I am interested in a trailer sailer for weekend cruising on the bay. Can folks recommend a few models that are easy to trailer ? I have been told Cat 22's and Rhodes 22's are good starter boats. Also Hunter 240's. Dan
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cal 21
$2200.oo That's what I paid for my 1973 Cal 21' 5 years ago. Came with outboard, trailer, porta-potty, sails, depth sounder, and six kids life-vests. Had to upgrade the life-vests. It trailers like a dream, the previous owner hauled it with a minivan! It'll take you an hour to step the mast and launch the first time-much less with experience. The swing-keel has a cable that I remove, as I moor it for the summer, but can be left in place for a day-sail. The boat weighs 1100# and draws 9" keel up, 4'-03" keel down. It is surprisingly fast, even in light air, and turns on a dime. Easy enough to single hand, room enough for four, and there really is room for four to sleep. Everything I have read about Cals has been proven out with this boat: light, fast, and well built. I have not heard much negative about them anywhere. And did I mention the price? I don't have any data to back this up, but I suspect that it's easier to find a trailer sailer, in this size range, in good condition than some of the larger, and fixed keel, boats. You can keep it in your driveway with a tarp over it and it'll do just fine. Larger, and fixed keel boats take more planning to store properly. Good luck! Guy
$2200.oo That's what I paid for my 1973 Cal 21' 5 years ago. Came with outboard, trailer, porta-potty, sails, depth sounder, and six kids life-vests. Had to upgrade the life-vests. It trailers like a dream, the previous owner hauled it with a minivan! It'll take you an hour to step the mast and launch the first time-much less with experience. The swing-keel has a cable that I remove, as I moor it for the summer, but can be left in place for a day-sail. The boat weighs 1100# and draws 9" keel up, 4'-03" keel down. It is surprisingly fast, even in light air, and turns on a dime. Easy enough to single hand, room enough for four, and there really is room for four to sleep. Everything I have read about Cals has been proven out with this boat: light, fast, and well built. I have not heard much negative about them anywhere. And did I mention the price? I don't have any data to back this up, but I suspect that it's easier to find a trailer sailer, in this size range, in good condition than some of the larger, and fixed keel, boats. You can keep it in your driveway with a tarp over it and it'll do just fine. Larger, and fixed keel boats take more planning to store properly. Good luck! Guy
Factors to consider
As with any boat choice, you have to decide what is important to you; with a trailer sailer, you have one more set of factors to consider. All boats are compromises, and boats that can be trailered have even more compromises built in. The Catalina 22 is a great boat: forgiving of beginners, time tested components and a manufacturer still in business that will support you. However, its design is a series of compromises: the swing keel is a heavy thing, and the crank mechanism is cumbersome. The boat also is a bit balky to weather because the swing keel is somewhat narrow, a necessary feature in order to accomodate the trailer. The Oday trailer sailers (the 22, 23 and 25) are a little different: they have stub keels with centerboards. The centerboards are much easier to control because they don't weigh much. The ballast is all in the stub keel. It can't "stick" up or down or fall off. Both the Oday's and the Catalina are heavy boats to tow as they carry their ballast all the time. Some Hunter boats are water ballasted. You dump the ballast on the boat ramp, leaving you with a much lighter tow load. If you plan on towing the boat a lot, this might be a good choice for you. The down side is that the water ballast is carried in the hull, giving the boat a higher center of gravity, which makes it a less stable platform. The Rhodes 22 is a great boat if you want to cruise. I think they pack more creature comforts and innovative designs into a 22 foot package than anyone. They also tend to be less available and more expensive. IMHO, they are too expensive. You can generally buy a boat that sails as well and is just as good a daysailer for much less money; if you want to cruise that much, buy a bigger boat. However, if you can't have a boat bigger than 22 feet and you want to spend a lot of time cruising, the Rhodes is definitely worth a look. Figure out what is important to you: sailing performance, comfortable cabin, ease of towing, fleet racing, resale value etc., and do another post here telling us your criteria. Be specific about what you are looking for and I guarantee you will get a lot of good feedback. When I was looking for my boat, I had a couple of things that were really important to me: a big cockpit for comfortable daysailing, and a separate head compartment (the Admiral insisted and I have come to accept that she was correct). The Oday 23 was the best choice and I have been really happy with it.
