Ideal ocean crossing vessel

"allisions" are what, exactly?

One boat wreck. Striking of an fixed object with a boat. Things like running into bridges.

New word to me and Google, must be a local dialect.

Actually the first time I heard it used was by either the NTSB or USCG, labeling an event. I had also not heard of it and just figured it out in context, plus looked it up. So, I guess an accident investigator's term.

Collision: If you hit something that doesn't get out of your way, you lose at playing chicken.
Allission: you lose at the chicken game every time.

I just call them all wrecks.

Motor/Sailer
I'd be choosing a motorsailer to cruise the world. That way I'd have the best of both worlds,...plenty power of both power and sail. Naturally I'm a bit partial to the large catamaran form...
Motor/Sailer Design, Expedition Yacht

But I am also very much a fan of some monohull forums,..particularlly the Rhodes 44 and Alden 57 models I hi-lited in this forum discussion...
http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/motor-sailers-by-philip-rhodes-john-alden.6710/page-6
http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/motor-sailers-by-philip-rhodes-john-alden.6710/page-4#post-132022
http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/motor-sailers-by-philip-rhodes-john-alden.6710/page-3#post-61710



I'd build my monohull motorsailer with STEEL HULL, and Sandwich-Cored Composite Superstructures

Also go along with a Dashew. The question though also involves how big a crew do you want. Steve and Linda are couples cruisers. Most who buy their vessels are the same, whether power or sail. Couples cruising requires a high degree of knowledge and experience that not all have, thus required crew size becomes relevant. And of course boat size increases to house the cook, engineer, captain etc.

The elephant in the room though is Nordhavn. Lots of them out there and blue water cruising away.

Have you met the Owners? What a bunch of pussies! Every time "What's the weather window look like"? It's a bit breezy, luv, live with it.

I would suggest, for anybody contemplating about crossing oceans with a smaller power or sailboat or even when planning for a circumnavigation, visit the webside of MV Dirona. A blog of Jennifer and James Hamilton circumnaviting the globe on a Nordhavn 52. A lot of details and inside about an owner couple on the seven seas.

Very interesting was the engine maintenance and oil change on a basically single engine vessel at the middle of the ocean. Nice reading, indeed. But not only the technical aspects are covered, it also says a lot about the mental portion of such an adventure. Getting enough sleep, stress, constant movement of the boat, logistics, planning in advance, very interesting.

Crossing large areas of water on a smaller boat or ship seems to be more than just getting a seaworthy and technically reliable vessel get bunker and go, it is a whole lot more.

And one thing I have always read and heard from blue water sailors and circumnavigators, they all took at least one local area test season (for the vessel and for their own benefit) prior setting off for distant horizons and the blue jonder.

"Navita de ventis, de tauris narrat arator, enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves."

Some very interesting information in this old subject thread,
"What Defines an Expedition Yacht"

..more specifically just 2 people handle this 62' powercat "Domino" by themselves for worldwide cruising, ....and with very reasonable fuel bills. I have suggested they might consider adding an aux sailplan for those really remote are capabilities.
http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/what-defines-an-expedition-yacht.20483/page-7#post-170461

Domino cat blogspot
5 years, 35 countries and 29,000 nautical miles

BTW, the size of a sailing yacht to cross the oceans does NOT have to be very large at all. In fact it is often better if it is limited to that size that is comfortable to handle by the crew, be it a single person, a couple, or whatever.

The basic point is it has the 'motivation power' in the sail plan without having to depend on any fuel, and of a necessary size to carry a large fuel supply for any particular long trip. Very small sailboats have survived extreme ocean weather, and even 'unattended'. Many powerboats would not fair so well in those stormy offshore conditions.

I repeat, MotorSailer,...my favorite compromise.

And many have not, but you don't read the books they write afterwards, because they aren't alive to write them. We only get one side of the glorious wonder of single handing small sail boats across oceans. The rescues of boats offshore by the USCG are still very predominantly sailboats over powerboats.

People also cross oceans with crews of two and even single handed. I could never recommend anyone do either. Mental fatigue is the source of serious mistakes. Lack of sleep can be devastating.

Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it's a wise thing to do. Yes, easy to say it's their lives to do as they wish. Guess that's true if you forget those who risk their own safety to search and try to rescue them, the money spent on such efforts, and their loved ones at home.

I have refrained from commenting whenever "sailboat" pops up, but as a reminder, the OP said "...Talking long range and power..."

Additionally, I would consider it fairly dangerous to have an inexperienced sailor tackle more than swimming distance to shore.

As the OP was asking about power, sailboats shouldn't have entered in. However, they impact even when they don't as sail boat owners tend to encourage things that most power boaters never would. Just because someone has done something or it's possible, doesn't make it something to be recommended to others.

I have a couple of strong opinions on ocean crossing. First, an inexperienced boater should never undertake such a crossing without someone more experienced with them. Second, no crossing should ever be done single handed and if we're talking more than two days, there should be a minimum total crew of at least three. This provides the essential number of two plus one in case someone is injured or gets sick. Furthermore, added crew, even beyond the three, can be the key to actually making the crossing pleasurable instead of just hard work.

Single handed boating, whether coastal or offshore, ranks somewhere close to swimming alone. I've done plenty of boating alone on the lake and would probably run the ICW alone if I needed to, but I'd never run outside alone. We don't allow any of our boats to be operated alone.

+1
Forty years in the Boat Bidness, and one of the best Round The World boats I was ever involved with was the Seaton/Neville-designed 63 Cheoy Lee Motorsailer. A CA couple, with very limited prior experience, bought one of these, hired a skipper to show them the ropes, kicked him off in S.D., and proceeded to...sail around the world.
Oh, they had "issues", alright, but they ramped up quickly. They fell into a routine of sails up for stability and running on one of the two CAT 3208 NAs burning, IIRC, 2.5 gph.
18'6" beam, so she was quite roomy with a huge aft MSR and an engine room which could accommodate four simultaneous card games. They split watches. The Officer Of the Deck was comfortably ensconced on the settee at the helm, usually with a book. Full 360-degree visibility from the enclosed wheelhouse. One of the two gensets, run for a hour or so a day, cooled the interior for the night (assisted by 12V fans) and kept the ice cream rock-hard.
Definitely well insulated
An eighties boat, about two dozen were built.
These folks graduated to a 78 CL--one of three built--and gained an increase in beam from 18'6" to a full twenty one feet.

And, to Judy's comment #34, I was reminded, ridiculed actually, by my boss (Pete Bollman) at that time, "Loren, that's not a sailboat!".

Neither fish nor fowl, to be sure, but as a heavy, comfy passagemaker, she was well-suited for the task.

How about this one. I promise, it is not a sailboat and most likely not ment as motor sailer .


The Garcia Le Trawler GT 54. Btw. Judy, one more nice review.

If any of our readers spot this boat, please contact the police. It was hijacked and stolen a couple of years ago...

http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/yacht-hijacked-in-the-med.22465/

I don't think most people have any awareness of how many boats Cheoy Lee has built.

100+ years of tradition and the Lo bros. continue on...
Commercial stuff as well, at least in the past.