First time cruiser

Garrett Holcombe · Oct 4, 2012

Biased answers in 3...2...1...

A Catalina 22, of course! You can find all sorts of great buys for $8k, and they even come with a slide out galley...though not the most useful out there. Best pocket cruiser/trailer sailor you can get, in my not-so-honest opinion.

sinnettc · Oct 4, 2012

Lots of options in that range for sure. Where you'll sail, what you'll tow with, what kind of amenities, how much work you're willing to do and how fast you want to get there will all affect your choice & prices.

For example, my Capri 22 doesn't have the headroom of a standard Catalina 22 but I'm faster than most of the ones on our lake.

Bonzai · Oct 5, 2012

Alot depends on your personal tolerances. Are you a tent camper type or do you need something closer to a motel room to be comfy? Personal space vs storage space needed is a prime concern. Are you a cruiser or racer type? The boats are very different. What will be your tow vehicle and destinations? Find the basic boat you can live with...draft,interior space, towability,etc...then you can make her what you want inside as far as systems, cosmetics,etc.

cb32863 · Oct 5, 2012

Define trailer sailer as well. My O'Day 25 rests on a trailer in the off season and I drove 700 miles to bring her home last year. Plenty of room and all that other stuff too...... But, its not an easy boat to haul and move about from place to place....

Tom G P-21 · Oct 5, 2012

See if you can get the book The Complete Trailer sailor

By Brian Gilbert. See if it is available through your library. Amazon has some crazy prices for it unless you get the kindle version. I just went through this research last year. It is a good read and will go over the different configurations of keel, centerboard and rigging to help you decide. Then ask yourself how are you going to use the boat, keep it on a trailer and day sail it, or launch at the beginning of the season and keep it on mooring till the end. Are you going to have a crew or single hand it most of the time? Also check your tow vehicle what is its limit. These will help you narrow down your choices. I knew it was going to be on the trailer most of the time, so I wanted something under 22ft, over 22 stepping the mast each time you want to sail gets challenging. From the book I liked the performance of a shoal keel with centerboard. A centerboard you can pull up by hand versus a swing keel that requires a winch. After doing some searching I was able to buy a Precision 21 and have been happy with it my first year.

dlandersson · Oct 5, 2012

A Macgregor 26D or 26S.

arlen1919 said:
Hey all,
I'm new here and really I was wondering what you guys think is the best trailer sailer cruiser. It must be under 8k and have a cabin that's big enough to sleep in and have a galley. Is that even possible? Thanks for all your help, Arlen

Stu Jackson · Oct 5, 2012

In addition to Tom's book idea, look at Pat Royce's Sailing Illustrated. It shows a number of trailerable boats, including detailed rigging for a C22. A C25 or O'Day 25 can be trailered with larger vehicles, too. A 25 foot boat will be twice the volume of a 22 foot boat. We spent a number of summers weekending on our C22 when it was in the water at a lake, then brought it home and trailer sailed it during the winters. Eventually bought the C25 and kept it in the water on SF Bay for 12 years, much bigger boat, standing headroom with the poptop and enclosure.

dscribner · Oct 5, 2012

We sail a Lancer 25 that we trailer every trip. Once you get the rhythm of setup, it's no big deal. On a good day, my wife and I can step, setup and launch in 45 minutes. If we do the minimum on land and finish on the water (motoring down the river) we can launch in about 20 minutes. The boat has 5'-10 head room, weighs in at about 4000 lbs loaded and drafts 30". To do it again, I'd probably look into a water-ballasted boat.

Jackdaw · Oct 5, 2012

arlen1919 said:
Hey all,
I'm new here and really I was wondering what you guys think is the best trailer sailer cruiser. It must be under 8k and have a cabin that's big enough to sleep in and have a galley. Is that even possible? Thanks for all your help, Arlen

Easy. Beneteau First 235.

Really.

