C&C 66 for sale - how much cash would this burn as a couple's cruiser?

[Findependent]

I know a few of the remaining C&C 61s are being put to good use as liveaboard/cruisers. Joli comes to mind.
What do you estimate the setup cost, outfitting and annual run rate $$ would be for a slightly larger sister - thinking of bumping around the Caribbean and US coasts?

Too much boat for a fit couple and an extra hand or two?

C&C 66 Classic Cruiser / Racer, PHANTOM - Berthon International

Sailing Yacht 'PHANTOM' for sale. 1973 C&C 66 Classic Cruiser / Racer designed by George and Cassian, built by Cuthbertson and Cassian. 7 berths in 4 cabins. Berthon International Yacht Brokers.

www.berthoninternational.com

 

[Al Paca]

More than a lot. Much more.

 

[Bugsy]

That is a lovely boat, but it is also a LOT of boat. 10' draft. 17' beam. LOA 66'. It doesn't say how tall the mast is but I would guess 'really tall'.
A LOT of boat for a couple.

 

[Zonker]

Will the "extra hand(s)" be young and fit and always aboard?

If so a real qualified maybe - but I think Evans Starzinger is correct when he describes boats in that size and weight range as "too big for a couple but not big enough to have paid crew aboard"

It's also a HEAVY boat. And that means heavy gear. Sails, anchors, and all that cruising stuff.

Nobody can give you a good guess about how much it costs to outfit that size of boat because it varies way too much. Do you need to add a disappearing 60" TV in the saloon? How about a dive compressor, an ice maker, a big RIB with outboard, stern davits, 1000's of watts of solar panels etc etc. Do you need top quality newer sails?

Cruising in it is also way too variable. Do you eat out a lot? Only stay in marinas? Stay in marinas 1/2 the time? Do your own repairs? Sand the bottom yourself (shudder with 10' draft)? Rent cars ashore and go for excursions? Regular spa visits or ride the local shared minibus?? That sort of thing. Very bottom end would be maybe $2.5-3K/month for cruising costs. That does not include regular maintenance.

 

[kent_island_sailor]

See the thread about 2 people being killed by a boom gone out of control.
That is a LOT of boat for 2 people. You ABSOLUTELY will need the various sail-handling devices to work or you will be in trouble.
For an experiment, find some sails of that size and just move them around. I am betting any two people that are not strong and fit would have a hard time even getting a sail on deck, let alone getting it raised.
You also will need the anchor windlass to work 24/7/365, the correct anchor and rode for that boat is beyond handling by muscle power.
I would strongly suggest scaling back to a C&C 44.

* I know you can do anything with modern gear, I knew a guy who singlehanded a 90 foot sloop. He took a full crew offshore though, he was a dead battery away from disaster on his own.

I was more worried about the sheer strength needed, but you need a strong wallet too. Bottom painting, slips, haulouts, bottom cleaning, topside painting, and so on all get sold by the foot. Price sails for that boat and contrast with a 30-40-45 foot boat. Price a new engine. Every single thing, from anchors to shackles, is a size bigger and costs more. Unless you really don't like the other person on the boat and want to be 60 feet away from them, I think this is overkill.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

If you're planning a YouTube channel, extra sailors that know video production would be the way to go.

 

[Raz'r]

How much cash would it burn? All of it.

 

[kent_island_sailor]

How much cash would it burn? All of it.

I guess the best answer is the classic answer:
If you have to ask, you can't afford it

 

[socalrider]

Yeah - price out a replacement/removal on the teak deck and a suite of sails to give you an idea what you're dealing with. If you're comfortable with numbers like that you'll probably be fine.

Agree with the comments around "too big for a couple, too small for crew". Interior volume is not that much more than our 41' trawler. Usable exterior space is less. Something like a Santa Cruz 52 would be much better fit I think if you are okay burning cash. Why do you want 4 cabins for a couple's boat?

 

[longy]

IIRC "Bryanjib" is the SA member who owns & cruises "Joli". And the only person who can answer your $ questions.

 

[SloopJonB]

The member who sails a C&C 61 with his wife - handle is brianjb I think - has taken it from the Great Lakes to El Caribe.

They have grown children so they ain't young which means it's doable. If you contact him he may be able to give you specific answers & numbers. Whatever the numbers are, they will be big. My guess - with no "extraordinary items" it will run well on the high side of $50K/Year to own. Around here, just a berth will be over $20K

Agree with the "weight" comments - a man & wife ain't gonna bend on a main and will need a coffee grinder to get a jib on deck.

Smaller & lighter is probably a better choice for most couples.

 

[V21]

Disagree with the paid crew thing, a lot of boats that size have full time crew usually a young couple. That's why you want 4 cabins.

 

[CapDave]

I took a quick look at the pictures.

