Conference unifix::sailing

    You could try Bruce Roberts 800-638-5855 for his "Build for Less"
    book of designs. Choose one you like and ask for a list of builders.
    These will be steel builders, mostly. The same with Jay Bedford.
    The English "Yachting World" has many ads for motorsailor designs,
    Colvonic (?) for one. Some American builders, Cape Dory, Pearson,
    Eastward Ho have motorsailor hulls and you could try a hull and
    deck form one of them. Fairways Fisher is another hull that is still
    in production in England.
    Good luck and if you want to talk motorsailors we live aboard a
    Nauticat 43 and have for the past 4 years.

    Thanks for the info. I'm also up to the idea of simply buying an older
    used boat, gutting and refitting. Not wood, though.
    
    Ray
    

    There is a Fisher dealer in Mystic,CT I think and they would be
    a good bet for a used boat. Too bad about the wood as there are
    quite a few good Hand and Rhodes boats around.
    Hans Christian also makes a motorsailor.
    The older the design the more of a motorboat with sails the boat
    becomes.
    There is a book called "Motorsailors" by Daug Pike you might be
    interested in.
    

I've always thought that motor sailers and pilot house designs have been 
a neglected species.  If I am honest with myself about what I want from a 
sailboat, these types are a great fit.

The problem is that I fanatasize about world cruising (but probably never will).
I fantasize about going fast (but usually don't).   If others of you do the 
same then you probably have a boat to match your fantasy, not your reality.
The plain fact is that I love to poke around the coast in good to moderately
bad weather and there are two aspects of this type of sailing that really 
get to me; getting soaked and getting baked.

These designs can really enhance these two negatives (at least for me).  
I wonder if they wouldn't make a dramatic impact on the amount and type of
sailing I do.   I'd like to hear from anybody with an opinion on this.

    How much performance do you really lose ?  
    How much convenience/comfort do you really gain ?   
    How much safety do you compromise ?  
    How much money are we liquidating :^) ?
    
By the way, don't completely rule out wood.   ALL old boats require a
lot of work.    Having recently gone through the process I can only relate
that there are lots of old (10-20 years) glass boats that
have not been maintained and don't look like they have another 5 years
left in them.   At the same time there are a lot of old wooden boats
(20-30 years) that look like they have another 20 or so left in them.
I ended my search on a 52 year old boat and I'm not convinced that there
will ever be a 52 year old glass boat (of course I am now horribly biased).

    

    Re: Motor sailer performance. There is no doubt that there is an up-wind
    price to pay for the commonly reduced sail size and the windage from
    the pilot-house. However it really does depend on where one places
    their priorities. Friends of ours who have been full-time cruising for
    ten years now (currently in the Phuket Islands of Thailand) claim that
    well over 80% of their sailing is off the wind. Although they do not
    own a motor sailer, they have a fairly large full-keeled ketch which is
    not known for it's up-wind performance.
    
    As to the oft mentioned problem of "clawing off a lee shore":
    
    	1. Stay out of the situation in the first place.
    	2. Sail out of it if possible.
    	3. Motor out of it (where a powerful engine really helps).
    	4. Have the best ground tackle possible to stay off the shore.
    	5. If all the above fail, pray that the damage will be minimal when
           going ashore.
    	

    I am currebtly sailing on a Salar-Giles 40 PH sloop.  I have seen
    it advertised as a sloop and a motor sailer.  I prefer to think
    of it as a sailboat with a BIG motor :-).  The weather aspect is
    great.  We do not get more sun or rain/splash than we want.  The
    Pilot House is really convenient for stowing the main and a great
    place to lounge.  Performance is sailboat like.  At 25,000 lbs.
    with a full keel, pointing and speed are not two strong suits. 
    Comfortable ride in all conditions and the ability to motor in calm
    conditions are.  We can point at about 45 degrees.  A close reach
    in a fresh breeze will fetch 8.5 kts.  The rig is not down sized
    like many motor sailers though it is relatively low aspect.  All
    in all, a safe, comfortable boat.
    
    Brian