Still researching which trailerable boat to buy. Is this wing keel boat capable of island hopping down into the Caribbean? Chief
2007 Catalina 26'11" wing keel seaworthiness?
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Not really sure which boat you refer to, but a 270 is not usually considered a trailer boat ?
The water tank is only 18 gallons and no refer just an icebox.
The water tank is only 18 gallons and no refer just an icebox.
Have you looked at one on a trailer.
I looked at a 22 and 25 on a trailer. A 22 can be toted about and is a trailer boat, a 25 can be moved by trailer but I do not think it is a trailer boat, just transportable, its pretty big, enough to give me pause as to towing it over 2 or 3 miles.
A 27 is not a trailer boat, I would hire a company to move it overland if need be. The previous owners of my 27 sailed to Puerto Rico and back from Florida , so as long as you load some water bottles, watch the weather, yes you can do the Caribbean in it. A 25 may also be doable but I like the working head of the 27 myself.
I looked at a 22 and 25 on a trailer. A 22 can be toted about and is a trailer boat, a 25 can be moved by trailer but I do not think it is a trailer boat, just transportable, its pretty big, enough to give me pause as to towing it over 2 or 3 miles.
A 27 is not a trailer boat, I would hire a company to move it overland if need be. The previous owners of my 27 sailed to Puerto Rico and back from Florida , so as long as you load some water bottles, watch the weather, yes you can do the Caribbean in it. A 25 may also be doable but I like the working head of the 27 myself.
I believe that the C 27 is more then 8.5 feet wide, closer to 9.5 feet wide, so it is not legally a trailerable boat on U.S. roads, wthout a special use Wide Load permit. You would also need an F 250 or heavier vehicle & a double axle tandem trailer, which are expensive & hard to come by. As with any boat, in blue water sailing bigger tends to be better. Its the simple matter of having enough lead under you to help keep you upright, enough beam & freeboard to help keep you dry, and enough length to keep the boat from pitch polling non stop in big wave action. There are sailors who have taken 22 foot boats almost everywhere, such as the venerable Trekka (22 ft). There are also morons who have sunk 50 footers who were not competent sailors & didn't know their limits. A young sailor, Matt Rutherford just sailed around the Northwest Passage, down to S. America, around Cape Horn & circumnavigated the Americas, solo non-stop. This was in a 1970's 27 foot Albin Vega. Pretty impressive, & maybe a little fool hearty. But this was in a Scandanavian designed boat built for blue water sailing. While I have owned & loved all Catalina's the 22, 25 & now a C 30, they are all built on the light side & were all designed for fresh water or coastal rated cruidsing. You have to know your limitations & your boat. Go out & sail her locally in heavy weather, with at least 5 foot waves & 25 + knots of wind, & then decide if you & your boat can handle what could easily turn out to be TWICE this on an atlantic passage. Then you have your answer.
Pulled my Catalina 25 all over and sailed Lake Michigan and Superior....
The Cubans came here in rafts, just got to watch the weather.
There are people in the Catalina 22 Asso. who sail to Bimini from Lauderdale
The Cubans came here in rafts, just got to watch the weather.
There are people in the Catalina 22 Asso. who sail to Bimini from Lauderdale
Where I live these boats are trailered. The trailer is just for winter storage. The boats are launched at the start of the season and recovered at the end of the season. It takes a steep ramp and special techniques like putting the trailer on a strap, & a nose wheel, to get the trailer deep enough to float the boat. A steeper ramp than exists on most if not all ocean sites.
The ramp is the only way in and out of the water here. Then the boats spend the season on a mooring or in a slip. The time to rig/de-rig, possibly the costs of having a yard launch the boat as well as the over width towing permits all add up, and the boat is not really a practical trailer sailer - except as noted above.
If you kept the boat in the water most of the time, the trailer would have two advantages. Hurricane protection and the ability to tow the boat to venues far from where you would have time to sail to. But the trailer is EXPENSIVE...
I'll leave seaworthiness to others.
OC
Thanks guys, I should have indicated I was referring to the Cat 250 wing keel, not the bigger 27. I intend to leave it in the water for extended times as I am aware that they do not lend themselves to daily ins and outs. I owned a 26' Clipper Marine for many years and sailed her in the Pacific ocean as well as Lake Oroville CA.. Most of my ocean use would be the Bodega Bay CA area and south. People familiar with our coast will realize that I have been out in 13' seas on numerous occasions. My concern is if the hull is strong in the 250? One response indicates that he thinks they are a little light on fiberglass construction. Thanks, Chief
The wing keel is a little less stable at rest and the boat feels "light", once underway it stiffens up quite nice and feels fine. It does feel (and probably is) lighter than a 27, 270 or the Capri 26 but hull strength seems adequate for the size. A friend brought his from San Diego to Dana Point on purchase and frequently to Catalina after that. Another has moved his boat (also a wing) from Dana to Ventura, others regularly take them the 30 - 40 miles to Catalina.
BTW I don't like shoal keels, the fin is really king of the west coast because the water is deep and there's 2000 miles of fetch for the waves and chop to develop.
