what we've been

exposed to live aboard cruising around

the caribbean

there are a lot of misconceptions and

poor choices that can be made which can

lead to purchasing a boat that is

inadequate for your needs

or possibly not completely capable of

doing what you want to do

especially if you plan on doing an ocean

crossing i want to say

up front in this video i'm talking about

the features on boats that you should be

searching for

not necessarily maintenance damage or

any dodgy work that was done by a

factory

these are important factors with boat

buying but they usually come into play

more

when you're at the surveyor stage i also

want to mention that we're not including

catamarans in this video as noel and i

have

pretty much no experience with

catamarans and have very little to say

about them at this point

when searching for a good blue water

liveaboard cruising boat

you can narrow down your search very

quickly and rule out a lot of boats with

just a few key factors

first off is the boat made for racing

usually a race boat is identified by an

open transom in the back

probably two large steering wheels a

very deep keel

and a thin spade rudder a lot of modern

racing boats will have a black

carbon fiber mast and chances are there

will be no dodger or bimini

or any of the typical cruising features

you would see on a cruising boat

some racing boats are capable of

crossing an ocean but chances are

they would require a large racing crew

and you would find the cabins relatively

uncomfortable

as racing boats are generally designed

as working boats

once you have identified the type of

boat you would want to check

the length of the water line or the

displacement

usually we talk about the length overall

in the case of bella chandra

she's a 44 foot boat but our length of

the water line is only 36 feet

length of the water line is the division

where the boat is submerged under the

water

the longer a boat's length of water line

gives the boat more stability in larger

seas

and it can also mean a larger

displacement how much water a boat

displaces

is based on its gross tonnage a boat

that displaces more water

is usually heavier and a heavier boat

can handle rougher seas

however usually a heavier boat means

less speed

a good blue water cruising boat will

have a heavier displacement

than a light racing boat chances are

most modern liveaboard cruising boats

will fall somewhere in between a heavy

displacement boat

and a light cruising boat there is some

debate over this however

the general consensus goes that if you

want a good stable blue water cruising

boat you would be looking for

a length of the water line of at least

32 feet

many people have crossed oceans in

smaller boats but keep in mind the

smaller the boat the more risk and less

comfort you will have

also look at depth of keel how deep your

keel is will determine where you can go

and where you can drop your anchor

our keel is 6'9 inches that prohibits us

from entering the icw

in some areas in the bahamas you can

travel the world with a deep keel

but it means that you will have to be

very selective about where you drop your

anchor

good live aboard cruising boats may have

a full kill a shallow keel

or a deep keel it really depends on

where you want to go in personal

preference

however most people prefer a keel that

is six feet or less

mass tight is also an important factor

you could cruise around the world with

just about

any mast height however if you plan to

do the icw

on the atlantic coast of the united

states which prohibits us from going

under any of the icw bridges and we were

not able to use the intercoastal

waterway

at all coming down from canada if

bridges are not going to be a concern

for you

you can cruise with just about any mass

type but it's definitely

something to consider when searching for

a liveaboard cruising boat

standing headroom is probably your most

important factor

if you're tall you want to check the

standing headroom in the cabin before

adding a boat to your list

a boat with inadequate standing headroom

would make a poor choice as a cruising

boat as you would be stooped over

for most of your life while trying to

live aboard very uncomfortable

and potentially unhealthy you also want

to find a boat that has a comfortable

berth

to sleep in for me finding a boat with a

large bed

in a private cabin was one of the

deciding factors on purchasing bella

chandra you want to make sure that the

boat will have a suitable birth

that you are comfortable with births way

up in the v

also called the v birth is typically not

the most comfortable place to sleep on

board

however there are some boats with

v-berths that are set

back closer to the mid-ships which i'm

told are quite comfortable

on balachandra we sleep in the aft cabin

sometimes underway we sleep in the

seabirths at midships

these are all comfortable places but

when you're living aboard full time

you'll want a comfortable cabin that

