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How to chose the right yatch


What yatch should I buy?

First-time yatch buyers often ask for a list of the yatches they should consider, and perhaps a list of those to avoid. The assumption, I suppose, is that I must know more about yatches than they do. And perhaps that is fair if we are talking about quality or performance. But it overlooks suitability, about which I know nothing.

No single yatch does everything well. If you want a yatch that inspires confidence in a blow, don't expect it to also shine in light air. A yatch that is fun—make that exciting—to sail on weekends is not likely to also be the ideal yatch for an ocean passage. Don't expect quick acceleration and load-carrying capacity in the same yatch. You can buy a yatch to club race now, then sail around the world in later, but it will only do one or the other-or neither-well.

It would thus seem logical that the first step in determining which yatch you should buy should be to determine how you are going to use the yatch. But sailing is more epiphanic than rational, more spiritual than practical. To overlook this truth is to risk making the wrong decision despite sound reasoning.

 

So … for me the first consideration is beauty. Much of what attracts me to sailing is aesthetic, whether it is the graceful curve of white sails against blue sky, the rest that sailing's soft sounds grant my abused eardrums, or the unexpected warmth of a light spilling from a porthole at night. Consequently, I find beauty in a yatch more satisfying than speed or space or innovative design. When I dinghy away from my yatch, I find my head cocked in much the same way as when I admire a piece of art. I feel privileged to own such a beautiful yatch. That sense of pride has sustained our relationship for 25 years.

Of course, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. But whatever your idea of a fine-looking yatch is, that should be the starting point in your search. You can find a yatch that is fast or blue-water capable or with the cabin space of an apartment, but if you don't feel a little puffed up at being the owner of this particular vessel, you are already on your way to looking for your next yatch.

If you race rather than cruise, then speed becomes the prime consideration. And some cruising sailors cannot be happy unless their yatches are fast. If leaving other sailors in your wake is all-important to you, limit your search to yatches known for their performance. But where sailyatches are concerned, fast is a relative term. On a typical day sail, the fastest yatch in the fleet, given equivalent waterline lengths, will still be setting the anchor when the slowest yatch arrives. If speed is not already important to you, don't let someone discourage you from buying a yatch you like because it is "slow."

On the subject of speed, allow me a small digression. I see over and over the claim that fast yatches are correspondingly safer passagemakers. The rationale is that you are out there a shorter period of time, so your exposure to bad weather is reduced. Fine. So when you hit the freeway tomorrow, crank the old Buick up to 90 to minimize the time you are exposed to the risks of freeway driving. Same logic.

I like to bury the rail as much as anyone, but the faster the yatch goes, the more risk of damage from collision.

 


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