As with any boat choice, you have to decide what is important to you; with a trailer sailer, you have one more set of factors to consider. All boats are compromises, and boats that can be trailered have even more compromises built in. The Catalina 22 is a great boat: forgiving of beginners, time tested components and a manufacturer still in business that will support you. However, its design is a series of compromises: the swing keel is a heavy thing, and the crank mechanism is cumbersome. The boat also is a bit balky to weather because the swing keel is somewhat narrow, a necessary feature in order to accomodate the trailer. The Oday trailer sailers (the 22, 23 and 25) are a little different: they have stub keels with centerboards. The centerboards are much easier to control because they don't weigh much. The ballast is all in the stub keel. It can't "stick" up or down or fall off. Both the Oday's and the Catalina are heavy boats to tow as they carry their ballast all the time. Some Hunter boats are water ballasted. You dump the ballast on the boat ramp, leaving you with a much lighter tow load. If you plan on towing the boat a lot, this might be a good choice for you. The down side is that the water ballast is carried in the hull, giving the boat a higher center of gravity, which makes it a less stable platform. The Rhodes 22 is a great boat if you want to cruise. I think they pack more creature comforts and innovative designs into a 22 foot package than anyone. They also tend to be less available and more expensive. IMHO, they are too expensive. You can generally buy a boat that sails as well and is just as good a daysailer for much less money; if you want to cruise that much, buy a bigger boat. However, if you can't have a boat bigger than 22 feet and you want to spend a lot of time cruising, the Rhodes is definitely worth a look. Figure out what is important to you: sailing performance, comfortable cabin, ease of towing, fleet racing, resale value etc., and do another post here telling us your criteria. Be specific about what you are looking for and I guarantee you will get a lot of good feedback. When I was looking for my boat, I had a couple of things that were really important to me: a big cockpit for comfortable daysailing, and a separate head compartment (the Admiral insisted and I have come to accept that she was correct). The Oday 23 was the best choice and I have been really happy with it.
Water Ballast
I had a Helsen 22 which is a lot like a Catalina 22 and it weighed more on the trailer than a 26' macgregor I think that this was the Mac 26D made in 1988. It was easier to tow,had more room and was a lot faster than the Helsen. Unfortunately Macgregor doesn't make this model now. The new model can't decide if it's a stinkpot or a sailboat!!!! But check out the water ballast sailboats before you buy. I really expected a loss of performance with water ballast but was very pleasantly surprised. I guess that's the difference between 650#s of iron that was a pain to crank up and down and about #2000 of water that only required opening and closing a valve. A fixed keel on a trailerable boat really complicates launching/recovery and the selection of a ramp.
I had a Helsen 22 which is a lot like a Catalina 22 and it weighed more on the trailer than a 26' macgregor I think that this was the Mac 26D made in 1988. It was easier to tow,had more room and was a lot faster than the Helsen. Unfortunately Macgregor doesn't make this model now. The new model can't decide if it's a stinkpot or a sailboat!!!! But check out the water ballast sailboats before you buy. I really expected a loss of performance with water ballast but was very pleasantly surprised. I guess that's the difference between 650#s of iron that was a pain to crank up and down and about #2000 of water that only required opening and closing a valve. A fixed keel on a trailerable boat really complicates launching/recovery and the selection of a ramp.
Dan, should you become interested
in a 2001 HUNTER h260, please contact me, PJRLMR@JUNO.COM. Paul
in a 2001 HUNTER h260, please contact me, PJRLMR@JUNO.COM. Paul
For ease
of launching, excellent interior space, adequate sailing, better than adequate motoring, safety of foam flotation and a very active and helpful users group look hard at the MacGregor 26. Used boats hold their value very well so you won't get hurt if you try one and later decide to trade it in for something else. http://macgregorsailors.com/index.php
of launching, excellent interior space, adequate sailing, better than adequate motoring, safety of foam flotation and a very active and helpful users group look hard at the MacGregor 26. Used boats hold their value very well so you won't get hurt if you try one and later decide to trade it in for something else. http://macgregorsailors.com/index.php
Features
Almost every issue of "Good Old Boat" has a write up for a boat of this type. Another great source, though many candidates are not covered, is Practical Sailing's Used Boat Guide. If you are planning on doing a lot of weekend trailering, then the ease with which the boat can be rigged and launched is REAL important - some of these boats are trailerable in the sense that they can be launched and recovered, mast raised and lowered, etc., but it is such an ordeal that after a few times out you quit going because it is too much work. Mine is like that - I would not consider her a trailer-sailer but rather a trailerable sailboat that I put in and take out once a year. Make sure you know which kind you want and whether the ones you are looking at meet your needs.
