BEST OFFSHORE CRUISING BOATS

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(updated 20 June, 2000)

    The following boats were selected by using a Fuzzy Logic process on seven basic evaluation factors:   Displacement / LWL ratio, Sail Area / Displacement ratio, V maximum / V hull, Capsize Risk factor, Comfort factor, LOA / Beam ratio and Acceleration. Fuzzy Logic allows boats to be scored according to how "close" they are to the optimal value selected for these variables. The trick is in how you select these optimal values.

    To reduce my personal bias, I calculated the optimal values by averaging the data from nine well recognized cruising boat designers, Cruising World Magazine, and several European designers. The data was then averaged   to generate the optimal values and calculate the standard deviation.   Figure 1 contains the average values for the seven fuzzy variables for each designer, calculated from a total of 151 boats.

 

DESIGNER

S/D

D/L

CF

CR

Vm/Vh

L/B

ACCEL
ALBERG

15.88

378

31.2

1.67

1.08

3.38

.053
ALDEN

16.65

326

42.6

1.57

1.06

3.77

.056
CREALOCK

15.81

341

36.8

1.64

1.06

3.34

.053
BREWER

16.37

261

33.1

1.69

1.07

3.34

.065
HESS

17.47

256

25.9

1.84

1.13

3.19

.048
HOOD

15.09

325

42.7

1.57

1.05

3.65

.050
MASON

16.53

349

41.8

1.62

1.06

3.51

.049
PAINE

16.97

263

32.7

1.73

1.08

3.33

.075
PERRY

16.72

260

36.0

1.69

1.07

3.35

.070
MISC. 17.45 294 36.6 1.66 1.09 3.33 .060

 

FIG. 1 AVERAGE VALUES (151 BOATS)

 

 

        An additional Fuzzy variable has been added to the selection criteria, Acceleration.  The Acceleration forces that the crew experiences as a boat rolls can promote fatigue through sleep deprivation, which leads to mistakes and accidents. The Acceleration calculation is based on the beam and roll period. The roll period uses an approximation for the Moment of Inertia based on research by SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers). A 10 degree roll, with the crewmember located 1.5 feet inside the point of maximum beam, is assumed.   The following boats were selected using the "somewhat close" fuzzy hedge.

 

UNDER 30 FEET

MORGAN 30 MORGAN

0.425
ERICSON 29 KING

0.194
CAPE DORY 28 ALBERG

0.120

 

 

 

30 – 40 FEET

ERICSON 39 KING

0.889
SHANNON 37 SCHULZ

0.785
CREALA 40 CREALOCK

0.777
HORIZON 39 BORGE

0.777
DOUGLAS 32 BREWER

0.701
NORDIA 39 VAN DAM

0.575
MORRIS 34 PAINE

0.518
SIROCCO 34 MS HOLTROP

0.491
ERICSON 39M KING

0.472
CAPE DORY 36 ALBERG

0.467
ROBINHOOD 36 ALBERG

0.467
ROBERTS 38 ROBERTS

0.453
VANCOUVER 36 HARRIS

0.450
BLUE PETER DEVLIN

0.444
CHRIS CRAFT APACHE 37 S&S

0.420
CAL 40 LAPWORTH

0.414
LITTLE HARBOR 38 HOOD

0.411
CONTEST 38 ZAAL

0.389
CORBIN 39 CORBIN

0.383
PACIFIC SEACRAFT 31 CREALOCK

0.336
VALIANT 39 CE PERRY

0.315
PEARSON 40 SHAW

0.310
ENDURANCE 38 IBOLD

0.309
HR 382 RASSY

0.279
PACIFIC SEACRAFT 34 CREALOCK

0.268
CT-38 SLOOP WARICK

0.257
VALIANT 40 PERRY

0.244
COLOMBIA 34 TRIPP

0.224
EXCALIBUR 36 VAN DE STADT

0.213
IRWIN 38 IRWIN

0.199
FAST PASSAGE 39 GARDEN

0.172
BENFORD 39 BENFORD

0.162
HALLBERG-RASSY 39 FRERS

0.163
NAJAD 390 KARLSSON

0.140
VANCOUVER 38PH TAYLOR

0.056
TAYANA 37 PERRY

0.015
ALLIED PRINCESS EDMUNDS

0.009

 

 

 

