S25 sailing characteristics

[Randy]

Can anyone share with me their perspective on the sailability of the S25? There's a used one for sail here and I may go look at it. I'm a generic club racer kind of sailor and am not interested in comforts, bells & whistles etc. I would like to be reasonably competitive. Thanks for any insight you can share.

 

[gunner18203]

beer can racing in the San Francisco bay

I have an s-25, first boat i've been on that's nothaze gray. The south SF bay is windy as can be with normal summer conditions in the 15 to 25 kt.range. I sail a full main to 20 kts. then reef, this with a 90% jib. At about 25 kts. the wave period is about equal to the waterline and thingsjust get too rough even for a hair-shirt like me.Con your friends as rail meat to keep things stiff. The boat handles like a big dingy, tiller &mainsheet. Singlehanding can be a chore because the hull will not track without a hand on the helm. ( my 250 lbs. moving around might have something to do with this.) I enjoy the heck out of mine, once heeled it seems to stop at the rail and go faster or sideways but not over. I must say that with the wind we have here I've never flown thespinniker wich I'm sure would broach the boat ifhandled wrong. If the one you're looking at hasan outboard then know that waves tend to hobby-horse it out of the water in anything much over dead calm.

 

[randy]

great info.

Thanks Gunner. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Down here in Tampa it doesn't blow like it does in the legendary Golden Gate but I think I have a good idea of how it might handle nowThanks again

 

[Paul]

Randy,We have a S25 # 154 "Apocalypso". It's a wonderful family boat and we have enjoyed putting her back to A1 condition over our last two years together. But, as a racer you would do better to find a J24 for a few more $$. Not a lot of ammenity or space. But, a racer with the ability to plane and parts are always readily available.Good Luck!Paul

 

[Randy]

Thanks Paul

Grateful for the advice Paul. There's a big J 24 fleet 1 mile from my house, I have considered that boat as well. They come up for sale here and there, a little more than I want to pay but not out of reach.My real problem is I'd like to use this boat to teach my girls how to sail and I'm not sure the J is the ideal boat for that task. There's an Evelyn 26 up for grabs near here, I would like to go see it also.I'm all over the map about this as you can see. Floundering. It's hard to be cheap and picky, you know?Thanks again