About a year 1/2 ago I bought a little Snark sailboat on a whim, and the hook was set. I only sailed it a few times before purchasing an AMF Puffer. we really enjoyed that little boat a lot, but it really cramped my wife when she wanted to come along so I found a very nice older Capri 14.2, which is our current boat. it has a lot of cockpit room, for a small boat, handles well, etc., but as summer slips away we realize that any dinghy isn't a boat we want to be sailing during the cooler months, and we'd also like to have something that we could spend a night or two on, and travel within a few hundred mile range of home to do that. our "home lake" is ~3500 acres and an hour away, with nearly a dozen other lakes, both bigger and smaller, within easy day driving range.
Enter the quest for our perfect sailboat.
We don't exactly live in a hotbed of sailing activity, so choices are limited and often require a fairly long drive to see prospects in person.
Our requirements:
Usable cabin to overnight in for two adults.
Easy setup and breakdown, as we'll not be at any one place more than a few days at a time, and unwilling to pay extended mooring fees.
Stable and good self-righting to keep the first mate happy (and dry)
Swing keel for several "basic" boat ramps that we visit, and easy trailering.
I just missed buying a Balboa 20 recently, and that really sounded like my idea of the ultimate sailboat for us. unfortunately those don't come up for sale very often within our buying/driving range.
Of course we've looked at the Catalina 22, which do come up for sale near us, but I think that's pretty much the top edge of trailering and "easy" set-up for us. I'm reasonably fit at 65, but my wife has been through some cancer issues over the past couple of years and consequentially lost weight and strength from that, so I look to boats that I can pretty much single hand.
I guess my question would be: what other boats might come close to the Balboa 20 for our all-around needs? or should we just go the easy route and get a Catalina 22?
Thanks,
Russ & Jennifer
Enter the quest for our perfect sailboat.
We don't exactly live in a hotbed of sailing activity, so choices are limited and often require a fairly long drive to see prospects in person.
Our requirements:
Usable cabin to overnight in for two adults.
Easy setup and breakdown, as we'll not be at any one place more than a few days at a time, and unwilling to pay extended mooring fees.
Stable and good self-righting to keep the first mate happy (and dry)
Swing keel for several "basic" boat ramps that we visit, and easy trailering.
I just missed buying a Balboa 20 recently, and that really sounded like my idea of the ultimate sailboat for us. unfortunately those don't come up for sale very often within our buying/driving range.
Of course we've looked at the Catalina 22, which do come up for sale near us, but I think that's pretty much the top edge of trailering and "easy" set-up for us. I'm reasonably fit at 65, but my wife has been through some cancer issues over the past couple of years and consequentially lost weight and strength from that, so I look to boats that I can pretty much single hand.
I guess my question would be: what other boats might come close to the Balboa 20 for our all-around needs? or should we just go the easy route and get a Catalina 22?
Thanks,
Russ & Jennifer