I recently found a Coronado 15 for sale near me that I am quite interested in. One of my requirements for purchasing my next sailboat is the ability to launch it from the beach. Does anyone know if this sailboat has the ability to be launched from the beach. Any information would be great, thanks!
CORONADO 15
- Thread starter JACOBJOHNSON
- Start date
Of course you can launch it from the beach.... although it will take a few helpers or some type of beach dolly to get it across the sand. (weighs close to 400 lbs) You can also roll it on a few inflatable fenders... ala Egyptian pyramid builder style.. that's how I used to get my Nacra across to the water... At the local lake here near Riverside I could drive my vehicle right across the hard pan beach area and launch from directly from the trailer The Coronado 15 is a pretty cool boat. you'll have a lot of fun... what's also cool is that it is built by the Capri division of Catalina Yachts... and everyone knows that Catalina customer service supports every boat they've ever built, no matter how many owners it's had... so you can get a lot of info from the factory. There's also a ton of info across the net about this great boat... here's some links below... and some YouTube vids you may enjoy.
Thank you very much for the response! That definitely helps me in making this decision. I think I will end up using the beach dolly method for launching. I also didn't know that Catalina supported its vessels like that. I'm sure that would come in handy in the future. Thanks again!
Look up boat hand beach dolly which you could use to launch small daysailors with. Make sure it has the big wheels for going over dry sand
Very fun looking boat. The beach cart sounds like the way to go.
-Will (dragonfly)
-Will (dragonfly)
The Coronado does look fun, especially if there is a racing fleet near enough for you to participate. However, I'll offer this precaution: As you can see in the photos, the Coronado is a sit-on boat, not a sit-in boat. While that is good in a sporty sense, it will generally be a wetter and less comfortable experience than a sit-in boat. Expect that friends who want to go for a relaxing boat ride will not be overjoyed to ride in a Coronado.
And be a little cautious, its intended as a two person racing boat. It will capsize. I picked one up not knowing much about it for single handing and thought it sailed great until experiencing higher gusty winds (higher elevation sailing). Capsized the boat and did not have the access hatch secured, hull filled with water and turtled. Once the hull is full of water, it looses all stability and has no righting moment. If you sail it much, you will capsize it so at the min, keep that hatch sealed and get the boat back upright as fast as possible (easy to do by standing on the centerboard). Later I watched someone trying to upright a C15 that had water in the hull.. guy wore himself out trying to do so with the boat just flopping from one side to the other. A power boat towed the C15 back in on its side and busted the mast doing so. Being in my later 50's when I was sailing that boat, I also put a float at the top - which of course will be scoffed at by the racing folks but would have gotten rid of that boat without the float. With the float, capsizes were not a big deal and I sure had a lot of fun sailing it for a few years. I would capsize it at least several times per season (Colorado - gusty winds). Young folks can just get the boat back up quickly so dont need the mast float.
Catalina also put out the C14.2 and C16.5 which I think would have been better suited for what I was looking for as a first time older dingy sailer who single hands mostly.
Catalina also put out the C14.2 and C16.5 which I think would have been better suited for what I was looking for as a first time older dingy sailer who single hands mostly.
I'll have to agree with the cautionary comments above. The Coronado 15 is often used by sailing programs in colleges and high schools. Performance upgrades are common on this boat and there are many racing fleets around the country. The rigging on the performance models can be daunting... unless you have some experience it may be better to look for something simpler, like a Lido 14, or one of the other Coronados mentioned above.
When I went through my formal sail training, we progressed from sabots to Holder 14 (like the lido 14), the lasers and hobie cats up to the J 24. Except for the J24, a keel boat, we were required to intentionally capsize each boat and show that we could get it back on its feet... before satisfactory completion of the classes and authorization to rent the boats for recreational sailing. So some good advice is to practice righting after a capsize on a calm day. Then when the real thing happens you won't freak out.
When I went through my formal sail training, we progressed from sabots to Holder 14 (like the lido 14), the lasers and hobie cats up to the J 24. Except for the J24, a keel boat, we were required to intentionally capsize each boat and show that we could get it back on its feet... before satisfactory completion of the classes and authorization to rent the boats for recreational sailing. So some good advice is to practice righting after a capsize on a calm day. Then when the real thing happens you won't freak out.
Looks like a great little boat. I am going to check it out on Wednesday and I will keep everyones advice in mind. I didn't know that it was originally intended for two, although I have to say that it almost makes me more interested in the boat. Placing a float on top of the mast is an excellent idea since I will be using it in bay/ocean locations. Thanks again for the all the information! I am sure I'll have more questions once I end up with a boat haha.