HORIZON - HOME

Hull built by Mooney Marine, Deltaville, VA in 1982-3. Rest of construction, rigging, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and interior done by owner. Launched 1986. Cruised extensively since then. • Plus much more. See details and additional gear below. This is a rugged go-anywhere boat that still looks like a yacht.

SAILS - HORIZON

Sails Sail inventory is fairly extensive because I originally sailed the boat without roller furling. With furling, a more limited inventory would suffice.

INTERIOR - HORIZON

Galley/chart table area. The galley is to port. It has a Shipmate kerosene stove with oven pivoted fore-and-aft and a solar vent above. (Kerosene is not often used today and it's a little less convenient than propane, but it has some huge advantages: you can carry enough for a year or more in a very small space, you can get it anywhere in the world, and the tank does not need to be vented to

AND FINALLY

Exterior view, showing cabin house (all steel), Treadmaster on deck. Foresails and liferaft have been removed. Note unobstructed side decks, making it easy to go forward at sea, if necessary, with the solid cabin house to prevent you from getting flung across the deck.

CRUISING HISTORY

Sep-Oct 1989: back across Med to Gibralter Cap dell Armi, Italy to Sardinia via Strait of Messina (3 days); then Gibralter to Canary Islands (7 days). Nov 1989-March 1990: across Atlantic: Las Palmas on Grand Canary direct to Bequia (2858 miles in 21 days–-ran engine in gear only 8 hours -- that's an average of 5.7 knots for three weeks!, virtually all of it under sail), winter in Caribbean.

GEAR - HORIZON

Here's a reasonably complete list of Horizon's gear. I'm sure I've forgotten to include some stuff, but this is the bulk of it. Engine 27 hp Yanmar 3GM30F new 1998--now has about 2400 hours.

HULL AND FRIG

[This page is for those of you who are interested in the more technical details of construction and rigging. Don't get too bogged down. You can skip it, skim it, or come back to it

HORIZON - HOME

Hull built by Mooney Marine, Deltaville, VA in 1982-3. Rest of construction, rigging, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and interior done by owner. Launched 1986. Cruised extensively since then. • Plus much more. See details and additional gear below. This is a rugged go-anywhere boat that still looks like a yacht.

SAILS - HORIZON

Sails Sail inventory is fairly extensive because I originally sailed the boat without roller furling. With furling, a more limited inventory would suffice.

INTERIOR - HORIZON

Galley/chart table area. The galley is to port. It has a Shipmate kerosene stove with oven pivoted fore-and-aft and a solar vent above. (Kerosene is not often used today and it's a little less convenient than propane, but it has some huge advantages: you can carry enough for a year or more in a very small space, you can get it anywhere in the world, and the tank does not need to be vented to

AND FINALLY

Exterior view, showing cabin house (all steel), Treadmaster on deck. Foresails and liferaft have been removed. Note unobstructed side decks, making it easy to go forward at sea, if necessary, with the solid cabin house to prevent you from getting flung across the deck.

CRUISING HISTORY

Sep-Oct 1989: back across Med to Gibralter Cap dell Armi, Italy to Sardinia via Strait of Messina (3 days); then Gibralter to Canary Islands (7 days). Nov 1989-March 1990: across Atlantic: Las Palmas on Grand Canary direct to Bequia (2858 miles in 21 days–-ran engine in gear only 8 hours -- that's an average of 5.7 knots for three weeks!, virtually all of it under sail), winter in Caribbean.

GEAR - HORIZON

Here's a reasonably complete list of Horizon's gear. I'm sure I've forgotten to include some stuff, but this is the bulk of it. Engine 27 hp Yanmar 3GM30F new 1998--now has about 2400 hours.

HULL AND FRIG

[This page is for those of you who are interested in the more technical details of construction and rigging. Don't get too bogged down. You can skip it, skim it, or come back to it

HORIZON - HOME

Hull built by Mooney Marine, Deltaville, VA in 1982-3. Rest of construction, rigging, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and interior done by owner. Launched 1986. Cruised extensively since then. • Plus much more. See details and additional gear below. This is a rugged go-anywhere boat that still looks like a yacht.

SAILS - HORIZON

Sails Sail inventory is fairly extensive because I originally sailed the boat without roller furling. With furling, a more limited inventory would suffice.

INTERIOR - HORIZON

Galley/chart table area. The galley is to port. It has a Shipmate kerosene stove with oven pivoted fore-and-aft and a solar vent above. (Kerosene is not often used today and it's a little less convenient than propane, but it has some huge advantages: you can carry enough for a year or more in a very small space, you can get it anywhere in the world, and the tank does not need to be vented to

AND FINALLY

Exterior view, showing cabin house (all steel), Treadmaster on deck. Foresails and liferaft have been removed. Note unobstructed side decks, making it easy to go forward at sea, if necessary, with the solid cabin house to prevent you from getting flung across the deck.

CRUISING HISTORY

Sep-Oct 1989: back across Med to Gibralter Cap dell Armi, Italy to Sardinia via Strait of Messina (3 days); then Gibralter to Canary Islands (7 days). Nov 1989-March 1990: across Atlantic: Las Palmas on Grand Canary direct to Bequia (2858 miles in 21 days–-ran engine in gear only 8 hours -- that's an average of 5.7 knots for three weeks!, virtually all of it under sail), winter in Caribbean.

GEAR - HORIZON

Here's a reasonably complete list of Horizon's gear. I'm sure I've forgotten to include some stuff, but this is the bulk of it. Engine 27 hp Yanmar 3GM30F new 1998--now has about 2400 hours.

