See full version: Coast Guard Safety Requirements for Boats 16–26 Feet
If your boat is 16–26 feet, you have additional responsibilities compared with the owner of a smaller boat. Knowing the U.S. Coast Guard Safety Regulations will ensure you are in compliance and will help secure your safety and that of your passengers.
One type of Coast Guard-approved life jacket or life vest must be on board for each person on the boat. You must also have one Type V personal flotation device, like a ring or cushion, that you can throw to someone in the water. more
It's not enough to have your certificate of number on board. You must attach the number on each side of the forward half of the boat so that it is visible. The number must be in contrasting color to the boat and at least 3 inches in height. Your state's validation sticker or stickers must be attached within 6 inches of the registration number. Nothing else may be displayed nearby.
“There were also a host of small items and spares for everything in sight.” [links]
Watermakers are another costly upgrade at an average of €5,719 across 42 yachts, but a highly valued one, judging by most skippers’ feedback. We asked all ARC skippers to list their top five items of equipment bought specifically for the crossing, and watermakers were a clear favourite.
More than half the skippers spent several tens of thousands of euros preparing their yachts for an Atlantic crossing and extended cruising, something confirmed in the case studies below.
He also rated radar very highly: “Almost a must for a double-handed crew.” [links]
In addition to skippers’ choice of bluewater gear, a large range of a safety kit is a non-negotiable element for all ARC sailors – indeed, for anyone heading offshore – so we examine the cost of safety gear and look at the training undertaken by skippers and crews before they set sail.
Sturdy cockpit tables are safety features here
[advertisement]You’re going to be spending a lot of your life in the cockpit, either at sea or in the harbor, so make sure you are totally satisfied it will serve you well in both situations. here
Some cockpits work beautifully in harbor, but are downright dangerous at sea. If the cockpit is too wide to brace your feet on the other side, it absolutely must have some means of stopping people from being tossed across and onward over the side, such as a stout cockpit table folded down. Without this, a lovely roomy harbor cockpit can turn into a death trap in rough weather. here
When it comes to choosing a cruising boat, aspirations have altered beyond recognition in my lifetime. My first ocean sailing yacht was a wooden Norwegian pilot cutter, 60 years old in 1972. She was cheap, but I chose her because of the legendary sea-keeping qualities of her type. With my wife, we voyaged from the UK to Brazil, then home again via the Caribbean, the eastern United States and Nova Scotia. Her engine was so unreliable that I gave up on it in Rio and sailed her without power or electricity most of the way home. We navigated entirely by sextant, a chronometer and the wheeling stars. I was so comfortable with this that nothing changed on my boats until the mid-1990s, when I bought a GPS receiver. Refrigeration, pressurized hot water, chartplotters and computers were unheard of on any of my boats until now. We managed fine without. So can you, if you so choose.
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If your yacht is too light to stand the ¼ton weight of ultimate safety, get rid of her and buy a more suitable one, because it doesn’t end here. You’re also going to need backup anchors, lots of spare rode and maybe a storm hook tucked away in the bilge for that far-off day when you know the world is going to go mad… [links]
Sample asking prices are taken from Boatquest.com
Jeanneau’s handsome Sun Odyssey 54 and 49 deck saloon models have become popular ocean-crossers
More Lagoons than any other brand of catamaran have crossed the Atlantic with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, and more 440s have taken part than any other Lagoon. It’s easy to see why this is such a popular boat with people heading for the tropics. Between the saloon, the vast cockpit, the wide trampoline forward and the flybridge, there is plenty of opportunity for crew to either get some private time on passage or to congregate for meals or socializing in harbor. As for the sailing qualities, the 440 is no sportster, but it’s capable of respectable passage times while keeping its crew safe and comfortable. [links]
Hallberg-Rassy 42 and 42F more
Have you ever wondered what brands and models are the most popular bluewater cruising boats? So have we, so we plundered the archives of the World Cruising Club to see which boats have featured most prominently in the last five years of the rallies that the WCC organizes—the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) from the Canary Islands to St Lucia; the Caribbean 1500 from Portsmouth, Virginia to Tortola, BVI; the ARC Europe, from Tortola and Portsmouth to Portugal via Bermuda and the Azores; and the World ARC, a biennial circumnavigation.
What They Cost
But heavy also means slow, especially in light air. A fast boat can sail through conditions in which a heavier design would languish or be forced to motor. It can also move more quickly and often avoid weather systems. While you might not want to get caught in a storm in a light displacement boat, the view is you might not have to. [links]
The definition of heavy displacement is anything with a Displacement/Length Ratio (DLR) of 270 – 360. Moderate displacement is anything between 180-270 and light displacement is any DLR under 180. Roughly 51% of the boats that crossed could be considered heavy displacement. The rest mirror the rig types, with 27% falling into the light displacement category and 22% under the moderate displacement label. [links]
We settled on a Dufour 35, built in 1979. It had a solid fibreglass hull and skeg-hung rudder, but was billed as a racer-cruiser when it came off the assembly line. As such, the tankage was minimal, she doesn’t have a fin keel and isn’t a cutter. She also has a balsa-core deck to save on weight. We were emboldened by the report that many others had sailed around the world in this model of boat and she did appear in John Neal’s list of acceptable offshore boats, although without glowing remarks.
Skeg-hung and attached rudders have an obvious advantage in that they are protected from direct impact. The pressure on the leading edge of the rudder is also greatly reduced, putting less strain on the rudder post. An added advantage is that fishing lines and other marine debris can’t get caught in between the rudder and the hull. As with a full keel the main detractor is diminished sailing performance. here
The list of boats that successfully made it across the Pacific in the last couple of years does challenge the traditionalist perspective about essential offshore elements. What explains the difference between what we think should be able to cross an ocean and what is actually crossing? The most likely explanations are: weather forecasting and preventative maintenance. [links]