If you have money, consider anything by Ian Farrier. But for the rest of us...
You should really priorities your desires. That will help you narrow down which boat to get. For me, speed was the highest priority. Having owned a dog previously, I wanted to get as far away from boring as possible. 2 tools I used. The fist was Portsmouth ratings. This will tell you a lot about how the boat goes in different winds. Also, poor handling boats are not capable of fast. So if you have a low number, the boat will sail well. Figure out what rating category, and that will eliminate tons of boats. For my, I eliminated anything that was not in the 80s or lower. Once you narrow in on a couple of boats, search Youtube. That will tell you a little about what your sailing days will be like. Then search the brand forums to make sure of any details that would eliminate the brand or tell you anything specific to look for, assuming you are buying used.
The boat I found was a RL24. It sails very well. Virtually every time I have taken it out, I've exceeded 6 knots. 7 knots is not difficult. These are speeds up wind, No kite. The boat weighs 3K on the trailer, so can be towed by most any vehicle with a tow rating. I can set the boat up by myself. It has a moderate cabin, with about 6 inches of headroom above my head when sitting down. Easily will sleep 3 adults, or 4 people if 2 are kids. The cabin is not huge, but certainly comfortable. One other thing that was to my liking was the swing keel. The main place where I sail is shallow. It is not uncommon to bump the bottom at least once during a days sail, so having a keel that swings was also important.
For boats in this size category, I would be looking at the RL, an S2 6.7 or 6.9, a Holder 20, although the cabin is small on the Holder. A little bigger would be an S2 7.9, or a Beneteau First Class 8. Huge would be a Mega 30 or a Hobie 33, although the Mega has much better accommodations. Just watch out for soft spots on the deck with the Mega.
You should really priorities your desires. That will help you narrow down which boat to get. For me, speed was the highest priority. Having owned a dog previously, I wanted to get as far away from boring as possible. 2 tools I used. The fist was Portsmouth ratings. This will tell you a lot about how the boat goes in different winds. Also, poor handling boats are not capable of fast. So if you have a low number, the boat will sail well. Figure out what rating category, and that will eliminate tons of boats. For my, I eliminated anything that was not in the 80s or lower. Once you narrow in on a couple of boats, search Youtube. That will tell you a little about what your sailing days will be like. Then search the brand forums to make sure of any details that would eliminate the brand or tell you anything specific to look for, assuming you are buying used.
The boat I found was a RL24. It sails very well. Virtually every time I have taken it out, I've exceeded 6 knots. 7 knots is not difficult. These are speeds up wind, No kite. The boat weighs 3K on the trailer, so can be towed by most any vehicle with a tow rating. I can set the boat up by myself. It has a moderate cabin, with about 6 inches of headroom above my head when sitting down. Easily will sleep 3 adults, or 4 people if 2 are kids. The cabin is not huge, but certainly comfortable. One other thing that was to my liking was the swing keel. The main place where I sail is shallow. It is not uncommon to bump the bottom at least once during a days sail, so having a keel that swings was also important.
For boats in this size category, I would be looking at the RL, an S2 6.7 or 6.9, a Holder 20, although the cabin is small on the Holder. A little bigger would be an S2 7.9, or a Beneteau First Class 8. Huge would be a Mega 30 or a Hobie 33, although the Mega has much better accommodations. Just watch out for soft spots on the deck with the Mega.
