T&T: Boat capability ratings

[George & Emilie Rankin]

You really can't do this by brand name, except for boats that are completely
disqualified.   Tollys are great boats, but they do not have the range to make
Hawaii.   You do realize that if you are attempting to reach Hawaii you are
not going to be travelling at 15 knots in the sort of boats that we talk about
here.



To begin with, most production yards make a wide variety of boats.   Not all
Nordhavens are offshore capable or even pretend to be.   Offshore boats
require a lot of trade offs that most people  don't want to put up with or pay
for.   The big tradeoff is speed.   Windows are nice, so are dripless shafts,
freshwater toilets, and underwater exhausts.   I also happen to prefer a nice
queen sized bed to bunk beds.   The true offshore boats that I have seen feel
a bit like caves (or sailboats, which is what you should really be considering
if you like to do a lot of bluewater travelling.)



Also, the choices made by an owner who is planning on serious offshore work
are going to be different than the choices made by most of the rest of us.
The engine will of course be premium and it will have a slow turning shaft
(for efficiency but it can have comfort tradeoffs) and it is going to be
completely and easily accessable.   It will not have a dripless shaft or
anything else that cannot be repaired underway -- for obvious reasons.   There
will be a lot of considerations for things that most of us don't think about
-- like dual engine intake thru-hulls, extra large bilge pumps, backup bilge
pumps, and redundancy on top of redundancy.    It will have storm plates,
small extra heavy duty hatches (which are a pain to deal with if you are not
going offshore), strong attachment point for the sea anchor.   Walkways will
have handholds everywhere, the galley will have special considerations, and
the electrical system of an offshore power boat is worth a book in itself.



So you can have two boats of the same type by the same builder and one will be
a serious offshore boat and the other won't.



If you are seriously considering going offshore, read Nigel Calder's "Cruising
Handbook."   Although it is designed for sailboats the issues he raises will
be true for powerboats as well.   The first several chapters are exactly about
what kind of boat to chose and much of the rest of the book is about how to
modify it...



As for my own boat (Selene 48') it can probably be made Hawaii capable but the
owners can't.   Much cheaper and easier to fly.



George Rankin

Selene 48'