will act as your bedroom as this

is where you will be sleeping full time

next you'll need to check a few key

factors in a boat listing that will help

you determine

whether a boat is capable of passage

making or if it's designed for

coastal cruising or chartering a lot of

boats were built simply just to do

chartering

they do make good cruising boats not

necessarily ocean crossing boats as

you'll find that sometimes they have

inadequate tankage

limited storage space and not a lot of

displacement sometimes they're very fast

but not necessarily the boat you would

want to take across an ocean

is the engine horsepower adequate for a

boat of this size

you can compare other boats and their

engines to understand

the proper horsepower sizing for the

vessel you're looking at

many of the popular cruising boats of

today have engines installed in the 75

to 100 horsepower range

on balachandra we have a 44 horsepower

yanmar which seems adequate for our

needs however

a 75 horsepower engine would really get

us moving

but we typically sail just about

everywhere it really depends on how much

motoring you plan on doing

you want to look at water tankage or

water storage and

or a water maker if a boat has a water

maker on board chances are you will not

need as much water tankage as you would

be able to constantly make water

if you don't have a water maker on board

you will need a large amount of water

tankage to supply you with water on a

long passage or an ocean crossing

with a water maker you can simply just

make water whenever you need it

we can cruise for long periods without

having any access to fresh water ashore

it's important to have adequate tankage

so you don't run out of water when

you're cruising

fuel tankage is also important

especially if you're doing a long

passage

like to bermuda or to cross an ocean you

will need an adequate amount of fuel to

handle

periods where you're dead up wind and

need to motor or in very poor conditions

and choose to motor

or if the wind completely dies and

you're expecting a bad turn in the

weather you may want a motor to move

ahead

and get to your destination having

adequate fuel tankage means less jugs on

deck

and more fuel you can bring with you for

a long passage or an ocean crossing

a good liveaboard cruising boat should

have adequate storage space

for your gear spare parts engine parts

tools

and all of the provisions you will need

for long-term liveaboard cruising

having a shower on board adds a level of

comfort and makes cruising feel less

like camping

for you and any potential guests some

boats have an independent shower stall

others like our boat may have a shower

built right into the head

you want to consider with living aboard

full time whether the cockpit is going

to be comfortable

for you and your potential guests and

making sure

everyone is comfortable in your cockpit

can make a big difference

when living on a boat full time and

cruising having a comfortable cockpit

can add a lot of value

and is worth considering having easy

access at the companion way

is another very important factor a good

blue water boat

will have a companionway built such that

if the boat were to take a wave into the

cockpit the water would not spill into

the cabin below

however some companion ways can be very

difficult to climb down or even

dangerous

you'll want to make sure that the

companionway on the boat you're looking

at

fits your physical capability on

balachandra our dodger is fairly low and

our companionway

is near the cabin top to climb down we

have to crouch low

and elderly people would have a

difficult time accessing our

companionway

on some boats the companionway is

virtually a straight down ladder

to me that is potentially dangerous

underway again it boils down to personal

preference

and what you're physically capable of

doing another very important factor

which is often overlooked when

purchasing a boat

is the ease of working the rig from the

cockpit are the winches accessible

do you have a good perch when grinding

winches where will you sit when you're

piloting the boat and how accessible is

the wheel

what will happen when the boat heals

over to 45 degrees

and will you need to leave the cockpit

for any reason while sailing when in

rough weather at sea

especially in high winds or doing a

crossing you will be less inclined to

leave the cockpit

a good blue water cruising boat should

be set up such that you should not have

to leave the cockpit

unless it is an emergency in which case

you would want to have jack lines

installed from bow to stern

sails can be made but are very expensive

the size of the head sail on a boat can

determine whether the boat has been used

for racing or for cruising

racers would prefer a very large jib

above 135 percent

a good working jib would be 140 or less

on balachandra we mainly fly our 100 jib

as it is a nice comfortable smaller jib

and prevents our rig from taking heavy

dangerous loads

