Performance with a keel

May 31, 2007
758
Hunter 37 cutter Blind River
I will in the next couple of years be looking for a smaller sport boat with a keel, one in which in a pinch I could overnight at an anchorage occasionally. One of the new Beneteau or Jenneau sport boats would fit the bill, being ocean capable, but are far out of the price range. Capri 22 and Catalina 25 appear to have a pretty good reputation for good speed and quality for the $$$. Will these boats actually plane or just surf? Would either of these fit the bill or are there other affordable performance keel boats out there with some form of accommodation? Venue northern L. Huron.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I could almost see buying a Capri 22 - for me. But I wouldn't expect it to plane. The aft sections aren't designed to support planning. Does a boat have to plane in today's world to be a sport boat? I guess so. Foil?
There are plenty of older performance boats out there available for not much money. But they are aging out. J-22, J-24, J-80, J-105, J-92 Etchells, and there are many more. Viper's are trailerable and have a large competitive fleet (No overnight capbaility). A newer boat might be a Seascape (No overnight capability) or J-70. In the Lakes area a Tartan 10, if you can find one that's not held together with duct tape, or the modern version the LS 10 ( Having slept on one I can attest it is not a cruising boat). Catalina has a 275. If you want to plane in a keel boat that you can sleep on, you're going to need a modern boat and you'll have to pay to go go.
This is a small sample I made by going thru our sailing club's directory.
 
May 31, 2007
758
Hunter 37 cutter Blind River
Thanks for the responses. I wish more had chimed in. If in Australia I would be looking at a Yachting World Diamond. Now an older boat that never took off in N. Am. but was really popular down under. Fast, planing, seaworthy and some accommodation. A 24 ft. Shark will plane but I picked up the other options by faster PHRF ratings. The S2 7.9 also looks like a good contender.