Almost every issue of "Good Old Boat" has a write up for a boat of this type. Another great source, though many candidates are not covered, is Practical Sailing's Used Boat Guide. If you are planning on doing a lot of weekend trailering, then the ease with which the boat can be rigged and launched is REAL important - some of these boats are trailerable in the sense that they can be launched and recovered, mast raised and lowered, etc., but it is such an ordeal that after a few times out you quit going because it is too much work. Mine is like that - I would not consider her a trailer-sailer but rather a trailerable sailboat that I put in and take out once a year. Make sure you know which kind you want and whether the ones you are looking at meet your needs.
Scrap the trailer
I trailer sailed a Hunter 22 for three years. The first two I used the trailer and pulled out after each sail. Stepping the mast got to be a pain in the butt. You loose two hours a sail because of having the pack and unpack the boat. The last year I had my H22 I kept it in the slip. This was much easier to deal with and I enjoyed the boat a lot more. If you have slips available in your area I would recommend getting the bigger boat with more comforts and more features (it makes the Mrs. much more content). I am now sailing a Catalina 30. It is a huge step up from the H22. It is like going from a tent to a RV. I have a marine head, a shower, a stove and oven, hot and cold water with water pressure, and standing room. The other point that I will mention is that if you hit heavy weather you are much better in a bigger boat. I am not sure what bay you are referring to but if it is the Chesapeake Bay then you really want a bigger boat. The Chesapeake can get nasty really quick. I have seen it go from pleasant conditions to 40 knot sustained winds and 8 foot waves in less than an hour! The only place that you save money on is slip fees and haul out. If you calculate all the time and effort to raise and lower the mast and consider time money, you don't spend anymore by keeping it in the slip. Consider what you really want to do with the boat. Allow for some growth in your sailing and then figure out if you want to go into a slightly bigger boat or stay with the trailerable. I know a lot of people who moved quickly from the trailerable to the bigger boat and they didn't regret it. If you do stay with the trailerable, take a serious look at the Hunter 22. It is a great boat for that size and a lot of people thought that my H22 was really a 25 foot boat.
I trailer sailed a Hunter 22 for three years. The first two I used the trailer and pulled out after each sail. Stepping the mast got to be a pain in the butt. You loose two hours a sail because of having the pack and unpack the boat. The last year I had my H22 I kept it in the slip. This was much easier to deal with and I enjoyed the boat a lot more. If you have slips available in your area I would recommend getting the bigger boat with more comforts and more features (it makes the Mrs. much more content). I am now sailing a Catalina 30. It is a huge step up from the H22. It is like going from a tent to a RV. I have a marine head, a shower, a stove and oven, hot and cold water with water pressure, and standing room. The other point that I will mention is that if you hit heavy weather you are much better in a bigger boat. I am not sure what bay you are referring to but if it is the Chesapeake Bay then you really want a bigger boat. The Chesapeake can get nasty really quick. I have seen it go from pleasant conditions to 40 knot sustained winds and 8 foot waves in less than an hour! The only place that you save money on is slip fees and haul out. If you calculate all the time and effort to raise and lower the mast and consider time money, you don't spend anymore by keeping it in the slip. Consider what you really want to do with the boat. Allow for some growth in your sailing and then figure out if you want to go into a slightly bigger boat or stay with the trailerable. I know a lot of people who moved quickly from the trailerable to the bigger boat and they didn't regret it. If you do stay with the trailerable, take a serious look at the Hunter 22. It is a great boat for that size and a lot of people thought that my H22 was really a 25 foot boat.
Mac 26D
With a little practice we could have the boat's mast up and the boat in the water in about 15-20 minutes. The hardest part was moving the mast base to the step. I used a safety line but actually just pushed the mast into position. Then you attach the forestay. Poor seamanship, but quick, we usually left the mainsail on the boom. All of that said most of the 7 years that we owned the boat it was in the water. A few winters we hauled it to a storage building for a month or two while I painted the bottom but most winters we sailed. Launching and retrieveing from cold water really hurts. I have a wetsuit that helped. It usually takes a few tries to get the boat centered properly on the trailer. One trick that I found was using the tie-down strap and snuging it up while the boat was still floating. Guidance posts help too. Some ramps aren't square to the water surface,they are particularly hard to us to retrieve a sailboat. The things that I liked best about a trailerable boat. 1. Cost to own 2. Easy to see other areas to sail. 3. all plastic , one year we had a lot of stuff going on in life and we only used the boat 2-3 times that year. The boat was parked in a barn and was one less thing to worry about. After a year it was a little dusty and had some corn in the cockpit which we assume came from a raccoon raiding the corn crib. In less than a morning it was cleaned up and back in the water.