having a roller furling mainsail is a

huge bonus

if you can deploy and retract your

mainsail with a minimum of effort

it makes cruising full time much more

comfortable comfort abort is very

important when you're living full time

on a cruising boat

having easy access to the ocean for both

swimming and collecting salt water is

very important

modern cruising yachts have a sugar

scoop you can climb down

and access the water or your dinghy from

the back however

in rough conditions accessing the ocean

from the stern can be very dangerous

a good cruising boat will have access to

the ocean both for midships with a

ladder

or from the stern a ladder can always be

added however

some boats with large freeboard and poor

access to the ocean

means if you fall off you may not be

able to get back aboard

the drawback to having a sugar scoop is

if you take a wave from the stern

the wave may enter the cockpit which

would be very uncomfortable while

cruising

but it does happen and is not a problem

if your hatches are closed and you don't

mind getting a little wet

for us a good liveaboard cruising boat

will have a roller furler on the

headstay

a roller furling jib is very important

when short-handed

however a lot of people do prefer hank

on sales for racing hank on sales are

ideal

but for cruising the ease and

convenience of a roller furling head

sail

means you don't have to leave the

cockpit and it's quick and easy to stow

your sail when necessary when liveaboard

cruising your dinghy is the family car

you will be using your dinghy very often

you will be taking your dinghy with you

wherever you go

when you sail out in the open seat

chances are you will not be dragging

your dinghy off the stern

as there is a potential for your dinghy

to flip over fill with water

or break away completely and be lost

when we sail in the open ocean

we put our dinghy on deck many cruisers

also have dinghy davits installed at the

back of the boat

make sure the liveaboard cruising boat

you're looking for either has

adequate deck space to stow a dinghy or

dinghy davits on the back

many people will deflate their dinghy

and store it however we've found that

that type of dinghy is not durable and

does not last for very long in the

tropics

it's important to have a way to bring a

full-sized dinghy with you

for if you ever have to change your

dinghy you'll be happy that you have the

deck space or davitz to store that

dinghy

while traveling in a marina and

maneuvering between tight slips

you would find a bow thruster very

convenient however when liveaboard

cruising full time

chances are you will not be visiting

many marinas unless you're in the

mediterranean or in a place where

marinas are necessary

here in the caribbean you can get by

just fine without ever tying up at a

marina

however if you plan to make marina as

part of your cruising life

you may want to consider a bow thruster

when searching for a liveaboard cruising

boat

balachandra does not have a bow thruster

and we're perfectly fine with this

as we very rarely ever tie up at a

marina

next i'm going to talk about items that

may or may not be included with a boat

that's for sale that can be upgraded

fairly easily

in two categories expensive upgrades and

inexpensive upgrades we'll start with

expensive upgrades

obviously the expensive upgrades may be

prohibiting factors for you when

purchasing a boat

less expensive upgrades are ones you

could probably do yourself

it may not affect the purchase of a boat

depending on your budget an arch on the

stern of your boat means you can mount

solar panels to it

have dingy davits or tie just about

anything you want to it in our case we

hang our fenders off of our arch we love

our arch

our solar panels are mounted to it our

wind generator is mounted to it

some of our instruments are also mounted

to it and i can't imagine life on this

boat without our arch in the back

an arch is a fairly expensive item and

it may be a deciding factor for you when

looking for a boat

for us a propane stove is a must there

are alcohol stoves and other forms of

stoves out there

but propane is widely available all

through the caribbean the comfort and

simplicity

of using a propane stove on board is

very important to

us a good liveaboard cruising boat will

have a refrigeration system of some kind

more modern cruising boats will have

newer refrigeration systems

but typically most refrigeration systems

work with a 12

volt compressor installed somewhere in

the galley make sure the boat you're

looking at has a decent refrigeration

system

a good liveaboard cruising boat will

have an inverter of 1500 watts or more

anything less than 1500 watts will

probably not be adequate we prefer

having anchor chain over rope this is an

item that can be upgraded fairly easily

but a couple hundred feet of anchor

chain

is actually quite expensive and should

be considered in your budget

we find that with cruising full time an

all chain road with a good

