| When choosing a cruising sailboat for a trip to the | | | | happy you can be happy. If the chef is not happy...the |
| Caribbean, make sure you remember it's a home first | | | | captain won't be either. We had a 3 burner gimbaled |
| sailboat second. | | | | stove, propane fueled. The small oven had a big turkey |
| We enjoyed living on a sailboat for 8 years cruising up | | | | in it every Thanksgiving. We ate great. |
| and down the Windward's and Leeward's...Virgin | | | | We had 12 volt refrigeration with a huge cooler area. |
| Islands to Trinidad and Venezuela. We had a ball | | | | A very small freezer which worked out fine. Look for |
| cruising on our 35 foot Island Packet sailboat | | | | a large, well insulated cooler...if the beer is not ice cold |
| Shadowtime. We chose very well, never wanted any | | | | you will not be pleased. For you Europeans that think |
| other kind of boat. You can choose well too. | | | | us Yanks are nuts for drinking ice cold beer...feel free |
| The things we liked were the teak interior; dining room | | | | to disregard this advice. |
| table that stowed; a roomy head shower area; a | | | | Other items to watch for are fresh water capacity. |
| roomy cockpit that could seat eight for cocktails; and | | | | We had 90 gallons which lasted 2 weeks, a shower |
| high freeboard that kept us dry and secure.. It was a | | | | apiece every day, cooking and dishwashing and |
| home we loved that also happened to be a very good | | | | drinking water. Makes you cringe when you realize the |
| sailboat. We had some 140 mile days on our rare | | | | average family uses 400 gallons a day in the US...what |
| passages. | | | | a waste. Be careful if your fresh water capacity is |
| But 99% of the time you are at anchor or docked. 1% | | | | much less than 90 gallons. We had a 1.5 gph |
| you are underway. So remember you are mostly not | | | | watermaker installed midway through our cruising life. It |
| moving when choosing a cruising sailboat. And since | | | | was expensive and noisy, better to have big tanks. |
| you are a cruiser and you want to go from Trinidad to | | | | An absolute do not is never buy a boat with engine |
| Grenada 70 miles, you wait for calm seas and | | | | driven refrigeration. You will drive yourself and your |
| favorable winds...cruisers are not in a hurry. | | | | neighbors crazy with the noise running the engine an |
| We were stuck in Martinique for 24 days once waiting | | | | hour plus every day. Beneteaus are fine for charter |
| for the seas to lie down. What a great place to be | | | | purposes...you won't see any where the cruisers hang. |
| stuck. | | | | Another must for Caribbean cruising is the V berth |
| Point being when you wait for good weather it's a | | | | being the main sleeping quarters. It gets hot in the |
| pleasant crossing. We looked for 4 to 6 foot seas | | | | tropics and if you are not comfortable sleeping forget |
| max less if it was on the nose. 10 to 15 knots of wind | | | | it. If the main sleeping area is aft make sure you can |
| hopefully somewhere on the beam. In all our many | | | | direct airflow, wind scoops help, to the bunk. With the |
| passages we had the motor on half the time. No | | | | sleeping quarters forward you can be assured of |
| stress no mess. Motorsailing may not sound cool, but | | | | proper ventilation for sleeping. Don't over look this |
| comfort is number one with cruisers. | | | | important aspect of being comfortable. |
| Cruisers are a frugal, make that cheap, lot . Keep that | | | | So when choosing a cruising sailboat remember it is a |
| in mind when choosing a cruising sailboat since most of | | | | home first. If you are cramped and not happy at |
| your meals will be prepared in board. If the chef is | | | | anchor you won't be happy period. Enjoy. |