Question: What type of boat can sail internationally?

(Posted by: on 2010-08-08 23:50:01)

NOT a cruise ship... Can you buy a boat and sail it across the ocean to europe? this is probably a dumb question... i mean, it sounds dumb to me even. yet i dunno the answer

Posted by: Capt. John on 2010-08-09, 01:25:21

There are small sailboats in the 24' to 65' range that do this all the time. Last year, just over 9,000 of these vessels passed through the Panama Canal as they headed from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa). Two of the teenagers that have sailed around the world have done it in sailboats 24' and 26', and only one of them was in a boat larger then 65'. Of all the "couples " doing it, the majority of then are doing it in a boat under 40'. So, one... its certainly not a dumb question, and two, it takes far less boat and money to do it comfortably and safely the most people think. You might enjoy the link below... It tells you exactly what you need in-order to do it. Course, there are some power boats that will do it. Many private, recreational, Trawlers have 3,000 gallon fuel tanks. But at $4.00 a gallon, one fill-up would just ruin my entire boating season. Happy & Safe Boating John

Posted by: Capt. Bob on 2010-08-09, 00:49:03

Anything you got the cajonies to make the crossing in....canoe to container ship. When you make landfall in a foreign country you will hace to deal with customs; think passport and some kind of papers for your boat. More is better...a few decades ago I set out the opposite direction in a 100 year old skipjack, and nobody liked my single-sheet, hand-written bill of sale, so a friend mailed me a whole ream of stuff...the only thing I remember was a page he had cut out of a CGA boaters guide about lights and shapes; anyway, when I put the twenty sheets of paper with my B.O.S. (A new copy I typed up in a Bogata hotel room and forged the seller's name on) everyone I encountered afterwards just riffled through them and nodded! Sail a lot along the coast wherever you are first. Learn celestial navigation. Lock yourself in your bathroom for a week. (to get used to small spaces and confinement) and GO! You will only be sorry for small, terrifying but brief periods of time, Bob

Posted by: Fang on 2010-08-09, 06:51:41

Full keel, mono-hull, self-righting and made for blue water sailing. 42'ish seems to be about as small as most world travelers settle for (at least the vast majority of the ones I've been exposed to), a few exceptions.

Posted by: TheCraft 13 on 2010-08-10, 01:37:04

There are many great sailing yachts that will make the trip including some of the Islanders, Islander flush decks from 24' to 33' have made the trip.. As, well as the Islander 36', Bruce Roberts 35's, Morgan cutters, and many other great sailboats, the list could go on and on. If you watch the sailing news, several teenagers made the trip over the last couple of years. Each in hopes of being the youngest Sailor to have circumnavigate the globe. Zac Sunderland who briefly became the world's youngest solo circumnavigator last year at age 17, sailing an Islander 36-foot cruising sailboat, became the youngest solo circumnavigator, although with stops and assistance, slightly younger British teenager Mike Perham beat him in a racing design. Followed by Jessica Watson and Abby Sunderland. It is not the size of the boat. But, the design of the individual sailboat that makes it seaworthy.

Posted by: Tinpanallycat on 2010-08-10, 10:17:43

The SMALLEST boat to cross the Atlantic was only 12 FEET LONG.. I think it's still the record and that was years ago. When I still had my Topper Hermanson 34 I made numerous crossing from the U.S to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean If you want a quite, dry ride.. a 33 footer is about the smallest you want to use for ocean work.. that is why LIFE BOATS are 32 to 33 feet long.