To Get a Sailboat, or Not... That is the question.

weinie · May 1, 2014

Sell the wife and get a slip or mooring.

The Garbone · May 1, 2014

If your going with a trailer boat a C25 is a big one. I looked at an 85 and was impressed by the size of it, I personally would prefer not to haul it farther than a few miles. A C22 may be easier to trailer and you would be able to tow her further afield.

You may look into finding a club that allows you to store your boat on the trailer near the ramp without stepping the mast. We have some here in Florida and I imagine it may be a option up your way. If you could find one a C25 would be great as it is pretty much as big as you can get on a trailer apart from a MacGregor...

TEM58 · May 1, 2014

Agreed, it's a lot of work stepping/unstepping the mast. After some practice you can likely get it down to about an hour each. I've had my mast down a few times for maintenance, and I moved the boat one time when I brought it home from another lake. If you are willing to invest the time (and get the right equipment to help you do it), you may become accustomed to the process. Or you may decide it's way too much hassle, which would make you not want to sail!

I have a trailer for my Cat 25 but only use it to pull the boat to work on it. There are zero facilities on my lake for sail boat work. I don't know the towing capacity of your Jeep, but I suspect you will have problems moving any great distances (and braking). If you are talking a couple of miles back and forth to the ramp, it might work. You are easily looking at 5k+ pounds of boat and equipment, plus the trailer.

I routinely raise my keel to get in and out of the marina, but it's strongly recommended not to sail with the keel up. Yes, there can be control issues especially in strong winds. Raising it to move through shallow areas shouldn't be a problem. You should spend a lot of time evaluating the keel lifting hardware, and if it hasn't been replaced in the last two years you should definitely replace it before a catastrophe.

Take a look at this forum also: http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/ There's a wealth of info on every concern you've raised. Don't be scared off by anything I've said-- it's a great boat and we are thoroughly enjoying ours.

Tim M

Forrest15112 · May 1, 2014

I can't speak specifically to a catalina 25, but i have had a Hunter 23.5 for 18 years. It's water ballast and weighs around 3500lbs including the trailer. A grand cherokee would tow mine no problem, but i have no real hills and the nearest mountain is hundreds of miles away. As far as rigging, it will take you 90 minutes the first time or two, but I could do mine in about 20 minutes when I was used to it.

philwsailz · May 1, 2014

A Catalina 25 is really too big to trailer sail. It needs to be towed with at least a 1/2 ton truck and you will soon tire of the mast work.

Consider a Catalina. 22 swing keel. It behaves the same but is a much easier boat to tow and rig.

I owned two different C22 boats over the years and have helped buddies with C25 sailboats. The difference in size and "pucker" factor is immense for two boats that sail so similarly.

If it is just you and your wife the 22 is not too small

heritage · May 1, 2014

I went sailing with a friend a few months ago in his Macgregor 26 and was surprised how easy it was to get it rigged, down the ramp, and back out. It didn't seem any more difficult than the 18 footer that I used to trailer.

The Mac 26 weights in at 2550# whereas the Catalina 25 is 4500# so the Catalina may be more difficult to pull out on a steep ramp.

Stu Jackson · May 1, 2014

re heritage's post - a Mac 26 is a completely different animal than a C25, don't let the length fool ya.

re Phil - he is absolutely right. A C25 is a "trailerable" boat but certainly not one that anyone would want to do more than: in at springtime and out in the fall. I owned one for 12 years. I know. I bought a fin keel model and left it in the water. For a bunch of years before that we owned a C22. We motored it up to a lake 3 hours away on Memorial Day, left it in the water for the summer on the lake, and trailered it home on Labor Day. The rest of the year we dry sailed it from our trailer with two ways to get it into the water: originally with a hoist at the marina (what a PITA!!!) and then with the mast up drove it through (illegally) a parking lot to a boat ramp a block away. Both ways were NOT conducive to relaxing sailing.

Buy a boat and put it in the water.

Or buy a C22 and spend (WASTE?!?) two years finding out what I did and what many others here are ALREADY telling you: trailer sailing, either with a small boat that's handy or a bigger one that isn't is NOT conducive to relaxing sailing.

BTW, the C25 Association website and the skippers there are fantastic. Get to know them, they'll steer you right.

philwsailz · May 1, 2014

Btw, here is my "trailer sailer".... The presence of a trailer does not necessarily a trailer sailer make...

Despite the beefy trailer this is just a 27. Complexity of logistics goes up exponentially and quick

hewebb · May 2, 2014

I have a Catalina 25 WK that I trailer quite a bit. I built an A frame to step the mast and a crutch for the stern. It takes me about an hour from parking lot to sailing. About the same to load. I have a trailer with a third wheel up front that allows for a tongue extension. Originally, I used a chain to lower and retrieve on the ramp. Currently have an 18' steel extension. Normally I keep the boat in the water for several days when traveling. I step the mast by myself most of the time, however it is better to have someone else to help watch for snags in the rigging while going up. I use one of the boat winches. There are several videos of this system that helped me. I have an unusually tall trailer compared to most-it is not a standard boat trailer but a modified eighteen foot cargo trailer. A friend had the front of his trailer set up to step the mast with an electric winch and it is much quicker than my A frame method.

