Buying a Trailer Cruiser

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raocon

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Aug 28, 2010
12
Soon to buy Soon to buy Tacoma
Hello all,
I am 1 month new to the Sailboat Owners world. Wow, what a great resource.

I am in the market of buying a small cruiser. My goal is to have one purchased no later spring 2011. I live in the Seattle-Tacoma area, love water, and have sailed many times on 8' to 65' boats.....mostly small cruisers 18' to 35'.

I am willing to spend up to $10K, and no older boats than approx 1985. I also want to sail more than think about sailing while fixing a boat. I believe I have narrowed down my selection of cruisers to the list below.

If you could help me select a great trailer cruiser, I would be much thankful. :D I have Suburban for a boat hauler.

I am not limited to the list shown, but really have looked and sailed many small boats. I think these are some of the best out there, but you guys know more than I if you own or have owned any of these boats or other small cruisers.

- Hunter 23.5 or 25.5
- Rhodes 22
- Cat 22 or 25
- West Wight Potter 19
- Oday 25

Ahoy,
Rob
 
Freedom77

Freedom77

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Jul 29, 2010
1,392
Macgregor 76 V-25 #928 Lake Mead, Nevada
Catalina 22 is one of the largest production sailboat in the world and parts are easily available. The Cat 25 is roomy and stable. Hunter makes a great product. Oday, as far as I know, is out of business. Have you thought about MacGregor 25. Lightweight, easy to rig, sail and trailer and Bluewater Yachts in Seattle specializes in MacGregor parts and stuff. West wight potter is a little cramped. Don't know much about Rhodes. They're all pretty easy to launch and retrieve. Hope this helps. Fair Winds...
 
sinnettc

sinnettc

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May 23, 2007
1,306
Catalina Capri 22 Albany, Oregon
I think a lot depends on what kind of cruising you want to do.

We spent a week in the San Juans this summer and we were, literally, the smallest sail boat in Echo Bay on Sucia for 3 days. I'm also certain that, except for the folks tent camping on the island, we were the ones who were "roughing" it the most. We're talking 2 coolers, an Origo stove, and a "luggable loo" with wag bags instead of a portapotty.

If you want a bit more "comfort" in your camping I think you may want to consider the larger boats like the Catalina 25.
 
R

raocon

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Aug 28, 2010
12
Soon to buy Soon to buy Tacoma
Thanks Freedom 77 and Chris! All comments are appreciated.

I have looked at MacGregor 25s. There seems to be so many variations - M, C, X, D, etc. that it gets a bit confusing. I did sail on a 25X powersailor, but it seemed to be less a sailboat and more of a pwr boat with cool amenities. I also looked at an older 25M, and was not over impressed because it was old, poorly maintained, and overall just wore out.

And about the 'comfort' level, I am leaning toward a 23' to 25' sailboat that has a high-level of comfort in the cabin and cockpit. Even the Rhodes 22 has great cabin amenities with an enclosed marine head. The Hunter 25.5' is probably my favorite for comfort and it is also the most expensive in the list I stated.

My wife loves the Hunter 25.5 & even the 23.5. But she is leaning toward the Rhodes 22. Over course, the 25.5 and Rhodes are the most expensive used boats in my list.

Oh well, making my wonderful wife happy is probably worth the extra $.

Thanks Again,
Rob
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
raocon said:
....I have looked at MacGregor 25s. There seems to be so many variations - M, C, X, D, etc. that it gets a bit confusing..
Click to expand
I think you are mixing the 25 Venture/Mac with the 26's. The 25's have a heavy swing keel for ballast and the 26's have water ballast.

The D (dagger board) '85-'90 followed from '90 to '95 by the S (swing keel) were called the classics and are a displacement hull. More interior room than the 25's, but less than the X and M that followed them.

The X and now the M are the power sailors you mentioned.

There are a number of Mac's of all variations with happy owners sailing those waters. We hope to maybe have ours up there at some time. A good place to look at them and see the differences and specs is here....

http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats99macgregors.html

....also a good place to look at other boats.

About the enclosed head. I guess it depends on the couple and how they feel about that. We took ours out ....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/inside-index.html

...and moved it and use Double Doodie bags (like Wag Bags). We saw the head as a lot of wasted space that only gets used a couple times a day. We really enjoy the enlarged V-berth and more storage now that it is gone and it was hard to use anyway for any normal size person.

Good luck,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac-Venture Links
 
R

raocon

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Aug 28, 2010
12
Soon to buy Soon to buy Tacoma
Thanks Sumner and Joe for your comments.

I am not familiar with Beneteau boats, but I know the reviews on most models are outstanding. They seem to be very expensive, but I will keep my eyes open for a good 235.

And thanks for the clarification on the Venture/Mac 25 versus the Mac 26. I will look into the Venture 25. This could be another option for me.

