family sailing - which boat?

[AB]

Hello,
I am looking for a trailer sailboat to take out with my family, and would like advice on size/models. family= 2 adults and 3 small kids, and adults have basic sailing experience. I have considered something like an O'Day 17 boat as big enough and stable/gentle enough for kids, though I have some concerns about being able to store that in my garage. have gone out on a hunter 146, and that seems fine, though hard to find used. can anyone recommend any boats somewhat like the above mentioned ones?
again, looking for stable, easy to sail with kids, small enough (with trailer) to fit into a 21ft garage space.

thanks

 

[sinnettc]

Catalina 16.5 maybe?

The Catalina 16.5 might fit the bill. As I recall, our boat on the trailer comes in at about 20 feet. The only issue is the mast which is a bit longer. Might fit catty corner if you have a 2 car garage and hang it from the ceiling.

Huge storage locker forward so plenty of room for all the carry-on stuff that goes with sailing with kids. If you get the right sized square cooler it will fit through the hatch too. The boat planes fairly easily so it's fast in fairly moderate winds. I found mine to be very stable and even made the mistake of taking it out in 20+ MPH gusts (once). We've taken it out with 2 passengers though, not 3, though I think it's do-able. Probably comparable to the O'Day you mentioned.

We just upgraded from the 16.5 to a Catalina Capri 22 which is easier for my wife, who's a bit arthritic, to move around on and we can sleep on it at the marina. We can easily take several adults and kids out on that but it won't fit in your garage (or my carport!)

Good luck!

Chris

 

[jEFF S]

17 oday daysailor

My first boat was a1968 17 Oday daysailor, nice boat,good starter small cuddy to get out of the sun and rain if necc. Three young children would be my only fear, they get bored ,not much moving around spae for them . Why not look into something along the lines of a 22 catalina or 22 oday won't fit in the garage but you will sail it longer with less headaches from the family. I realize that you want to put in the garage but is that something you could be flexible on .

 

[Steve W (NY)]

I've been there

Here is my two cents for what it is worth. You didn't mention the age of your kids, but it matters little. If you want a trailerable sailboat, here are some things to consider that really have a bearing on your families enjoyment.

1. Good boat. It needs to be easy to sail, and relatively seaworthy. An O'day daysailer is great, as well as many other boats of it's type. Make sure the sails are in good shape (not blown out). When the wind pipes up, and you have old worn out baggy sails, you will quickly become overpowered and frightened, and nobody will have fun. My old Daysailer had the above, but I didn't realize it until I sailed a freinds years later with new sails. And reef points are important.

2. Fast Set-up. Take the time to investigate how long a trailerable boat takes to set up at the ramp. I have a Sea Pearl 21 that takes 10 minutes without sweating, and it means a two hour sail is a reality. Some of my previous boats took 30-45 minutes and the family would get a little bored waiting. and since that added an hour or more, sailing from a trailer was a commitment of half a day or more. If your kids leads busy lives, your sailing oppurtuinties will suffer.

3. Towing. I bought a Capri 18 thinking its cabin would be nice for my kids and wife to seek shelter. What I failed to realize was that pulling a 3000 pound boat and trailer package is beyond (at least comfortably) even our Grand Caravan with tow package. That van gets 23mpg normally would get 14 mpg pulling that boat. That Capri also took forever to set up as well. Not one of my better decisions, but I liked sailing the boat when I did get it in the water.

4. Your family. My kids want a go fast jet ski or a water skiing boat. Period. They would be sitting on my sail boats bored wishing they were water skiing, etc. It's reality and anyone who says different has dishonest kids (said homurously). It wasn't until I had them take a learn to sail program on Sunfish that they bought into the sailing concept. Same with my wife. In other words, your dream might not be their dream.....I had to get creative and make it theirs. I bought a JY9 just for the kids that often goes with us. It's a pain, but 2 of my three kids have been bitten hard by the sailing bug. The other one might get there.

Finally, if money was no object, I'd have bought my Sea Pearl 21 when I first started. I's a great family boat for trailering, but their rarity means they don't come cheap.

Take Care,
Steve

 

[Roger]

catboats

We downsized from a C27 to a trailer sailor, as we mostly daysailed, and we wanted to 'dry sail' that is, not have a slip or a mooring (which are very, very hard to get in Cape Cod Bay).

We tried out the h170, as it is easy to rig. But we found it way too tender for our uses (and I suspect your family outing boat.)

We bought a Com-Pac Picnic Cat. Very, very stable. 12 foot cockpit! Easy and safe to sail with the forgiving gaff rig. Amazing amounts of below hatches storage. We have coolers, kickboard, fishing poles and net etc (in additon to paddle, anchor, pfd's. You could stowe inlfatables, and other kids stuff. And we rig and launch the boat in under three minutes.

If you want a small cabin, you could go up to the Suncat. There are lots of other great, stable cat boats, but they don't have the ease of rigging and launch.

Here is the compac site. And the catboat forum on trailer sailor. And I also included the Picnic Cat Association site, if you want to talk with owners, see pix, etc.

I think these boats are great for young families, although we are way past that point in our lives.

http://www.com-pacyachts.com/

http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/catboat/index.cgi

Roger
Katty Bay
PC123
Cape Cod

 

[Timo42]

I can squeeze my Venture 22-2 into

a 21' long driveway, it has to have the extendable trailer tongue taken off, and the mast oveerhangs slightly, I have had 5 people out on it comfortably, they aren't very expensive, there is room for an extra battery so the kids can run their electronics. Macgregor also made a 21' boat, very similar but older. Tim