Looking for some feedback on Jeanneau 53
Sept 23, 2021 11:35:56 GMT
Post by jussi on Sept 23, 2021 11:35:56 GMT
Hey all,
My wife and I are looking to become liveaboards for a couple of years and would be sailing long distances including a couple of ocean crossings as it looks like now. We come from a First 40.7 that we've had for many summers now cruising the Mediterranean with our family of four (although mostly it's just three of us these days). I guess we are a typical example of the husband being more into sailing and the wife more into traveling although these days the wife does most of the steering, I tend to make sure the sails are trimmed properly.
We are looking at a couple of different alternatives at the moment, quite different I suppose: Jeanneau 53 and First 50. The 53 seems to be an amazing platform for cruising from what I can tell. A huge cockpit, plenty of space and storage, probably comfortable under sail (movement, ability to provide cover in the cockpit etc), allows for a plenty of room for installing solar panels etc. F50 on the other hand does seem to make more compromises with comfort and space in favour of performance aspects.
I haven't sailed either of the boats which makes me slightly unsure. I love active performance cruising but on the other hand the boat needs to be able to eat up the miles relatively comfortably and effortlessly. I have a sneaking suspicion that the 53 might feel like a bit of a slouch but I really have no idea. The fact that most of the 53s we've been eyeing tend to have an unbattened furling mainsail which doesn't reduce any of my worries, let's put it that way. I'm sure full, vertical battens would allow a properly cut mainsail to be used at least..
And no, we most likely won't be doing any racing. It's just my own brain and preferences that makes me biased towards performance.
So, I would like to hear any experiences from boats like the Jeanneau 53 and how it actually sails. Or if it truly offers noticeably more comfortable living standard both on the hook and underway. In the end it is about making SWMBO happy of course, I'm just wondering how big of a difference there really is between these kinds of boats.
Many thanks in advance.
