Good day, I am searching for my first wind powered vessel, and I am hoping for some sound advice as far as what to choose for my first. I would prefer a trailer-able vessel. As I have plenty of parking space and not a lot of cash. I will be purchasing on a limited budget. I would prefer the vessel to have a head, small galley and at least 1 cabin. This vessel most probably will be a project boat. I am expecting to donate time and $$$$, in my pursuit of free fuel. Can you give me any ideas as what to look for?? or What to avoid?? I need something my 10yo daughter and I (6'3" 265lbs. male), can handle by ourselves. From raising the mast to sailing her. It is a dream of ours to sail the Caribbean. I would venture the guess that, I will have to get a larger vessel for this type of cruising. I have enjoyed looking at Aluminum hulled vessel's, However they are not currently in the budget. (side note...Any ideas on the size and durability to sail from the East coast to the Mediterranean??) Thank you in advance.
Looking for wise advice
- Thread starter DaddysHopeFloats
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What is generally referred to as a pocket cruiser? I have been looking at an Ericson 26, but I do not know how trailer-able it will be. or If we could set it up and sail it by ourselves.
I'd suggest the trailerable criterion eliminates the Ericson 26. It's a very nice boat but at over 9 foot beam, over 5,000 lbs., fixed keel and a spade rudder (rather than a transom hung outboard rudder) trailering will be a bear.
Thank you Neil, I have been trying to figure out what would be my best bet. I think the vessel having a cabin is my highest priority, as we would like to see spending weekends out on the water. Thank you hvbaker, I Googled the precision 18. I don't think that this boat quite fits my desires.
You'll find boats are a compromise and seldom will you find one that meets all your needs or desires. That said, I'd like to toss my first 'big' boat into the ring, a Catalina 22 swing keel.
Having been built continuously for the past 45 years there are puhlenty available on the used boat market in a wide range of conditions and for a wide range of prices. Parts are also readily available either new or on the used market.
It's a good sailing boat, constructed of reasonable quality, has a dedicated space for a porta-potty and a mini galley available. It can sleep three without converting the dinette, more if you do. Forget about privacy.
Mine was hull #51 and I enjoyed her thoroughly. Here she is in her slip in Dana Point, CA circa 1974. I preferred a slip over trailering and launching. In 1974 dollars the cost was around $60 monthly.
Having been built continuously for the past 45 years there are puhlenty available on the used boat market in a wide range of conditions and for a wide range of prices. Parts are also readily available either new or on the used market.
It's a good sailing boat, constructed of reasonable quality, has a dedicated space for a porta-potty and a mini galley available. It can sleep three without converting the dinette, more if you do. Forget about privacy.
Mine was hull #51 and I enjoyed her thoroughly. Here she is in her slip in Dana Point, CA circa 1974. I preferred a slip over trailering and launching. In 1974 dollars the cost was around $60 monthly.
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You are physically quite large and as such I believe that your best search effort will be in the local yards where you may crawl around inside and outside the boats that are available for inspection and sale. There are no really bad small sail boats some are better than others. A friend has a Macgregor Venture that they are very pleased with and she does do some cooking on it. She and her husband are both on the small side of 160 pounds.
I've owned 3 trailerable boats that had basic galley areas, porta-potties and bunks for a couple and 1 or 2 kids.
The largest was a 1995 Hunter 26 which had a dual axle trailer. This was the largest and best for overnighting and for beginning sailers. She tows with a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup. These are water ballasted and this is a proven system in these boats. They can be bought for 10 to 18k.
The smallest was a 1982 Catalina 22. It had the pop-up top with the camping canvas. It is a tight overnighter and many came with a slide-out galley. I left the galley home and used my camping gear for cooking as it was lighter and easier. This is a good little boat and there are over 20,000 of them out there. 2 to 8k with single axle trailer. Easy to tow.
I currently sail a 1982 San Juan 23. It has a single axle trailer and is easy to tow. This is the best performance boat of the three and is easy to spend up to a week aboard. They cost 3 to 6k with trailer. There were only about 600 of these made and this is the one I will float into the sunset with.