Thanks again,
Rob
 
R

raocon

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Aug 28, 2010
12
Soon to buy Soon to buy Tacoma
Looks like I am still getting the #s on the Mac boats mixed up. I just looked at your web site, Sumner, and Wow! I love it. I won't sabotage this forum discussion, but I too have some 'fast' activities on the Bonneville Salt Flats when I was much younger.........for another discussion I guess.

Rob
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Not sure how much in a hurry you are, but in February there will be the 4th annual "Pocket Cruiser Convention" at Lake Havasu, AZ. There will be all kinds of trailerable pocket cruisers to look at, Montgomery's, Potter's, Mac's, Catalina's, O'Day's, Compac's, Hunter's, Seaward's, and more. They have over 75 boats registered so far. You'll be able to sit in them, and compare them side by side, and probably could hitch a ride in one.

Check out www.Sailhavasu.com

Don
 
R

raocon

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Aug 28, 2010
12
Soon to buy Soon to buy Tacoma
The 4th Annual Pocket Cruiser Convention sounds great! Thank Don, for the reference. I can feel a trip coming in Feb given I am not in a hurry.........the longer I wait the more cash I collect for the purchase!

Rob
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Rob.....Don't sit on the fence if your thinking of attending the "Lake Havasu Pocket Cruiser Convention". There are over 75 boats registerered from all over the country,(two coming from Ontario Canada!). So rooms are filling fast! You'll never get such a chance to actually see the boats your thinking about, or even ones you didn't think about side by side. I sold my Capri-18 after last years event to a guy that originally was looking for a Potter-19, then he compared it with a Montgomery-17, then compared them to the Capri-18 and selected the Capri-18. There will also be the old style and new Catalina-22 version to look at also, along with several versions of the Mac's,(take a look at the Mac video in the posting above.....I always had concerns over water ballasted boats until I joined up with the Venture yacht Club in San Diego and seen the stability in person of water ballasted Mac's, Hunter's and Catalina's). You'll also get to see at least one of International Marine's,(builder of the Potter's), Sanibel-18, another nice roomy pocket cruiser.

www.SailHavasu.com

Don
 
RECESS

RECESS

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Dec 20, 2003
1,505
Pearson 323 . St. Mary's Georgia
We looked at many of the boats you are looking at. Once my wife was in the interior of the O'Day 25, the decision was made. They are not the fastest sailing boats but not incredibly slow either. They designed these boats to be very roomy for a family. They are also designed so you can access all the rigging plates to keep it up. I have really enjoyed sailing, staying on, and the ease of repairs on it. I like your list, quality boats. I also really like the characteristics of having the 2000 lbs in the keel, the boat is really spectacular in rough conditions but moves easily in light winds. If you are looking at extended stays on the boat, interior size matters for us. I am 6' and the wife is 5'9". She also over packs for every occasion.

Sometimes it comes down to what is the best boat available in your area.
 
C

CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
One of my favorites was the O'Day 240......GREAT design, never sailed one, but they seemed like a nice design with a fixed shoal keel.

Don
 
S

Sterling Levie

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Sep 25, 2010
2
Precision 23 Atlantic Highlands
Have you considered a Precision 23? It's a pocket cruiser that's comfortable for daysailing, but I wouldn't recommend it for ocean cruising. The boat is well designed, and it's well supported by Precision Boat Works.

I've been sailing a Precision 23 for years, and I'm now selling mine. I've made a web site to provide extensive information and photos. That may be of interest to you if only for learning a bit about the boat. You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/Precision23.
 
JerryA

JerryA

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Oct 17, 2004
549
Tanzer 29 Jeanneau Design Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie
Precision 23 is Nice

P23 is nice. I've had mine 4 years now, and love it. Several of the others mentioned are good choices too.

JerryA
 

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sailhavasu

sailhavasu

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Sep 11, 2010
3
Montgomery 23 Lake Havasu
Raocon,

We'd love to have you join us here in Havasu Feb 14th thru the 21st 2011...we are now up to 83 boats registered. We'll have social, sailing, and seminar events daily. Watch the website for details and by all means join in on the conversation on the message board. We are a very friendly group. The exact itinerary will be firming up here pretty soon. We have to get all our speakers schedules worked around one another. Please cruise the website and check it out. You will not find a better place to get real info on trailerable sailboats. There will be lots of models (see the "who's attending" page to see who and what boats are attending). AND..you'll get to talk to the folks that actually sail them....AND the boats are on the water (usually not the case at the dealers) ...AND...more than likely of you find a boat you like you can work your way into a sail on it to check it out! There has never been a better one stop shop for trailer sailor market research! AND you are welcome to attend any of the events and or seminars...AND....we can get you the same group rates on lodging as the rest of the group. Hope to see you here!

Sean
Havasu Pocket Cruisers

www.sailhavasu.com
 
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