Merlin Clark · Oct 5, 2012

+1 for keel/center board. I've had bigger boats with fin keels, modified full keels as well as a couple of swing keel boats, now have a keel/CB and from my experience the keel/CB is the best of both worlds.
It'll draw a little more water than the swing keels but still trailerable without paying for a lift or finding and dealing with steep ramps like a fin keel trailerable.
I don't know daggerboard boats but with sailing skinny waters I wouldn't go that way. Too much chance of damage when they run aground. Maybe a real light boat with a really strong trunk would be ok.
A friend has a Spindrift 22, another great sailing keel/CB boat designed by Jim Taylor and very much like Toms Precision 21.

anchorclanker · Oct 5, 2012

cb32863 said:
Define trailer sailer as well.

I think the consensus is a legally trailerable (no permits required) boat that keeps combined weight under 26,000 pounds.

finding41 · Oct 5, 2012

dlandersson said:
A Macgregor 26D or 26S.

I'm with dlanderson.
I did allot of research as to what I wanted. I talked to other sailors. (Just walk the docks and introduce yourself and ask about there boat. We can't help talking about "our" boat.)
Some advice I heeded was "go big" or you will be looking to buy a bigger boat in the next year. (So true, ask around what people would like added to there boat and a common answer is 2'.)
So I got a MacGregor 26D. That was my first choice then a Mac 26S then Mac 26X.
I wanted a safe, light, easy to trailer and sail, boat with lots of room inside. And I'm cheap. They come up for sale occasionally very cheaply. (Crags list)
Oh they are fast too.

kenn · Oct 6, 2012

For $8k you have lots of choices.

A friend has an O'Day 23 that is still small on the outside (easy to tow and launch) but big enough inside (for two) that you have a bit of privacy for the head, and your gear can be stowed nicely so you don't feel like you're in a tent and constantly shifting stuff around.

Our boat is 19'. She's probably too small for your criteria, but we still manage two or three outings in her every year, sometimes for 4 nights. Such boats can be had for half your budget.

Tom Hoffman · Oct 6, 2012

I have a 26' American and it has a well in the interior center that allows for 6'0" center inside head ht. It has a heavy lead keel slug encased inside a fiberglass shell. It only draws 28" and it fairly easy to get into and out of the water. They are not easy to find, but are available.

I am looking into a Westerly, made in England and is a twin keel. Built to sit on its keels when the tide goes out and built for rough water of the English Channel. I have recently seen a couple for sale that were around $6000 for a 26' boat. My preference has changed since I have learned to sail. It have a friend who has a Hunter 26 and it is a swing keel, water ballast. It is very roomy inside. My American is much less so.

I am not a small person and neither is SheWhoAlwaysMustBeObeyed (SWAMBO) so interior room is a problem some times.

Take a look at the Westerlies, they are interesting boats.

CaptDon01 · Oct 6, 2012

If your in the market for a trailerable boat that you can spend the night on, and some type of galley, or at least cooking ability,(we removed our galley, but have three ways of cooking GREAT meals), might I suggest attending the "Havasu Pocket Cruiser Convention" this coming February. There will probably be 200+ trailerable sailboats of every make and model from the past 40 years in attendance, including all 4 versions of the extremely popular Catalina-22, the C-25 and the C-250,(water ballast and wing keel versions). There will also be Capri's, O'Day's, most of the MacGregor/Venture models from the past 30 years, Hunters, Precision's, Com Pac's, Montgomery's, Potter's, and many others. You'll get to see the boats in person, sit in them, talk with their owners, and maybe even get a ride in one or maybe several. There are already over 100 boats signed up, take a look at the "Who's Coming" section to see the diversity of boats already signed up to attend. Several years ago I met a guy who came to the event thinking he wanted a Potter-19, then he also started thinking about a Montgomery-17. He seen our Capri-18, went for a ride in all three boats, and ended up buying our Capri-18. Check out the Havasu event web site at:

www.sailhavasu.com

Just about everyone is prejudice toward their particular make and model of boat, (I know I am probably the worst!). Not only will you be able to make a better decission on your purchase, but you'll get a GREAT introduction to the trailer-sailor community.

Hope to see you there......

Don

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Oct 10, 2012

Something no one has asked- how big are YOU?

A boat perfectly suitable for some one 5'7 , 5'8, 160 pounds or so, would NOT be so suitable for someone 6'4 and say 250 pounds.

Makes a HUGE difference.