Be carefull of fixer boats. For new sailers they can be very dangerous as most persons new to the hobby do not know what is dangerous and what is not and can easily get over there head when at sea in a poorly equiped or badly repaired boat. It is a MUST that you be taken out for a sail on any boat you buy and take a person who sails with you if possible. Make the owner us all sails and demonstrate all gear to your satisfaction. Good luck
Ray
The largest was a 1995 Hunter 26 which had a dual axle trailer. This was the largest and best for overnighting and for beginning sailers. She tows with a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup. These are water ballasted and this is a proven system in these boats. They can be bought for 10 to 18k.
The smallest was a 1982 Catalina 22. It had the pop-up top with the camping canvas. It is a tight overnighter and many came with a slide-out galley. I left the galley home and used my camping gear for cooking as it was lighter and easier. This is a good little boat and there are over 20,000 of them out there. 2 to 8k with single axle trailer. Easy to tow.
I currently sail a 1982 San Juan 23. It has a single axle trailer and is easy to tow. This is the best performance boat of the three and is easy to spend up to a week aboard. They cost 3 to 6k with trailer. There were only about 600 of these made and this is the one I will float into the sunset with.
Be carefull of fixer boats. For new sailers they can be very dangerous as most persons new to the hobby do not know what is dangerous and what is not and can easily get over there head when at sea in a poorly equiped or badly repaired boat. It is a MUST that you be taken out for a sail on any boat you buy and take a person who sails with you if possible. Make the owner us all sails and demonstrate all gear to your satisfaction. Good luck
Ray
A trailerable boat requires a tow vehicle. The size and weight of the boat will be limited by the towing capacity of the vehicle. You can budget around the purchase of a boat and tow vehicle but if you intend to use what you currently drive then check the towing specs for the vehicle.
I would like to thank each of you for your words of wisdom. I hope to join you on the sea within the next 6 months. Neil, thank you for the insight on the Catalina 22. Thank you Ross for the idea of physically trying the different boats to see which will accommodate my size. Benny thank you for reminding me that size matters. However I own a semi truck, a Nissan Exterra (which is what I would like to tow this boat with. It is 4x4 and has a class 4 hitch. I have towed a friends 24' cabin cruiser with it, launched and recovered it. A bit strenuous but we managed.) and have access to a Chevy 1500 crew cab that my father owns. Let me ask about the Pearson 26, San Juan 26 & a Alberg 30 from 1968? Any ideas on the weight and being able to trailer the Pearson or the San Juan?? with my Exterra? I know the Alberg is to large. but I like her layout and she is in my price range. I really like the layout of the Pearson 26 as well, she is older than I am at being from 1974.
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I owned an Alberg 30 and I now own a Pearson 26W I have had it for 13 years I was acquainted with Carl Alberg He lived in my town. The following are my comments about both boats First the Alberg 30. Built by Whitby boat works in Ontario. Pro`s It was a well built solid safe boat. It was capable of offshore passages Con`s It was a very slow wet tender narrow boat with not much interior room for a 30ft boat It had a short water line and would not point high. I owned it for 9 years in the 70`s and was not sad when I sold it. Now the Pearson 26 W This boat was supposed to be much smaller than the Alberg 30. but in fact the interior volume was about the same except for standing head room. Pro`s The boat displaces 1/2 of what the Alberg displaces but is much faster It points higher Is more responsive and stiffer. Cons I can not think of any I am very happy with the boat except for lack of standing headroom. Any 22 or 23 ft trailer sailer is not going to have much room. Boats under 27 ft will not have standing headroom. You might think about a keel boat in a slip or mooring. The Ericson 26 is a well thought of boat Comments here are my opinions:
I owned an Alberg 30 and I now own a Pearson 26W I have had it for 13 years I was acquainted with Carl Alberg He lived in my town. The following are my comments about both boats First the Alberg 30. Built by Whitby boat works in Ontario. Pro`s It was a well built solid safe boat. It was capable of offshore passages Con`s It was a very slow wet tender narrow boat with not much interior room for a 30ft boat It had a short water line and would not point high. I owned it for 9 years in the 70`s and was not sad when I sold it. Now the Pearson 26 W This boat was supposed to be much smaller than the Alberg 30. but in fact the interior volume was about the same except for standing head room. Pro`s The boat displaces 1/2 of what the Alberg displaces but is much faster It points higher Is more responsive and stiffer. Cons I can not think of any I am very happy with the boat except for lack of standing headroom. Any 22 or 23 ft trailer sailer is not going to have much room. Boats under 27 ft will not have standing headroom. You might think about a keel boat in a slip or mooring. The Ericson 26 is a well thought of boat Comments here are my opinions:
I've owned a lot (7) of trailerable sailboats with galley sinks. The galley sink always looks cool in a boat... very homey.... but I was surprised at first to learn how seldom (never) I use the sink. It takes up valuable real estate. Becomes a catch all for junk... and the junk then flies around the cabin when on a good heel...
