Will Bruton takes a look at the positives and potential pitfalls in buying a family yacht so you can cruise the world with the kids in towBuying a family yacht with room to accommodate young and old means looking for some very specific characteristics. Having enough space for living, studying and \u2013 increasingly commonly \u2013 office space, all aboard a bluewater cruiser that is easily handled, can be a hard balance to strike. Whether you\u2019re sailing with young children or growing teenagers will also impact which is the right yacht for you \u2013 is safety on deck or private cabin space more pressing?
\nAlan and Merlyn Evett decided during the pandemic to take the leap and go sailing full time with their two children, aged six and eight. They\u2019d already purchased their Sweden Yachts 45 but the yacht was stuck ashore in Finland \u2013 lockdown gave them the push to become full time liveaboard sailors.
\n\u201cWe had bought her in 2019 and not been able to use her, so we made a plan to have a tradewind adventure before the kids got too old,\u201d Alan explains.
\nThe yacht had been chosen with the aim of accommodating two young children on a longer trip firmly in mind. \u201cSafety was to us the first thing to consider. She is an extremely solid yacht and has a presence even at anchor that says that.
\n\u201cEach of the children having their own cabin was also important because we knew that in bad weather they could be somewhere secure and safe. The yacht was built with every optional extra at the yard so there was very little that was retrofitted as you find on a lot of older yachts \u2013 that keeps things simpler, and I think easier to fix too,\u201d explains Alan.
\nMany families choose the roomy, stable platform of a catamaran like this Outremer for bluewater cruising. Photo: Grand Large Yachting Odyssey
\nThe family is now in Fiji and planning to sell the boat to return to work. Having sailed half-way around the world, some features have stood out for Alan. \u201cWe have 500lt of fuel, which gives us the range to get away from bad weather before it arrives if there\u2019s no wind. I\u2019ve found that gives us an extra feeling of security which you are so aware of sailing as a family.
\n\u201cA deep cockpit is also a really reassuring characteristic for a bluewater boat, with lots of strongpoints to clip onto; we all feel secure even in bad weather.\u201d
\nSome things, however, they would improve with hindsight. \u201cLiving with kids doing schoolwork aboard, and our own work online too, we would improve the battery capacity and charging for living at anchor.
\n\u201cWe have also found that, now we\u2019re in the Pacific, a bigger, hard bottomed dinghy would be a big improvement on the inflatable we have, which has a heavy 4-stroke engine that can be a handful. With often quite long dinghy runs ashore and with lots of reefs about, that would make a big difference.\u201d
\nSafety first
\nSian and Dez Hostad wanted to travel the world with their two teenage boys, Sam and Evan. Having first back-packed for a year, the novice sailors decided to move aboard a yacht to continue adventuring, and set about finding the right family boat on a budget. They eventually settled on a 1990 Oyster 435, Fat Susan.
\nSian is candid about how little they knew when they started. \u201cFirstly, we are not a sailing family. We are a family of non-sailors who wanted to travel with our kids and foolishly decided that travelling on a sailing boat would be an easy way of maintaining a base while we did that. How wrong we were!
\nThe Evett family aboard their Sweden Yachts 45
\n\u201cHaving no experience whatsoever of boats or sailing and having no-one to ask, I turned to the internet. I searched for articles about the best boats to sail around the world, the best family boats, etc. I learned loads about bluewater cruising, hull thickness, sea kindliness, centre cockpits and general boat design.\u201d
\nThe more they researched online, she says, the more they found a widespread resistance to sailing in anything less than a perfect yacht. \u201cI also learned that there are two types of sailing people on the internet: the old school \u2018proper sailors\u2019 who don\u2019t believe anyone should be allowed to step foot on a sailing boat unless they have 30 years of experience and know how to wield a sextant; and those who are out there for the adventure, not necessarily the sailing.
\n\u201cI took notice of both types, as they all knew plenty more than I did. One group seemed to think it would be suicide to consider sailing offshore in a production boat. The other group seemed to be doing just that and quite well. I also read a lot of articles in sailing magazines, written by experienced and qualified sailors.\u201d
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSecond hand boats: how to buy a ready to sail yacht<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s no secret that if you want to buy a new yacht the wait is now likely to be two\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSecond hand boats: is a 10-year-old yacht the best age?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith new build waiting lists growing at an unprecedented rate, buyers are turning to the second hand boat market to\u2026<\/p>\n
After a lot of research, Sian and Dez decided they\u2019d opt for an older, tougher second hand yacht over something newer. \u201cFrom my internet research, I decided that I wanted a well-built bluewater cruiser rather than a production boat. My main concern was the safety of my family.
