pro and con of 16.5 or 18ft precision over 22ft catalina I sold my 22ft cat as I am 77 years old and still would like to sail on days not to windy,and would like some oponions on smaller boats ease of handling compared to former 22 ft.catalina would also consider a capri or catalina 16 ft thru 18 ft any info greatly appreciated ,Jib 39 out
pro and cons of 16.5 over 22ft catalina
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I should make one more comment that is more specific. My previous monohull was 17 ft and had 300 lbs concrete ballast in a stub keel. There was a small centerboard within the keel that dropped another 2 ft. the centerboard was small. It sailed up wind OK, but that centerboard and stub keel did not provide much stability. On a gusty day, you would get knocked down pretty quick. 20 mph winds was a little more than you really wanted. My current boat is larger, has more sail area, but still only has 350 lbs of ballast. I've been out in 30 mph winds and had a blast. The difference between the two boats was the fact that the swing keel on my current boat is very long - meaning fore to aft. There is only 6 inches draft difference between the two boats, but the swing keel is 3 ft deep x 2 ft fore to aft. So when you get hit by a gust, the swing keel has to plow a ton of water out of the way before the boat will heel. So while you still will eventually heel over, you have all day to react. So when you consider a smaller boat, ballast is not the only factor in stability.
Somewhere I read that a Flying Scott has a weighted centerboard, but I've not been able to find out how much it weighs, but that might be something to look into.
Somewhere I read that a Flying Scott has a weighted centerboard, but I've not been able to find out how much it weighs, but that might be something to look into.
I had a C16.5 before buying my C22. If you capsize a 16.5 it will not lay on its side. It immediately goes turtle. It took myself and two crew a lot of effort to right it. If you are planning to single hand I would be sure to carry a waterproof VHF radio to call for help if you capsize.
Ok a little more info required. Why did you sell the cat 22? Are you specifically looking for a smaller boat or an easier boat to sail single handed or ???
Nonsuch 22 keel boat so won't capsize. Simple simple rig halyard, mainsheet, choker, and reefing lines. No standing rigging, no jib
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3573
brochure
http://www.nonsuch.org/assets/docs/ns22brochure.pdf
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3573
brochure
http://www.nonsuch.org/assets/docs/ns22brochure.pdf
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There have been some people who have switched to a Com pac eclipse for easier trailer sailing. It is simpler to rig and with a tabernacle, easier to step the mast. Not really down sizing but a shift to a different style.
A non-ballasted boat will require the crew to act as ballast. Precision 165 and Precision 18 are both ballasted keel boats. The 165 uses a wing keel, and would require slightly more ramp depth to launch easily, than the Precision 18, which is ballasted shoal keel with centerboard. The P165 will probably sail more sprightly than the P18. Some people feel the P18 is more tender than other similar boats, to which I say reef early. The Precision 13, 14, 15, 16 and 185 are most commonly centerboard boats requiring crew to ballast, but the 15 and the 185 are available in a fixed ballasted keel version. If you are tired of rigging a boat, I recommend something like the P165, which only has 3 stays; less to hook up. However, the mast raising on any boat can be a chore, which gets easier with a variety of mast crutches, gin poles, or trailer cranes, or combination thereof. The smaller Com-Pac boats such as Picnic Cat and Sun Cat get much daysailer love because they are gaff rigged with simple 3 stays. A gaff rigged boat with a tabernacle hinge is easy to rig because the mast is shorter and lighter, considering the gaff holds up the peak of the sail, rather than a Bermuda/Marconi rig which requires a longer and heavier mast for tall sail area. The cat boats generally don't go to weather as well, but are great for reaches and runs. You should think about what you want out of the boat. If you just want daysails, there are many easy to rig small boats such as the West Wight Potter 15. On the other hand, if you want a usable cabin, when getting into advanced years and more limited mobility, I think a Precision 165 or WWP15 cabin may be too small and cramped. Some thought should be given to wider boats, which often have more form stability, and even with centerboards, don't require as much crew ballast.
I sail single handed most of the time and at my age I have lost some strength ,so I thought a boa t that weighs apx.1000 lbs.lighter would be easier to bring to dock when tieing up for the day ,as from now on I will just be sailing on varable days no more 20 or 25 knots just smouth sailing, I will check out the west wright potter 15
Sort of, but not always. I kind of felt that way when I went from a 17ft to a 24ft. Best thing I ever did was switch to a trolling motor, which is so much easier to control that a gas engine when docking. Clicking it on and off, means you approach is so much slower, but yet tons more controlled. You can't believe the change in confidence using electric when docking. Even the rest of my family who are passive passengers have commented how much simpler using the electric is.
I wish I had a Torqeedo sometimes. I know a 192 and a 222 who have switched to Torqeedo, as well as Com-Pac 19 and Precision 21, and on our small lake, they are doing just fine. I still have issue with the potential run time of an electric. But I think that carrying a spare battery for a Torqeedo would easily get us from one end of the lake to the other. If I were more coastal, I think I'd keep with gasoline. Some people have rigged a bigger motor mount pad, and they have both electric trolling motor for basic in and out of marinas, alongside a gasoline motor for longer cruising. But for now, it's an awful lot less expensive for me to keep my gas motor than pony up for an expensive Torqeedo with extra battery!
While the Torqueedo is no doubt a quality piece, from a functional standpoint, the 86lbs thrust trolling motor on Ebay will perform similar to the travel 1003, and depending on the choice of batteries, will have close to double the operating time/distance. All for around 300 bucks. I'm using it on a 24 ft, and found it to be great on a 26K acre lake. Cruising around the lake for 2 days with no wind, the batt indicator never came off max. At 3 to 4 knots, you should get about 20 to 25 miles out of a charge.
Daveinet, is that 86 pound thrust troller a 24v? I thought the max a 12v trolling motor would go is to 55 pounds, maybe 65 pounds. At least with the Minnkota motors, once you hit 70 or 80 pounds of thrust, they are 24v and require 2 batteries.
Keep in mind that the trolling motor props have only a 4" pitch versus the Torqeedo props that are at least 8" to 12" depending on the model.
I use both a Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 on my Capri 22 and a Minn Kota Endura 50 on my O'Day 19. The Torqeedo will push the larger Capri 22 to 5+ knots while the Endura will push the O'Day 19 at 2-3 knots. Same battery setup (four GC2 batteries for either 24 vdc or 12 vdc).
If currents or speed of return is an issue, the trolling motor may not be enough.