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What makes a sail boat an off-shore ocean going sailboat?

What makes a sail boat an off-shore ocean going sailboat? Like shape or something? What makes a sailboat safer on the open ocean?

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1. Construction and rigging. Most sail boats can go off shore but if weather gets bad the light rigging and weak construction will not hold up.Old doesn't mean weak.
2. The attributes are shown below--not exactly in priority order, although those listed first may be deemed more important than those listed later--because for the most part they are integral to the boat and couldn't be added by later if they wanted. Affordable. Can you afford to buy and maintain this boat without borrowing or overextending ourselves financially? Good survey. Sound condition and structure, and a dry boat. No need to keep everything wrapped in plastic. Good ventilation without air conditioning Heavy displacement cruiser, best with with a full keel and attached rudder. Able to take care of you in bad weather while you hunker down below. Inboard diesel engine powered at not less than 3 hp/ton. Sufficient power to make your way motoring or motor-sailing when necessary, or to power up and get out of a tight spot. Plenty of accessible and well-ventilated storage. This is your home, so you need enough room for books ( and other comforts, plus all the spares, tools, etc. for blue-water cruising. 6" Bulwarks with scuppers. Good solid footing while walking around the deck, and good drainage in downpours or shipping green water. 8 strong through-bolted deck cleats. Strong attachments for docklines and anchor snubber. Squared off coach roof/cabin top. Strongest configuration for a knockdown. Dual bow anchors, one with minimum of 200' chain. Second anchor for storm conditions, and plenty of chain for normal conditions. 100 gallon fuel tank. Enough to give a range of at least 500 nmiles under power. 2 50-gallon water tanks. Enough to last 3-4 weeks without rain catching, or backup in case one tank gets contaminated or emptied. Small aft cockpit with 4 drains and strong padeyes for attachment. Comfortable and safe for whoever's on watch, and safe in a seaway, with ability to drain fast if much water is shipped. Aluminum keel-stepped mast. Minimal maintenance and more support than deck-stepped. Good handholds and footspace on deck for moving around. Essential for safety. Good handholds and headroom below. Headroom for a 6' person, and solid handholds for moving around below when the seas are up. Manual windlass. A bit more work for anchoring, but no likelihood of sticking in a dangerous situation. Dodger, splash cloths, and bimini. Dodger with easy visibility forward to keep the wind out of the cockpit, and along with splash cloths keep crew in the cockpit dry when water is shipped, and Bimini to shade you from the tropical sun. V-berth with double bed on one side, all berths accomodating 6'. Good space to snuggle, and comfort for tall crew. Manual bilge pump in cockpit and below as backup to the automatic bilge pump. Ability to manually empty the bilges from the cockpit. Starting battery separate from house batteries with a battery monitoring system. Enough electrical storage to light and cool the boat, plus run basic electrical equipment without excessive recharging requirements. Easy way to tell the condition of the batteries (input, output, voltage, status) Autopilot. To relieve the helmsman when under power. Windvane. To relieve the helmsman while sailing without draining the battery. Swim ladder An easy to drop and retrieve swim ladder on the side of the boat. 3-burner propane stove with oven. Able to cook pretty much whatever you want. Cabin heater. Keep you warm in cold nights or in the winter. Liferaft, MOB module, flares, fire blanket, propane and CO detectors, and fire extinguishers. Essential safety equipment. Manual and sea water pump in galley. Ability to pump fresh water if the electric pump fails, or seawater to minimize fresh water use. Radios--marine SSB with ham bands and GMDSS VHF. Essential communication equipment. Dinghy with motor. Ability to get around when at anchor. Radar. Essential for navigation at night when near land, or in shipping areas, or of course in fog. Also a tremendous assist when approaching an unfamiliar harbour with a hard-to-find entrance, or entering or leaving an anchorage at night. Wind instruments (vane and speed) and depth sounder. Bug screens on portholes, hatches and dorades. Let the air in, and keep the buggers out. Perhaps the most critical component is the crew. If the crew is sound, they will know how to sail offshore and also if the boat is suited to the trip.
3. It all depends on how it is built. If it is built to stand up to faster winds and has a deeper keel to keep the vessel more stable on the rough ocean seas, than it can be considered an sea worthy or off-shore ocean going sailboat.
4. ecky thrump has a good explanation of the boat, but one of the most important features of an ocean going sailboat is the skipper. a great seaworthy sailboat is very dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced sailor. an experienced sailor can successfully cross oceans in less than ideal sailboats because he/she has the ability to make decisions that keep the sailboat safe regardless of the conditions of the ocean. hope this helps
5. An "off-shore" sailboat (also referred to as a "blue water" or "ocean passage maker") is very-very different from it's inland lake or coastal cruising cousins... even though they may very well "look" alike (if you don't know what you are looking for.) The biggest difference is in weight. An offshore vessel is much heavier, this is because it is built much stronger, from the size of it's timbers to the thickness of it's hull, guage (thickness) of it's mast, rigging, and cables - all the way down to the size of it's nuts, bolts and screws. Also, all it's latches, hatches, windows, will be thicker, latched better, and over-all the entire vessel is better quality - built to last and withstand the rigors of the sea. Now... if you are thinking twice about do you need this or not... let me add one final note... aside from the over-all safety factor... the big-big difference to you is SEASICKNESS! That's right! The heavier offshore vessel rides so very much smoother (especially in a bit of rough seas) that it means the difference in you being deathly seasick 40% of the time or slightly seasick 4% of the time... And even with Meds - you will get seasick! As far as what makes a sailboat safer on the opean ocean... (assuming you get the right kind of boat in the first place) nothing will make it any safer then YOU are. Along with all your normal safety and equipment "stuff" - I do however STRONGLY suggest a GPS integrated navigational system on your laptop, Ham radio (you can also use it to get free email and Internet acess) and an EPIRB, and a Fresh Water Maker... (2 x 50 gallons of fresh water will not cut it - least not if you want to brush your teeth and take a shower. And it won't last more then a day or two - if you have a female with you. As for seasickness - get the chewables. Pills are no good when your tossing your cookies... and patches are no good when your soaking wet - and most likely - you'll be both when you need the medication the most. (the chewables reach your blood stream through your mouth - not your stomach). Happy and Safe Boating! Capt. John PS. Don't buy the biggest boat you can afford, buy the smallest you can comfortable live on. Buy used, Don't Finance, and keep it as simple as possible.
6. what are you looking for?or is this an idle head scratch? Anyway get on to a site ie yacht sales, it doesn't really matter where but it will give you a visual idea of what there is and different styles of sail, hull, and length .. personally for trans crossings 40ft is Comfy for me in a mono hull, , around the islands and close coastal work about 32/36 ft multi hull. any way Hope you get what you want from the different sites.
7. Ecky Thump did an excellent job on his list. I would add double safety lifelines to help assure everybody stays aboard; properly sized and number of winches to control the various lines sheets and halyards. I finished out a Ted Brewer Jason 35 and lived aboard her for 10 years, now for sale.
8. Ecky has the best answer, IMO. The other answers also contain some good info. Here's a good site to surf around and window-shop some cruisers to see what's out there and compare. Sometimes you'll run across a great deal on this site: http://www.sailboatlistings.com/ There are thousands of boats to look at. You can search by brand, by price, by length...you get the idea. Good luck!