To turn that into a luxury cruiser I would budget a $750K purchase refit, and $250K/year to run her in a full maintenance and upgrade program, not including any crew.

Of course you could spend $50K on the most dire shit when you buy her, and spend $50K/year running her into the dirt for a few years before the wheels come off and you've used up all the value - 3 years max, you're done.

Those are the limit cases.

 

[Fleetwood]

There are relatively few production boats in the 55-70' range, for good reason; too big to handle easily by a couple, too small to accomodate a paid crew as well. For all the reasons upthread.
(Years ago, a 60+' boat was a 'superyacht', not now...)

 

[Son of Hans]

Well, it is not a C&C 61 to start with. The only 66 that I am aware of from that era was built for Ralph and Skip Ryder (yes the truck rental guys). I believe there was a lot of Kevlar in the layup and some of the features of the rig led us to classify it a high-maintenance boat. Some of that may have been modified of course. Nice boat, but not my first choice as a "luxury cruiser."

 

[El Borracho]

Here is a 68 footer ready to go. Far newer, far quicker. Like new. Only $249,000. Proven singlehander. Just add a dinghy and anchor windlass.

1985 Santa Cruz 70 Racer for sale - YachtWorld

Find more information and images about the boat and contact the seller or search more boats for sale on YachtWorld.

www.yachtworld.com

 

[kent_island_sailor]

I just looked through the ad. The boat seems to be in good shape, so that is a plus. On the minus side the cockpit layout is very odd. It would drive me nuts and then some.

 

[Cruisin Loser]

How much cash would it burn? All of it.

And then some.

The increase in rig loads going for 45' to 65' are shocking. That mainsheet in the cockpit would deserve major respect, an accidental gybe could be lethal.

Big boats are for people who are very thoughtful, methodical, and good at processes. BryanJB is one of those. He has to put his wife in a bosun's chair to attach the main halyard.

These old flush deck racing caves are strong as hell, that flush deck makes for a very robust structure, but if I'm going to have a boat that size my wife is going to want a galley and dinette with a nice view. Having the only light coming from overhead is not her idea of a view. There's a reason deck saloon/salon boats are so popular.

Much of the Bahamas, Chesapeake, LIS, are going to be tough with that draft.

 

[hdra]

That is a lot of boat - I've been running a 72' with 18' beam, 96' rig, and 11' draft that weighs 43 tonnes empty for the last 10 years as a charter/sail training boat - it sails about 10-15K miles a year. Without hiring a crew, I think you'd be looking at a budget in the vicinity of 150-200K a year to keep this going and well maintained. You will probably want to hire a crew. The 72' boat is a full time job for two crew - when there aren't guests on board, we were working 5 days a week on the boat. It has relatively simple systems, and we generally hired contractors for things like rigging, welding, complicated AC electrical work, and bottom paint / yard work (depending on yard rules).

If you're not using the boat that much wear and tear may be lower, but depending on your skill level / enthusiasm for maintenance you may find yourself subcontracting out more maintenance - most folks I know who do own similar sized boats either are using them as charter boats and working full time or if they are fully yachtified hire out most of the maintenance so they can enjoy the sailing.

 

[kent_island_sailor]

That is a lot of boat - I've been running a 72' with 18' beam, 96' rig, and 11' draft that weighs 43 tonnes empty for the last 10 years as a charter/sail training boat - it sails about 10-15K miles a year. Without hiring a crew, I think you'd be looking at a budget in the vicinity of 150-200K a year to keep this going and well maintained. You will probably want to hire a crew. The 72' boat is a full time job for two crew - when there aren't guests on board, we were working 5 days a week on the boat. It has relatively simple systems, and we generally hired contractors for things like rigging, welding, complicated AC electrical work, and bottom paint / yard work (depending on yard rules).

If you're not using the boat that much wear and tear may be lower, but depending on your skill level / enthusiasm for maintenance you may find yourself subcontracting out more maintenance - most folks I know who do own similar sized boats either are using them as charter boats and working full time or if they are fully yachtified hire out most of the maintenance so they can enjoy the sailing.

The problem is you could get by with a LOT less than that. Assuming you have your own mooring and the boat is as good as described, your initial two or three years might be diesel, beer, and ice. Then when something breaks, a sail rips, or whatever it is time. Maybe not lately, pandemic economy and all, but the airport always used to have "hot potato" airplanes that were cheap Aztecs or Barons that someone would get, fly the hell out of, and then sell before something broke. You got stuck with the hot potato when it had an expensive issue during your turn and then you realized the last 4 owners did not fix anything, it is all waiting for you

This boat may not be that, and doesn't look like it, but you really don't want to be the one using it up and trying to get out of it before it gets obvious. All that aside, 17 foot beam and 10 foot draft is an "Anti-Cruiser" everywhere between Sandy Hook and Puerto Rico.