170 Buying Advice

[Jim Geshay]

My small family and I have been looking for 2 yearsat small 15-20 ft trailerables. We sail on Lake Michigan as well as Door County, and North woods lakes. We currently car-top a Laser, but really want to get dry, and go farther. Could some of you current owners give us your real life thought about the 170?Like beaching, can it take the frequent run toshore from our Lake Michigan Weather? Is it stable, or does it have the tendency to tip in heavy winds?Thanks in advance !!jim

 

[Jack]

Archives

Look in the archives and Boat Information on the home page. From what I have read on this site the 170 is not the most stable of craft. IMO I would not want this boat for a daysailor with a small family. I would suggest a Flying Scot or Highlander if you are looking for a centerboard boat.

 

[Dave]

140 on Lake Michigan

Can't comment directly on the 170, but I've been sailing a 140 on Lake Michigan in Door County for 2 years, taking a bunch of small kids most of the time. That boat is stable enough to handle most of the weather you'd want to be out in on a day sailor. The rig (which is about the same as the 170's, I think) gives you the option of sailing with just the main when the wind comes up -- then the boat sails a lot like a Laser. The light weight of the composite material is a huge advantage in getting across the beach. I don't run mine onto the beach like we did with our old Sunfish, but the shallow draft gets you close enough to let the crew stay pretty dry getting out. I wouldn't want to think about what running onto the beach would do to the hull material and how hard it would be to fix it (my dealer had no idea how to fix a hole in someone else's boat).