40 – 50 FEET

SOU'WESTER 43 RHODES-HINCKLEY

1.000
HALLBERG-RASSY 42 FRERS

0.992
PACIFIC SEACRAFT PH 40 CREALOCK

0.975
CAMBRIA 40 WALTERS

0.962
LAFITTE 44 PERRY

0.898
ALDEN 46/50 MK II ALDEN

0.858
PACIFIC SEACRAFT 40 CREALOCK

0.815
SEQUIN 44 S&S

0.720
CABO RICO 40 PAINE

0.717
TARTAN 42 JACKETT

0.712
HINCKLEY 42 McCURDY & RHODES

0.710
LITTLE HARBOR 42 HOOD

0.710
NAJAD 420 KARLSSON

0.635
CONTEST 42 ZAAL

0.610
ALDEN 48 ALDEN

0.576
VALIANT 42 PERRY

0.539
PACIFIC SEACRAFT 44 CREALOCK

0.526
BLOCK ISLAND 40 TRIPP

0.523
HEDONISTE 44 IBOLD

0.512
BREHERET 45 CHAUVEAU

0.504
OCC IDEAL CRUISING YACHT OCEAN CRUISING CLUB

0.438
TROUBADOUR 44 CUSTOM POCOCK

0.438
BRISTOL 45.5 HOOD

0.429
ALDEN 44 ALDEN

0.427
HALLBERG-RASSY 49 RASSY/ENDERLEIN

0.415
ROBINHOOD 40 ALBERG

0.402
CALIBER 47 McCREARY

0.394
HINCKLEY BERMUDA 40 TRIPP

0.374
CAMBRIA 44-46 WALTERS

0.372
TAYANA 42 HARRIS

0.333
IRWIN 42 IRWIN

0.327
JONMERI 48 NYMAN

0.314
FREEDOM 45 PEDRICK

0.262
FREEDOM 45 CC MULL

0.262
ACAJUTLA 42 BREWER

0.257
MASON 43 MASON

0.247
SS CUSTOM 42 S&S

0.247
CABO RICO 38 CREALOCK

0.244
MASON 44 MASON

0.239
DESIGN NUMBER 37 WHITE

0.229
SHANNON 43 SCHULZ

0.193
TOPPER HERMANSON

0.177
ROYAL PASSPORT 49 PERRY

0.174
TRINTELLA 47 HOLLAND

0.163
WESTERLY 43 DUBOIS

0.147
COLOMBIA 43 MK III TRIPP

0.133
ISLAND PACKET 44 JOHNSON

0.125
BRISTOL 41.1

0.120
BREWER AHQUABI BREWER

0.092
BRISTOL 40 HOOD

0.085
WHISPER TANTON

0.080
TAYANA 48 PERRY

0.076
MALO 42 OHLSEN

0.063
ENDEAVOUR 42

0.061
VALIANT 42 RS PERRY

0.021
PILOTHOUSE CUTTER DIX

0.021
ROYAL PASSPORT 41 PERRY

0.018

 

 

 

OVER 50 FEET

IRWIN 52 IRWIN

0.716
ROYAL 58 PH KETCH CONTEMPORARY YACHTS

0.415
LITTLE HARBOR 54 HOOD

0.404
KANTER 51 EMPACHER

0.396
SOU'WESTER 52 HINCKLEY

0.293
S & S CUSTOM 50 PH S&S

0.280
HALLBERG-RASSY 53 FRERS

0.232
ALDEN 52 ALDEN

0.227
SOU'WESTER 51 RHODES-HINCKLEY

0.146
VALIANT 50 PERRY

0.120

 

    Take these results with a grain of salt. Not all the boats on this list are great world cruisers, they just share a set of common features that indicate a suitability for offshore use, as defined by a group of recognized experts. If your evaluating a boat for offshore cruising, and its not on this list, it would be prudent to determine why. Look at the factors that are different and make sure the "trade offs" they represent are acceptable. Don’t hesitate to ask the designer for an explanation, and apply that to your personal requirements. For example, a crew of four young men may put more emphasis on performance than an older couple. For the guys, lower disp/lwl ratios, higher sail area/disp ratios, lower comfort factors, and higher capsize risk may be acceptable. An older couple will probably be more interested in a higher disp/lwl ratio, high comfort factors, and low capsize risk.

  The complete data base and details about the fuzzy logic process used to select these boats can be downloaded, Download the Data Base, for your use.   The file is available as a ZIP or regular XLS.

 

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