# Saga 35 or Crealock 34?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I am considering a Saga 35 as my first boat. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this boat or with the Saga 43? Would you recommend this boat as a safe and practical first boat upon which to gain experience? Or would I be better off with a more tested design such as the Crealock 34? Which is currenly a close second on my list. 

Thank you


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

To give you a meaningful answer it would be helpful to know more about your goals for the boat, sailing experience, where you sail and intend to sail. There is no one size fits all ideal boat for all venues and individuals.

In a general sense I think that 34-35 feet is a pretty big boat for a first boat. Its no so bad if you have a lot of sailing experience but 35 feet is less than ideal if you are also trying to learn to sail as well. 

I basically like the Saga 35. It has a lot of clever thinking going into it. I suspect that it would offer reasonable performance in most conditions but I have not had the opportunity to study one under way. It tries to push the envelope a just little bit without doing anything extreme. I have not been able to spend enough time with one to really assess the build quality of these boats. 

By Crealock 34 I assume you mean the Pacific seacraft. While these are nice looking boats they have never been expecially ideal for anything that I can think of. They are too heavy and slow to be ideal as coastal cruisers and too small and cramped to be ideal for a couple doing distance cruising. 

It also sounds like you are looking to buy a new boat. I suggest that buying a new boat for a first boat is generally a major mistake. Outfitting a new boat right is an expensive, time consuming and complex task. If you have not owned a boat it is really hard to set one up right. You are far better to buy one used where you can test what the other guy has done and see if it works and where you will not have the huge depreciation if it turns out that you bought the wrong boat (which is often the case on a first boat). 

Respectfully
Jeff


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thank you for your response.

To elucidate further on my situation: my goal is have a boat that is large anough to live aboard during the summer months in Maine and easy enough to sail that I am not detered by my lack of recent experience from taking it on trips down the coast. Eventually as my experience grows I would like the boat to have the ability to take me south (Carribean) and possibly beyond. I do plan on hiring (bribing, coaxing) experienced sailors to show me the way once in the water.

AS for experience: I grew up in Maine sailing a Southern Cross 31 and later a Shannon 38 with my father on weekends in Casco Bay.  We did several weeklong cruises down east and part of my goal is to recapture the joy and adventure of those longer cruises. I''d say I was fairly competent with my boat handling skills, especially navigation . . but it has been ten years since I have sailed anything with a keel. 

I am leaning towards a new boat because I have heard that it not uncommon to spend another fifty percet of the purchase price getting the boat ready which puts the expense right into the new production boat catagory (I got this figure from Jim Howards Offshore cruising book). Actually, I was not even considering a new boat until I saw the Saga 35 which appealed to me so much I had to rethink my budget, recalcuate loans, etc. I figure I can outfit the boat over time starting with a basic sail-away package as I learn what my needs are. I do realize that 35 ft is a large boat to begin with but the boat must also serve as my residence and being 6''3, I do need ample headroom.

I hope this clarifies my intial query and thank you once again for your reply.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

That info helps alot. It sounds like you are single and looking for a boat that is big enough to live on, yet small enough to be single-handed, yet large to be a good sea boat, yet high enough to improve your sailing skills. Plus you need extraordinary headroom. 6''-4" head room is a challenge. Buying boats is one of the few times that I think people like me at 5''-9"/ 5''-10" have a really easier time. 

32 to 35 feet is a nice size for a single-handed live aboard. It is a handy size in terms of being able to manhandle sails and ground tackle. It is big enough to have enough room for full sized berths and seaberths(although maybe too short for someone 6''4" tall), nav station, galley etc. 32-35 feet is large enough to carry adequate water and gear for a single person and even for a pretty careful couple. 

I don''t know about the headroom thing but otherwise the Saga should be a pretty good boat for your goals (although I personally am not a big fan of its rig). If I were cruising in Maine I would want the deeper keel version which would be the better offshore boat. 

I do want to comment on your statement, "I am leaning towards a new boat because I have heard that it not uncommon to spend another fifty percet of the purchase price getting the boat ready which puts the expense right into the new production boat catagory (I got this figure from Jim Howards Offshore cruising book)." 

I think that statement is dead wrong. Dollars for dollars, it will generally cost as much more to upgrade a new boat sufficiently to make it ready to go to sea than it would to take a used boat and upgrade it sufficiently to make it ready to go to sea. Getting any boat ready to go distance cruising is a big job but you can assume a prior owner sorted out the used boat to some extent. You have to sort out the New boat yourself. 

I generally figure 20% of both new and used boats as a reasonable number. Often it can be less than that on a used boat. 

Jeff


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