HULL AND FRIG

[This page is for those of you who are interested in the more technical details of construction and rigging. Don't get too bogged down. You can skip it, skim it, or come back to it

HORIZON

* Home

* Hull and Rig

* Interior

* Gear

* Sails

* Cruising History

* And finally...

* Contact

HORIZON...a blue-water steel cutter

SOLD!

But check out my books about our adventures described at the bottom of

the page.

HORIZON HAS MADE TWO TROUBLE-FREE ATLANTIC CROSSINGS AND MANY OTHER EXTENSIVE OFFSHORE PASSAGES OVER THE YEARS. STILL IN GREAT SHAPE AND SCRUPULOUSLY MAINTAINED. ONE OWNER FOR 30+ YEARS. Design: Departure 35

LOA: 35'

LWL: 29

Beam: 11'

Designed draft: 5' (about 5'3" in cruising trim). Designed displacement: 16, 800 lbs (In cruising trim, about 19,000 lbs–-waterline raised 4-5 inches) Designer: Charles Wittholtz Hull built by Mooney Marine, Deltaville, VA in 1982-3.  Rest of construction, rigging, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and interior done by owner.  Launched 1986.  Cruised extensively since then. ------------------------- Features/Equipment of Specific Interest to Offshore Sailors and

Serious Cruisers

• Steel hull

• Nearly full keel with attached rudder • Wind vane self-steering • Oversized rigging with all Sta-Loc terminals • Avon 4-man liferaft

• Wind generator

• Solar panels

• Ham/SSB radio

• Heavy anchor gear (all-chain) • Pole for downwind sailing set up on mast for easy deployment • Storm trysail on separate mast track • Plus much more.  See details and additional gear below.

Owner’s Comments

This is a rugged go-anywhere boat that still looks like a yacht.  The design is from the 1960s and was featured in Arthur Beiser’s book The Proper Yacht.  It has a number of features that make it a good offshore boat.  The nearly full keel with attached rudder gives exceptional directional stability.  The moderate draft is a good compromise, neither too shallow nor too deep.  The outboard rudder with tiller steering is not the usual choice these days, but it has the huge advantages of simplicity, excellent control, and ease of rigging self-steering.  The conservative rig is easy to handle, yet the hull is easily driven and reasonably fast.  It’s no racing machine, but it goes to windward quite well for a cruising yacht, has enough weight to carry its momentum in a seaway, and its downwind performance is exceptional--the fairly low aspect main provides

excellent drive.

In general, this is not a boat for someone who’s interested primarily in day-sailing or limited cruising in sheltered waters in the summer.  It’s rigged and equipped and designed for offshore sailing, and over the years it's always been maintained with that in mind.  It’s ideal for a single-hander or an active couple who want to do some serious cruising without a lot of frills and at a reasonable price.  As offered, this boat is ready to go, with all equipment functioning.  I wouldn’t hesitate to set off for the Caribbean or Europe tomorrow in it. YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THIS BOAT IF YOU WANT... • ... a proven vessel that has been tested in a full range of conditions on numerous offshore passages. (Click here to look at the Cruising History page.) • ... a boat with all gear working and with extensive notes on all systems.  It's fully ready to take you to the Caribbean or Europe or wherever you have in mind.  Basic systems (rigging, sails, engine) are all in excellent shape and ready to go.  (Click here to look at the Gear page.) • ... the strength and water tightness of a steel hull.  (Click here to look at the Hull page.) Steel is an excellent choice for offshore sailing. No worries about leaking chain plates or hull-deck joints coming apart.  Even if you hit something, the steel is much more likely to bend than to puncture as a fiberglass boat might. There are no worries about blisters. Steel does require a little more vigilant maintenance than fiberglass, but the peace of mind you get in other areas makes it well worth it. You might not want to consider this boat if... • ...you're looking for spacious living.  You'll find much more luxurious accommodation in innumerable production boats. •...you don't want to deal with tiller steering.  I consider the simplicity of tiller steering with an outboard rudder to be a plus for offshore sailing, but you may not. •...your cruising plans are limited to coastal or sheltered waters sailing, or perhaps motoring up and down the inland waterway.  In that case, there are boats far better suited for that kind of thing. But if you're dreaming of palm trees and white sand beaches, of trade-wind passages (with only the occasional calm or gale thrown in!), of isolated anchorages or busy Mediterranean harbors, this boat will take you there as surely and safely as any gold-plater...and at a fraction of the cost.  How do I know?  It's already done that! New Price : $39,900!     Buy today--Leave for the Caribbean tomorrow! (Well, maybe not quite, but this boat really is ready to go! It just needs a willing and enthusiastic captain.) Located in Oriental, NC Click here for contact information.

Special Note

My book about our circumnavigation in the 1970s (in a different boat) is now available on Amazon here

.

Although it was written nearly 40 years ago, it still gives a candid and realistic glimpse of the struggles we went through and what it's like at sea in a small boat with few of the conveniences and gadgets usually considered "essential" today. If you have dreams of sailing off into the sunset, this is a great book to give you some sense of what it's like. It's not a bad read for the armchair adventurer either. Check it out! ------------------------- And my book about our second, 4-year voyage in the boat   described here is now available on Amazon here

.

This time we went first to Central America, then across the Atlantic to the Med, as far east as Turkey, then back across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. I try to present ocean voyaging as it is, without sugar coating it. Lots of info here on the two Atlantic crossings and sailing in the Med. A good read if you have thoughts of doing something similar. Even better if you're thinking of buying the boat! ------------------------- -------------------------

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