25-27 ft sailboats

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May 14, 2009
21
Sirius 21 Pelican Yacht Club, Manitoba
I sail a Sirius 21 swing keel in Manitoba. When I first bought this, my first sailboat, I loved the idea of trailering to different lakes.
However we have a wonderful club on a 10 Nautical Mile lake. My boat never leaves the water from May until October. With my boat is in a slip, after a 50 minute drive to get to the club, in 10 minutes I can be out of the marina and sailing. My next day out will be the 20th time this season.
The Sirius 21 is a great boat but I'm starting to dream of something bigger, 25-27 ft. I would like more headroom (I'm 6 ft tall), something more stable in strong winds. Something with a shallow draft. (The great advantage of the swing keel for me is pulling up on to a beach but a shallow draft could work) A dinette layout is a bonus.
What are opinions on a Bayfield 25 full keel or a Hunter 26.5 shoal draft? Other recommendations? There is a Catalina 27 at our club that has lots of room but the V berth looks very small. Also, do all boats of this size have bilges or only the ones with inboards?
That's a lot of questions gang! Have at 'er!
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
What are your choices? Are you looking only on your lake or will you be willing to transport? The choice of boats is usually too personal for a stranger to make recommendations. Personally, I wouldn't buy any boat if it wasn't immediately pleasing to the eye. I would probably pass over any sailboat that had an outboard hanging off the back just for that reason.

I think the only good, solid advise is to make sure it isn't a project that you aren't prepared for. If you want to go sailing right away, make sure it is ready to sail and doesn't require repairs, new equipment or sails that would postpone immediate enjoyment. Don't underestimate the time and expense of projects, but if you already have a sailboat you are probably already clued into that scenerio.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
I sail a Sirius 21 swing keel in Manitoba. When I first bought this, my first sailboat, I loved the idea of trailering to different lakes.
However we have a wonderful club on a 10 Nautical Mile lake. My boat never leaves the water from May until October. With my boat is in a slip, after a 50 minute drive to get to the club, in 10 minutes I can be out of the marina and sailing. My next day out will be the 20th time this season.
The Sirius 21 is a great boat but I'm starting to dream of something bigger, 25-27 ft. I would like more headroom (I'm 6 ft tall), something more stable in strong winds. Something with a shallow draft. (The great advantage of the swing keel for me is pulling up on to a beach but a shallow draft could work) A dinette layout is a bonus.
What are opinions on a Bayfield 25 full keel or a Hunter 26.5 shoal draft? Other recommendations? There is a Catalina 27 at our club that has lots of room but the V berth looks very small. Also, do all boats of this size have bilges or only the ones with inboards?
That's a lot of questions gang! Have at 'er!
Based on your choices I'm quessing your are looking for used boat.

If you can go new, look at the First 25S. Tons of room, swing keel, very stable, very fast.

http://www.beneteauusa.com/Sailboats/First/First-25-S
 
May 31, 2004
858
Catalina 28 Branford
There is a big difference between 25 and 27 foot boats. Even though it is only 2 feet longer, a 27 foot boat is an entire class bigger than a 25. There are very few 25s out there with 6 feet of headroom. Most 27's will have close to 6 ft of headroom. Check out the difference between a Catalina 25 and Catalina 27, and you will see what I mean. A boat 27 feet long will also generally have a real marine head and will probably (although not universally) have an inboard engine. They are the smallest of the real coastal cruisers, whereas a 25 is still a trailer sailer. Nothing wrong with either style, just different design criteria made for different markets. If you want something bigger than a 21, a 25 isn't that much different; more room for sure, but not much more in the way of creature comforts or performance.

Once you get into the 27 foot range/coastal cruiser range, there are fewer boats with centerboards. Centerboards were fashionable on cruising boats for awhile back in the 50's and 60s (check out the Pearson Wanderer), but they fell out of favor for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that they were generally full keel designs with attached rudders and they sailed like dogs compared to the newer fin keel models. Centerboards remained popular on smaller boats because they make it easier to trailer.

If you just want something a little bigger than your 21, I would check out the Catalina 25. It comes in a swing keel model, and you can get it with a pop top that will give you full headroom. As a bonus, one interior design offered had a dinette layout. If you really want something you can stand up in and go cruising for more than a couple of days, the Catalina 27 is a great value.

For your question about bilges, all boats have bilges. The depth and breadth of the bilges is determined by the hull shape, not the auxilliary power option. Trailerable boats (such as yours and the Catalina options) tend to have "canoe" shaped hulls, so the bottoms are relatively flat. This leaves little room for bilges between the inner liners/cabin sole and the outer hull. Hulls that have fuller shapes below the waterline (e.g., full keeled boats) will have much more room below the cabin sole, and therefore, more capacious bilges. Bilges are generally "dead" space, good only for filling up with oil, water and other things that shouldn't be there. Hope this helps.
 
Dec 31, 2012
91
Catalina 28 mkll #649 Port Charlotte, fl
Daryl, I still have my ole 17 ft Sirius that i sailed all over lake wpg..... great boats.... you should look at the Catalina 25 as mention earlier.... they are a fun boat and would do well in pelican lake... or load it up and head south in the winter and it could be used for a bit of coastal sailing. fair winds, brian
 
Nov 10, 2008
47
Hunter 25.5 Ossining
I have a 25.5 Hunter.For headroom ,I have a pop-up top. It's good when at the slip, as long as you got it tied off. When we go out we drop the top.I also have a 4 1/2' draft. I have a small bilge, it's mostly for catching the ice melt from the icebox.If I get watert in there ,other than ice melt, then I know I'm leaking in from somewhere.Now they say it sleeps 6 ,it must be all toddlers. It'sleeps three adults nicely.I only use the stove for cooking water for tea in the morning.I have an 8 horse power outboard.
 
Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
How does a pop-up top work on a sailboat? I tried googling it, but could really see what it is.
 
Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
You may also want to take a look at the Paceship 26 (PY26). They have a 6'1" headroom and are quite spacious. The ffixed keel verison draws 4'6" but they were also made with a centerboard and, in that configuration only draw 3'3" (Some sites cite 2'7").

When We sold ours, the seller's surveyor commented "I wish they all were built as well as this boat"

Not biased at all

Matt
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
How does a pop-up top work on a sailboat? I tried googling it, but could really see what it is.
The top of the coachroof is a separate section. It is connected to the main coachroof by struts (usually 7/8" to 1" ss tubes) on pins. You lift the entire section from below, the roof lifts and moves forward, ending up at the mast. There is a support clamp at the mast to keep it there and from falling back.

Great idea, we had it on our C25. Standing headroom throughout most of the saloon. Many folks also have enclosures made of canvas and "eisenglass" (dodger window material) for light. Some have replaced the glass with screen material.
 
Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
Thanks, Stu. Sounds like a very good idea. So it is open on the sides when up unless you have an enclosure?
 
Sep 25, 2011
161
Ericson 25+ Watkins Glen
darryl check out the ericson 25's they come with a swing keel or fixed,mine is fixed has 6' of headroom and 9'3" beam
 
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