Most boats will float thru anything it's the people that ain't seaworthy, personally if I never see another gale at sea I'll figure I'm finally doing it right.
BTW I don't like shoal keels, the fin is really king of the west coast because the water is deep and there's 2000 miles of fetch for the waves and chop to develop.
Most boats will float thru anything it's the people that ain't seaworthy, personally if I never see another gale at sea I'll figure I'm finally doing it right.
Chief, you should get to know these "good guys"
http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4
http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4
Re: 2007 Catalina 250 wing keel seaworthiness?
Stu: I did check out the cat forum a bit as you suggested and will do so in the future! Thanks!
Ted: Your right, the people are far more dangerous than the boats! As you probably realize; I am interested in wing keels because I don't want a full keel trailerable waving around behind me as I am traveling down the road! I want to launch in Sea of Cortez, Florida, Wash. state, Gulf of Mexico and anywhere else that suits my fancy! I want to road travel and get closer to my sailing objective so I don't have to sail so far to get there! ha Thanks to all of you as your inputs help me make the best decision for future boat purchase. Chief
Stu: I did check out the cat forum a bit as you suggested and will do so in the future! Thanks!
Ted: Your right, the people are far more dangerous than the boats! As you probably realize; I am interested in wing keels because I don't want a full keel trailerable waving around behind me as I am traveling down the road! I want to launch in Sea of Cortez, Florida, Wash. state, Gulf of Mexico and anywhere else that suits my fancy! I want to road travel and get closer to my sailing objective so I don't have to sail so far to get there! ha Thanks to all of you as your inputs help me make the best decision for future boat purchase. Chief
Chief, I wanted the perfect pocket cruiser also, the one I liked best was the Hake Seaward, this one is at the low end of the price range:
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=15064&url=
It's an outboard, many also have diesels.
Another boat I liked was a Compac 23, also with an OB but some with a diesel, there's some interesting boats that may suit your purposes.
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=15064&url=
It's an outboard, many also have diesels.
Another boat I liked was a Compac 23, also with an OB but some with a diesel, there's some interesting boats that may suit your purposes.
Re: 2007 Catalina 250 wing keel seaworthiness?
Ted: I am not a proponent of diesel in small trailerables as they take up precious interior room and noisy. Many other reasons also but have used a Honda 10 (4 stroke) and quiet,great mpg,low vibration,etc. I use a 15 Evinrude or my 8 Nissan (2 strokes) for my 10.5 inflatable dingy as they are lighter to handle. That Seaward 25 looks nice but looks heavy for my truck. I only want to carry a max of 7k for long travel hauls.
Do you still sail? Chief
Ted: I am not a proponent of diesel in small trailerables as they take up precious interior room and noisy. Many other reasons also but have used a Honda 10 (4 stroke) and quiet,great mpg,low vibration,etc. I use a 15 Evinrude or my 8 Nissan (2 strokes) for my 10.5 inflatable dingy as they are lighter to handle. That Seaward 25 looks nice but looks heavy for my truck. I only want to carry a max of 7k for long travel hauls.
Do you still sail? Chief
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Yes, I'm retired so we spend about half our time on the boat. But I ended up with a 270 as my "mini" cruiser which I replaced 2 years ago with a 320 I bought in Alameda and sailed back down here.
Cheif RA, I've trailer sailed 6 different trailered boats in the ranges of 18 to 26 foot and we also spent 2 1/2 years on an Island Packet 38 sailing and living aboard in the Bahamas.
All my trailered boats could cross the Gulf Stream and island hop. Would I? No. The amount of pop-up rain squalls are just to great and too dangerious. We saw winds of 50 to 60 mph coming from every direction all at once. The IP 38 was designed to take that abuse. The catalina 250, the Hunter 260 are not. One of the main points of failure is in the rudder on these smaller boats.
I have a good friend that has a Hake Seaward 26 on a trailer. Very trailerable with a 3/4 ton truck. Strong enough to sail in the island areas. With caution I would take this boat back to all the spots we visited before. It is also a boat of good quaility and will return more of you investment at the end of your adventure.
A very big responsibility for me was the safety of my wife as we sailed. She was and is a good sailer but I would never ask her to ride out many of the quick storms we ran into on a 3,500# boat.
Ray
All my trailered boats could cross the Gulf Stream and island hop. Would I? No. The amount of pop-up rain squalls are just to great and too dangerious. We saw winds of 50 to 60 mph coming from every direction all at once. The IP 38 was designed to take that abuse. The catalina 250, the Hunter 260 are not. One of the main points of failure is in the rudder on these smaller boats.
I have a good friend that has a Hake Seaward 26 on a trailer. Very trailerable with a 3/4 ton truck. Strong enough to sail in the island areas. With caution I would take this boat back to all the spots we visited before. It is also a boat of good quaility and will return more of you investment at the end of your adventure.
A very big responsibility for me was the safety of my wife as we sailed. She was and is a good sailer but I would never ask her to ride out many of the quick storms we ran into on a 3,500# boat.
Ray
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