Don't buy the boat for the galley and if it has a galley pull it out and put something useful there (my 2 cents). I do all of my cooking in the cockpit on a camping stove (when at anchor) and you will need a bucket on board anyway so get one large enough to wash a few plates in and do that in the cockpit also. Buy a camping/cruising boat based upon the number of births you will need for your likely crew and for storage space for your gear. And make sure the V-birth is actually usable. They often look like a lot of space but on some 21' to 22' boats the v-birth ceiling is so close to the cushions that you can't turn over without smashing your shoulders into the ceiling. And ventillation is a major issue on a small boat. If you don't have air moving through the boat... you will not be able to sleep at nights... so at the very least a nice forward hatch on the bow to scoop some wind at anchor is a must.
And port-a-potties are not that bad to use... really. If you pee (etc) before you leave port... the port-a-potty becomes a "for emergencies only" kind of device and is seldom used on my boat. I maybe have to empty the potty once a season because someone could not hold it ...
Don't buy the boat for the galley and if it has a galley pull it out and put something useful there (my 2 cents). I do all of my cooking in the cockpit on a camping stove (when at anchor) and you will need a bucket on board anyway so get one large enough to wash a few plates in and do that in the cockpit also. Buy a camping/cruising boat based upon the number of births you will need for your likely crew and for storage space for your gear. And make sure the V-birth is actually usable. They often look like a lot of space but on some 21' to 22' boats the v-birth ceiling is so close to the cushions that you can't turn over without smashing your shoulders into the ceiling. And ventillation is a major issue on a small boat. If you don't have air moving through the boat... you will not be able to sleep at nights... so at the very least a nice forward hatch on the bow to scoop some wind at anchor is a must.
And port-a-potties are not that bad to use... really. If you pee (etc) before you leave port... the port-a-potty becomes a "for emergencies only" kind of device and is seldom used on my boat. I maybe have to empty the potty once a season because someone could not hold it ...
My 2 cents, avoid the McGregor 26' trailorable. I sailed on one this weekend and it was one of the worst sailing boats I have ever seen. A sunfish is more superior in a hundred+ different ways. However, if you're in the market for a strictly downwind sailing motor boat, maybe...
Remember if you have a trailerable boat you need something that is large enough to tow it and stop. So when you are doing your search be sure to keep the weight of the vessel & trailer in mind.
Especially if you are willing to consider used, you have some options. 
Among the many fine boats you may wish to consider, I'd include the Magregor 26X/M series, or the Tatoo 26.
They are Trailerable, have a galley and an enclosed head, and can move quite quickly (like crossing to the Bahamas if needed) under power. They are also nice for tubing, etc., something younger folks enjoy a lot.
Among the many fine boats you may wish to consider, I'd include the Magregor 26X/M series, or the Tatoo 26.
They are Trailerable, have a galley and an enclosed head, and can move quite quickly (like crossing to the Bahamas if needed) under power. They are also nice for tubing, etc., something younger folks enjoy a lot.
That's interesting, I tend to sail upwind more than downwind.
Any chance your ONE weekend was with a still-learning sailor?
Any chance your ONE weekend was with a still-learning sailor?
Since you said that you are looking for a trailerable boat, I would suggest you try and get your hands on a copy of Brian Gilberts "The Complete Trailer Sailor". It is a good read and gets you to ask the right questions of what type of boat is right for you. It looks like its only available in Kindle form but you might find it at your library. It helped me decide what boat would be a good fit.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Trailer-Sailor-Sailboats/dp/0071472584/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Trailer-Sailor-Sailboats/dp/0071472584/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Yes, the owner is new to sailing but I as well as several others aboard have decades of sailing experience. Center board all the way down this boat went sideways better than it went forward. If there is a secret to sailing up wind I am all ears.That's interesting, I tend to sail upwind more than downwind.
Any chance your ONE weekend was with a still-learning sailor?
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