■ Get a boat suitable for the
conditions you’ll be sailing
in. We wanted a rock solid,
stable yacht able to handle
big seas. The same went for
the rigging, which had to be
strong and robust. Get a full
survey and make sure hull
and rig are up the job.■ We chose a boat with slab
reefing rather than in-mast
or in-boom. It meant less
mechanical things to go
wrong. We also chose a
cutter rig – having a staysail
gave us more sail options
and was the perfect sail to
give us more balance sailing
downwind.■ Try getting aboard and
sailing on as many different
yachts as you can, whether
that’s on friends’ boats,
sailing holidays or at boat
shows. Get an idea of what
you like and don’t like.■ Involve the whole family in
choosing a boat; it creates
engagement with the idea
of what you are going to be
doing and makes everyone
feel involved.■ Has it got plenty of stowage
space? Think about where
you’ll store toys and keep
them safe. Lego has a way of
finding its way into bilges!■ Safety first. Where can you
clip kids on and is it safe for
them to move around? We
went for a centre cockpit to
keep them safely where we
could see them.■ Can you single-hand the
boat if needed? As a family
we needed to make sure that
if my wife was looking after
the kids I would to be able to
sail the boat on my own.■ Plenty of battery power and
charging points? Keeping
phones and tablets charged
to entertain kids when you
need to focus on sailing
makes a big difference.tips for choosing a yacht
cruising with kids part 4
‘broken in’. It’s worth busting a myth here. New yachts go
wrong just as much as used boats. A new boat is no
guarantee that you won’t be fixing things. You will be.how big?
How big a yacht you should buy will depend on the waters
you want to sail and the crew you want. We were bluewater
sailing with two adults and three kids as permanent crew.
And in addition we’d be adding up to two further crew for
some of the longer offshore passages.
We made the choice to go for a 53ft Oyster. That was
plenty big enough for us and offered lots of stowage space
for school books, toys and enough provisions for three
weeks at sea and a tonne of spare parts.
We have friends who circumnavigated in yachts from
38ft right up to 70ft plus. Again, it comes back to what
waters you’ll be in and the conditions you’re likely to face
at the time you’re there. Studying the weather patterns for
your cruising area is time well spent and will inform you
on what type of boat to go for.
As for brand of yacht, you’ll find a raft of choices from
the popular bluewater choices of Hallberg-Rassy, Swansand Oyster to production yachts from builders such as
Jeanneau and Bavaria for the more gentle waters of
Med-style sailing.
You will want to consider if you want a centre cockpit
boat (which we preferred for sailing with our children) or a
stern cockpit. Do you want to be able to reef from the
cockpit or are you happy to go to the mast to reef? Do you
want in-mast, in-boom or slab reefing systems?
And then there is the question of how much automation
you want. Do you prefer electric winches and windlass or
are you happy with manual winching? With diesel
engines, some prefer older-style engines that have no
need of computer diagnostic systems to identify issues.What’s your level of equipment?
You’ll need to trade-off here between what you need for
your sailing plans, costs and the maintenance on the
equipment. With our bluewater sailing plans, that meant
we needed a watermaker, a good, solid autopilot, power
generation systems, satellite communications and an SSB
radio. Some of these came with Aretha, our yacht, some
we had to install as we went along.
Boat shows and World Cruising Club events are great
places to get access to experts, learn about the different
equipment options and assess what your needs are.
Some people love a project boat and have the time and
experience to transform it from an unloved vessel into
something shipshape and ready to go. This wasn’t us.
When we bought our boat it was our first, and our
experience at fixing things was at the lower end of the
scale. We knew we’d have to find a boat with most of the
things that we needed already fitted, and planned the
work for the relevant experts to bring it up to scratch and
get all the systems fully serviced and in good working
condition. Again the trade is time for money.find a support network
A final and important consideration is the level of support
available post purchase. Is the boat under warranty? Is the
original manufacturer still in business and do they have a
support team where they can they
advise on fixing things and
replacement parts? These are really
important considerations.
Choosing the right boat for your
family cruising is a fun process. Be
methodical, work out what’s important
to you and go hunt down that boat.
I remember sharing a photo of our
first day on board Aretha. A friend
cynically commented that it was ‘The
first of your two happy days’.
I’m happy to report he couldn’t
have been further from the truth. Our
boat is part of the family and every
day spent on board is pure joy. Take
your time, do your research and enjoy
your life afloat.Next month I’ll be writing about how to
enthuse your partner and children and get
them really keen to go. Meanwhile, you
can watch the video of Nichola and me
talking about aspects of family sailing on
Yachting World’s YouTube channel.Inclement weather
means you won’t
always be able
to eat al fresco.
Is there room for
the family to sit
around a table
down below?Jean-Sébastien Evrard
56 April 2018