Kermit · May 2, 2014

Have you considered a Hunter 260? It comes with its own built-in mast raising system, has a 2 foot draft with the board up and loses 2000 lbs.when out if water. My first mate can raise the mast herself. You can find them in wheel or tiller steering versions. And versions with either marine toilet or porta potty.

The H23 is a good option, too. An A-frame helps with stepping the mast. Smaller cockpit and cabin might appeal to you. No bathroom but the is a place for storing the potty.

kito · May 2, 2014

You will find that trailering will be a big hassle and just not take it out very much. I have a C22 and find it a pita to trailer sail it for day sails. Your Jeep with 4 wheel drive should not be a problem though.....if the ramp has got good grip and not too steep. I will still trailer sail my C22 but will make it an overnight affair from now on. Like others said a C22 would be easier to tow and is a great boat to learn on. Like was mentioned, try to find a mast up facility for your C25. You will use it more plus if you figure the additional gas you will use to tow that big boat the storage fees versus gas expense may be a wash. I used to tow my C22 45 miles each way and would burn almost twice as much gas when towing and I have a V6 ranger 4x4. Another advantage of mast up storage is if launched from a marina, I got free unlimited launches which was $10 a shot otherwise. My mast up fee was $60 a month so storing it there was a no brainer.

SawyerCurt · May 2, 2014

A couple of people have made the suggestion to look into a club to see if they have storage available. For example, my club rents a hoist from the municipal harbor and this rent includes a decent-sized fenced-in area around the hoist where we offer J/24 storage to members at a greatly reduced rate from the slip/mooring charges from the harbor. You might be able to find such an arrangement. Of course, we only offer this to members so you might have to join a club. If you are active duty military, some clubs (like ours) offer free or greatly reduced membership fees for active duty military, so even with the membership costs it is cheaper to join and store in our hoist area than it costs to keep a mooring.

Curt Sawyer
"Jacqueline"
2001 C310 #48

The Garbone · May 2, 2014

When we anted to give sailing a try the wife an I did the look at a bunch of boats thing as well. We looked at a C22,C25,C27 as well as Rangers and a few other makes up to a 36.

Ended up with a C27 because of the " roomy" cabin and real head. When we got started slip fees were a big consideration. After a year of sailing and loving it we got a bigger boat (C30) and slip fees are not nearly as big a concern because we realize they are just a small portion of the overall budget.

I guess what I am trying to say is if you look at a boat with a nice galley, head with shower and comfortable berthing a slip may be the way to go. We talked about a beach condo before a boat, but the maintenance fees on that are about what the slip costs, and you can't take a condo to the Keys or the Bahamas.

Stu Jackson · May 3, 2014

NavySailor said:
Thanks for all the responses. That helps a lot.

...We were looking at the 25' because we have a couple of teenagers that will be going out with us. At least for the next few years until they're off to college.

NS,

I just reread this thread.

We bought our C22 in 1983 from a very nice family who had bought the boat new in 1981. They were mom & dad and "a couple of teenagers..."

Sound familiar? :dance:

They liked sailing so much, but they found the boat was too small for the four of them, because after a short amount of daysailing, they found they wanted to go further afield, and even spend nights on the boat (and it WAS on a trailer - they towed it about an hour to launch on SF Bay after finding lakes "too constricting" for their sailing "challenges").

We got a great deal on an essentially brand new boat which had been lovingly cared for, but had all the bells & whistles, like an anchor, safety gear...

Back then, it was only my wife and me, so the boat was plenty spacious for us, and we learned to sail on both the SF Bay and the lake (anchored out every weekend).

Trailering got tiresome very quickly and after a few years we moved up to the C25 fixed keel and bid the lake goodbye.

That said, here are plenty of skippers here with C22s who have raised families with multiple kids and still have and cherish their C22s, great boats.

Only YOU can make the decision based on the options you have. You noted: "Of course, that's an hour I'd be using up anyway trying to raise/lower the mast ... " That is some very good logic.

Good luck.

The Garbone · May 3, 2014

We drive 45 miles one way to our boat, usually Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon. Never could sleep as well on the 27 as we do on the 30.

Have you taken her sailing? We took a few lessons before buying the boat just to see if my wife would like it.

Of course we are more into the Cruising aspect of the sailing and love to travel. Good luck on whatever you two decide. Nothing is as exciting as buying your first boat......

SawyerCurt · May 13, 2014

I don't know that much about them...there is one in the slips at my wife's grandmother's place in Sea Bright, NJ. I have sailed on J Boats (24 and 105), Beneteaus (30', 42', 46'), Catalinas (30', 31', 34', and 36'), a Bavaria (44'), and a Pearson (30'). It really depends on what you want. I want a boat that is comfortable for me, my wife, and our 5 and 8 year old daughters...comfortable in the cockpit and below. Speed isn't important. I have multiple friends in my club who own Catalinas, so I started with a 34' and have now moved on to something smaller, but newer so I don't have as many projects and I can spend time actually sailing, It also helps when I have a question that many friends own different Catalinas (some even have the exact same engine). Ultimately, it needs to be something that you enjoy and will want to take out. If it doesn't meet your needs it will end up sitting in the driveway until the tires on the trailer go flat and you neighbors plant tall shrubbery to block the view.

To Get a Sailboat, or Not... That is the question.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.