snubber is the best system for holding

your boat through any kind of weather

personally i would not be comfortable

with the system that uses chain

and road together some kind of anchor

windlass is essential there are manual

windlasses and electric windlasses

we prefer our electric windlass as we

raise and lower our anchor

many times sometimes when anchoring we

may test out several spots

and have to raise and lower our anchor

multiple times in one day

having an electric windlass on board

makes doing this very convenient

if you're living aboard and cruising

full time around the world

having an electric windlass will save

you a lot of turmoil

however i've heard other people say they

prefer the workout but lifting that

chain over and over

would be very uncomfortable chances are

you will want to purchase a boat that

already has a dodger and a bimini

installed having a dodger and bimini

made for you is very expensive and could

be a prohibiting factor

depending on your budget you will want

to check if the boat has an autopilot

installed

you can install your own autopilot

however it's another expensive item

and not easy to install an autopilot is

an essential item

for a blue water cruising boat if it's

not included with the boat you're

looking at you should seriously consider

installing a decent autopilot you also

want to check the type of prop you would

have

some props can be very expensive

especially those with working gears

also some props are undersized for their

boats and could be upgraded to increase

speed and maneuverability it's a good

idea to check what kind of prop the

cruising boat you're looking at has

if the boat you're looking at already

has a water maker installed that's a

huge

plus a water maker is a very expensive

item and very good to have on board

balachandra does not have a water maker

we do wish we had one but it was not a

deciding factor on purchasing the boat

as we have adequate water tankage for

blue water cruising

and now we'll talk about the less

expensive upgrades that probably

won't affect your boat sale unless you

have a very specific budget

other less expensive upgrades you may

want to consider

are a good quality anchor decent

batteries like lithium ion or lead acid

that are fairly recent in date good

modern solar panels

a wind generator and some decent modern

navigation electronics

some of these items can be upgraded and

may not affect your boat sale

it really depends on your budget now

we'll talk about easy upgrades that

really should not affect the sale of a

boat

a generator is something you can

purchase fairly cheaply today

and store on board honda makes one

that's very small

and may fit into one of your storage

compartments you'll want to check if a

dinghy or outboard is included however

some dinghies have been heavily used

and may not last very long but getting a

good dinghy and outboard included in the

sail is always a plus

running rigging will at some point need

to be replaced but this should not be a

deciding factor on purchasing a boat you

can

go out and buy affordable running

rigging from time to time especially if

a boat shop has a good sail on

a boat with lazy jacks or a stack pack

is always a good thing

however you can install your own lazy

jacks or stack pack

or have one made fairly inexpensively

having a hot water heater is essential

up north or if you prefer a hot shower

but a hot water heater here in the

caribbean would not be necessary

i would not base a sail off the

condition or absence of a hot water

heater

in the north a furnace or a good heating

stove

on board is essential if you plan to be

living aboard but a good

eberspacher or wabasto furnace or

dickinson heating stove

can be installed by any boat owner and i

would not expect that to be an essential

item

an insulated hull would be a plus but

again this is also something you can do

on your own

having a decent salon table below is not

necessarily an essential item and one

can be fabricated

having a good table in the cockpit is a

nice accessory

but also something that can be added on

your own we built our own cockpit table

from teak that we found at a used boat

store and it works very nicely for us

usb ports throughout the boat can be

added at any time

it is not a difficult install and should

not affect your preference in boats

other accessories you may be looking for

like kitchenware

life jackets good mattresses the quality

or age of the salon cushions

fenders included extra lines or winch

handles

are all items that can be added on your

own these items should not affect the

boat sale

no matter how ugly or beautiful you may

find the cushions in the salon

so that's the end of this week's video

of what to look for in a good

blue water cruising boat i hope you guys

found it helpful if you have any

questions for me just leave them in the

comments below or send me a message

through facebook

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