With a little practice we could have the boat's mast up and the boat in the water in about 15-20 minutes. The hardest part was moving the mast base to the step. I used a safety line but actually just pushed the mast into position. Then you attach the forestay. Poor seamanship, but quick, we usually left the mainsail on the boom. All of that said most of the 7 years that we owned the boat it was in the water. A few winters we hauled it to a storage building for a month or two while I painted the bottom but most winters we sailed. Launching and retrieveing from cold water really hurts. I have a wetsuit that helped. It usually takes a few tries to get the boat centered properly on the trailer. One trick that I found was using the tie-down strap and snuging it up while the boat was still floating. Guidance posts help too. Some ramps aren't square to the water surface,they are particularly hard to us to retrieve a sailboat. The things that I liked best about a trailerable boat. 1. Cost to own 2. Easy to see other areas to sail. 3. all plastic , one year we had a lot of stuff going on in life and we only used the boat 2-3 times that year. The boat was parked in a barn and was one less thing to worry about. After a year it was a little dusty and had some corn in the cockpit which we assume came from a raccoon raiding the corn crib. In less than a morning it was cleaned up and back in the water.
20-35 min.'s to solo rig my mac 26s...
20 if i am rushing (which I NEVER do anymore). Taking my time and double checking things, with some good music jammin, I take about 35 min.'s to set up and about 25 to take down. I actually, most times, enjoy the process of getting her ready. Like most things, it's all in your attitude! The variety of waters and ease of "virgin" water exploration is, to me, well worth the set up/take down process. Though I love the principles and technique of sailing; the exploring component is what keeps me like a kid opening some unknown present...though playing/racing with other boats helps keep it exciting too; I would have a hard time sailing the same waters every time.
20 if i am rushing (which I NEVER do anymore). Taking my time and double checking things, with some good music jammin, I take about 35 min.'s to set up and about 25 to take down. I actually, most times, enjoy the process of getting her ready. Like most things, it's all in your attitude! The variety of waters and ease of "virgin" water exploration is, to me, well worth the set up/take down process. Though I love the principles and technique of sailing; the exploring component is what keeps me like a kid opening some unknown present...though playing/racing with other boats helps keep it exciting too; I would have a hard time sailing the same waters every time.
Enjoying my trailerable .
I have a Mac 25 that we have enjoyed sailing the heck out of her. I can go to Dana Pt. if I need to baby sit the grandkids, Long Beach harbor has a lot of interesting things to look at and the shortest distance to Catalina Island. Or I can go to Marina Del Rey if I want to get into the water quickly. Santa Barbara if the weather is nice. Channel Islands Harbor for a short ten mile sail to Anacapa and the rest of the Channel Islands. We were able to go to Lake Tahoe, where we spent a week, try that by sailing from the same slip. He is right about the keel, a water ballast would be nice. Tom is right its all in the attitude. I've lost 30 lbs and most of it due from rigging up. I've become much more organized after running up and down the ladder forgetting things in the truck. Lifting the outboard is a workout in itself, don't forget to bring an old shirt. If you do go with the trailerable I found a great design for a mast steping winch that makes things a lot easier especially if you sail solo cost less that $30. Still takes me an hour and 20 min. Beating your old time becomes a chalenge and contest thats somewhat entertaining. I've probably said too much but I just can't say enough about a trailerable. Best of luck.
I have a Mac 25 that we have enjoyed sailing the heck out of her. I can go to Dana Pt. if I need to baby sit the grandkids, Long Beach harbor has a lot of interesting things to look at and the shortest distance to Catalina Island. Or I can go to Marina Del Rey if I want to get into the water quickly. Santa Barbara if the weather is nice. Channel Islands Harbor for a short ten mile sail to Anacapa and the rest of the Channel Islands. We were able to go to Lake Tahoe, where we spent a week, try that by sailing from the same slip. He is right about the keel, a water ballast would be nice. Tom is right its all in the attitude. I've lost 30 lbs and most of it due from rigging up. I've become much more organized after running up and down the ladder forgetting things in the truck. Lifting the outboard is a workout in itself, don't forget to bring an old shirt. If you do go with the trailerable I found a great design for a mast steping winch that makes things a lot easier especially if you sail solo cost less that $30. Still takes me an hour and 20 min. Beating your old time becomes a chalenge and contest thats somewhat entertaining. I've probably said too much but I just can't say enough about a trailerable. Best of luck.
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