Hello everyone, pseudo-short term lurker posting for the first time. I’ve been poking around the forums here and have very much enjoyed the stories I’ve read and I can also see what a valuable resource of experience is available here. I’m hoping to get some input to help guide some of my decision making in the near term. Apologies in advance if there’s a similar thread somewhere, but my forum search came up a short.
My wife and I came to the realization that while we can’t afford real estate in our desired vacation area, we can afford a used cabin sailboat and a slip! We started poking around and researching several weeks ago and found a friendly marina with affordable fees in our area. My sailing experience is limited to a butterfly at summer camp for three summers, so I’m pretty green. The next question is the boat… we settled on wanting the following features: 29 feet or less (any longer and slip fees jump 50%), comfortable for 3-5 days, outboard motor only if possible, wheel steering, gentle and forgiving for the novice sailor and a useable onboard head. Preferably under 15K too, but that can be stretched. The boat will strictly be kept on a freshwater lake, so no blue water adventures for us. Yet. My folks toyed with the notion of a small pocket cruiser several years ago and that was the basis for the beginning of my search, which focused on Hunters, Catalinas, and Macgregors. It seems the Catalinas are suffering a bit for head room, the Macgregors stir up some seriously strong opinions (though I haven’t ruled them out), and the Hunters are a bit pricey.
My research brought me to these two boats: the Hunter 260 and 290. I’ve read some owner reviews for the 290 but I haven’t been able to find as much on the 260, so I wondered if some of you might be able to give me some of your opinions on the matter. And maybe a Macgregor 26m too. The thought of firing up a bigger outboard attached to a foam filled hull to get out of a bind caused by a rookie sailor’s mistakes is a little appealing too. Nothing is imminent at the moment, especially with the plague going round, so we’re possibly purchasing next season at the earliest. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Stories, experiences, advice, limericks, I’ll take em all.
My wife and I came to the realization that while we can’t afford real estate in our desired vacation area, we can afford a used cabin sailboat and a slip! We started poking around and researching several weeks ago and found a friendly marina with affordable fees in our area. My sailing experience is limited to a butterfly at summer camp for three summers, so I’m pretty green. The next question is the boat… we settled on wanting the following features: 29 feet or less (any longer and slip fees jump 50%), comfortable for 3-5 days, outboard motor only if possible, wheel steering, gentle and forgiving for the novice sailor and a useable onboard head. Preferably under 15K too, but that can be stretched. The boat will strictly be kept on a freshwater lake, so no blue water adventures for us. Yet. My folks toyed with the notion of a small pocket cruiser several years ago and that was the basis for the beginning of my search, which focused on Hunters, Catalinas, and Macgregors. It seems the Catalinas are suffering a bit for head room, the Macgregors stir up some seriously strong opinions (though I haven’t ruled them out), and the Hunters are a bit pricey.
My research brought me to these two boats: the Hunter 260 and 290. I’ve read some owner reviews for the 290 but I haven’t been able to find as much on the 260, so I wondered if some of you might be able to give me some of your opinions on the matter. And maybe a Macgregor 26m too. The thought of firing up a bigger outboard attached to a foam filled hull to get out of a bind caused by a rookie sailor’s mistakes is a little appealing too. Nothing is imminent at the moment, especially with the plague going round, so we’re possibly purchasing next season at the earliest. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Stories, experiences, advice, limericks, I’ll take em all.