Toying with idea of upgrading to either a Farr 11.6 or Northshore 38. The purpose will be short handed long distance blue water cruising.

I get the impression these are quite similar yachts...obviously similar in length, both relatively light (for the time) with similar displacement, both from similar era and both built deliberately without any concession to IOR so have good downwind lines, fractional rig.

Of the two I favour the Farr 11.6 only because you can get these with tiller rather than wheel which is my preference. Other than that I don't know of any great difference between them...perhaps the Northshore is a better looking yacht but that is neither here nor there. If anyone had any feedback on one vs the other I'd be appreciative.

The other design that I quite like is the Swarbrick S111. At 36ft a tad smaller than the above two boats but again similar era without any IOR nonsense and a nice fractional rig.

Both good boats, fast and seaworthy.

However there was an issue with the keel attachment on some of the Australian-built Farr 11.6s, with a fatality. This gives some detail:
www.sailnet.com/forums/70106-post20.html

I suspect most of the affected boats have had their keel areas reinforced by now (this was the case with a couple I looked at several years ago) - but it's good to be aware of the potential problem.

My understanding of the Farr keel issue was that it was only for the Farr 38 not the 11.6.

Have a look inise both boats. I just went through a very similar exercise and found that you really only have 1 cabin in the NS38 (not sure about the 11.6), the second aft cabin has no door and is effectively just a bunk so it depend son who your cruising with...

FYI I ended up with a Jeanneau Sunfast 37 which has 3 cabins and probably similar speed.

I was going to mention keel issues on some of the Farr 38,butQLDCruiser was right onto it. There was one with a modified keel up in Lane Cove River that does not go off the mooring.

One crew in our harbour took some time to find out where the handbrake was on their 11.6,but when sailed properly will be quicker than the NS38.
Another point to consider is a lot of the Farr's were sold in kit form and fitted out by their owners to varying degrees. Many are very Spartan inside.
All of the Northshores' were factory fitted out to a good standard, with the later models from '86 on having the hotwater, fridges etc.
Northshore NSX38's have a tiller steer on them, but with that, a taller rig and many have running backstays(not good for cruising).

The S111 are a great yacht as well and definitely worth a look in that category. Don't think they have any real vices that I'm aware of and sail very well.

I've been through a cat 3 cyclone in a farr 11.6. I reckon it was probably the difference between survival and not...

Australian and new Zealand professionally built boats will be very well built

Claverton,

Had you thought about the Cavalier 37? We generally sail ours two up. We added a boom bag, and later a auto pilot, to the original rig set up and the boat is now fine with the two crew. I think that the cavalier is a bit stiffer than the others you mentioned. We find that stability makes the workload for two easier, particularly if conditions are a bit rough. The cavalier does not come with a tiller, but I have no particular preference there. The boats are a similar age and build quality to the Northshore. Mine is on Lake Macquarie, send a pm if you are interested in having a look.

I sailed the Navy S111s in round the cans on Sydney Harbour, in Pittwater/Coffs races and cruising from Mackay to Brisbane. They are sturdy boats but also heavy and therefore slow. The Northshores in the Coffs races beat both the Swarbricks entered by many hours.

They are comfortable in most seas although with a tendency to slam in steep seas, more than the S&S34 for example but probably similar to the Northshore which has a similar hull form.

Hi Claverton,
I own a Ns38 1991 model, its a great boat fast, stable and she will take off if you are not watching! I wouldn't like to take her out single handed but I have been told people do.

Charm is moored at Five Dock (close to you I think) and happy to show her off to you free Wednesday and Thursday, also be at five dock bay tomorrow around 9am, send me a PM.

KeithW

Morningbird that's more than useful first hand information thank you. I'm thinking perhaps the Adams that Ramona linked to might beat the Northshore's in by a couple of hours as well. That's quite a lot of boat for $40k. Interesting little bowsprit he's got on it. The delivery back to Syd Harbour via Perth might also be interesting.

Keithw, that's a very handsome NS38. To my eye they really are a nice looking boat. I've sent you a pm

Qldcruiser & CoolRunnings that's interesting re the Farr 38 keel falling off (unfortunately with tragic consequences).

dralyagmas are you thinking the Farr that this happened to was a different boat to the Farr 11.6 we're talking about?

ie The Farr 11.6 (or Farr 38 if you prefer) that I'm looking is Design Number 72-1978 on the Farr Design List(www.farrdesign.com/page-error-404.html?404;www.farrdesign.com:80/designs_by_size.htm)

But you are thinking that the boat the keel fell off (Rising Farrster) was a completely different boat, perhaps the 362-1995 design, Farr IMS 38?

Yes the keel issues are with the Farr 38 IMS as far as I know