\nMy confidence in the boat in big seas a long way from land was a priority as I already knew that all the other parts of sailing scared me \u2013 an RYA Competent Crew course in the Solent with an instructor who thinks sailing boats should always use full sails and be heeling at 40\u00b0 sorted that out for me. He was loving it, I was crying.
\n\u201cSo, I wanted a \u2018safe\u2019 boat with a centre cockpit and a thick hull, in case we were hit by any whales or shipping containers. This seemed to be a valid concern on the internet.\u201d
\nA growing family
\nFinding a yacht that they could live comfortably abroad with children that were growing fast was also a big concern.
\n\u201cWhen it came to living aboard, I decided we needed three cabins. The boys were 11 and 13 and growing fast. They should probably have their own cabins and a bit of privacy.
\n\u201cI also didn\u2019t want a dark and dingy saloon: I\u2019d been to look at a few boats where the dark wood, stained ceilings and lack of light reminded me of old men with pipes in old English pubs.
\n\u201cWe wanted a light and airy saloon with plenty of room for a family of four.
\nEx-charter boats and owner\/charter schemes can be an afforable way to buy a family yacht. Photo: James Mitchell
\n\u201cWe wanted room for diving kit and a diving compressor. We wanted wind vane steering. We\u2019d need a generator and a watermaker. I spent many, many hours on YachtWorld.com and went to see lots of different makes of sailing boat, 40-46ft, young and old, in varying condition.\u201d
\nAfter a long period of research, Susan says she decided several things given their \u2018tiny\u2019 budget (\u00a370,000 plus another \u00a320,000 for upgrades like replacing standing rigging, adding a watermaker etc). \u201cFirst, that we didn\u2019t have enough money. Secondly, no matter how long we waited, we would never have enough money. And lastly, whatever we got would be a massive compromise.
\nFinding the one
\n\u201cAfter many months of searching for something we could afford I went to see an Oyster 435, a deck saloon version. It was light and airy with big windows in the saloon. It felt solid and well built. It was the right size for us.
\n\u201cEach 435 was built to order, so there was a chance of finding one with a cabin configuration that would work for us. It was a proper bluewater boat, built to the highest spec for its time. The cupboards closed. There were only 65 built, between 1983 and 1995, so all of them could be classed as old, and some of the 435s for sale around the world were within budget \u2013 if we squinted a bit! And there\u2019s always some movement in the price, right?
\nIf your family includes pets you may need additional space! Photo: James Mitchell
\n\u201cWe had found our ideal boat. With hindsight, we probably shouldn\u2019t have bought this actual boat, but in general, I think we chose well and we would buy one again.\u201d
\n\u201cFat Susan has turned out to be an extremely well built, seakindly boat and we love her. Her ageing hardware and our lack of money (and possibly knowledge) have been the source of all the problems we\u2019ve faced on our journey so far. We had to compromise a lot. We didn\u2019t get the diving compressor, the wind vane steering or the generator. We didn\u2019t have a watermaker for the first two years. We are slowly upgrading stuff and replacing things.
\n\u201cOyster has been very helpful when we\u2019ve asked questions, despite being the boat\u2019s third owners over 32 years. We\u2019re part of the Oyster Owners forum online, which is full of like-minded, hugely helpful Oyster owners with a wealth of knowledge. We haven\u2019t hit a shipping container, but we were hit by a whale in the Atlantic.
\n\u201cAs for it being a family boat, I\u2019m not sure what makes a boat family-friendly. The 435s are a good size for a family of four, though most families considering this sailing life have kids younger than ours. Small kids squeeze into cabins more easily than teenagers.
\n\u201cThe most important part of our decision was safety at sea, but (with my limited knowledge and experience of other boats) I\u2019m not convinced that any boat is significantly safer for families than the next one.
\n\u201cI would say safety at sea for kids is more about setting boundaries and rules, explaining dangers, and sailing conservatively.
\n\u201cThe other, important thing is that we have met many, many people doing the same journey as us in a huge variety of boats.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/p>\n
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Will Bruton takes a look at the positives and potential pitfalls in buying a family yacht so you can cruise the world with the kids in towBuying a family yacht with room to accommodate young and old means looking for … <\/p>\n