Hello everyone,
I did a bit of searching around in the forums here - quite a lot actually - as well as on Google, and elsewhere (such as local Craigslist, and sailboatlistings.com for the state of California).
I am, and have been, passively shopping for a sailing dinghy. Ideally I'd love to get something like a Lido 14, but I doubt that I'd have enough room to cram it into our slip alongside our 25' Montego sloop. Certainly there is room in there near the bow (I slip her bow-first) for a smaller boat like an Optimist, or even something like a Walker Bay 8. Not so sure about a 14' boat!
In a nutshell - sometimes I would like to pop on down to the marina (we live close by) and there are times when I feel like sailing, but not rigging the boat, nor de-rigging and cleaning it up afterwards. Sometimes it's an effort/motivation thing, but generally it's a time thing (as in, I don't have enough of it!).
I'd like something that would hold myself (I am average size, weight and shape), possibly one other person but that would be a bonus, and I would go for a single-seater if it fits the bill otherwise. I'd rather not get something like a Lazer or really, anything that requires a wetsuit (though I understand that any small sailing dinghy is prone to capsizing if you aren't studious about handling it ...) and a hiking harness. I'm not really looking to do that type of high-performance dinghy racing or whatever. That said, I might prefer something slightly more capable upwind than a Sabot (of which there are many used ones for sale). I'd prefer a daggerboard or centerboard to lee boards.
Ideally I'd keep it rigged (stepped, that is) in the water, ready to go, alongside QUANTA. And ideally, I'd like to keep this as affordable as possible; that means used, and probably something cat rigged though I would love something with a jib (ideally!
).
So I have two questions, essentially:
1. what kind of boats would you guys recommend that I check out?
2. what other places to look, or tactics to search, would you recommend? for example I was considering posting a "want to buy" kind of post on Craigslist, and/or posting a similar thing on our bulletin boards down at the marina.
If all else fails, I am sort of considering a new Walker Bay 8 with the "performance sail kit" but at $2100 on sale, and excluding tax and shipping, that is about twice as much as I was hoping to spend.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. I only mentioned SoCal because I know that availability of these things tend to be localized ... and I am not willing to go out of state or pay for delivery.
I did a bit of searching around in the forums here - quite a lot actually - as well as on Google, and elsewhere (such as local Craigslist, and sailboatlistings.com for the state of California).
I am, and have been, passively shopping for a sailing dinghy. Ideally I'd love to get something like a Lido 14, but I doubt that I'd have enough room to cram it into our slip alongside our 25' Montego sloop. Certainly there is room in there near the bow (I slip her bow-first) for a smaller boat like an Optimist, or even something like a Walker Bay 8. Not so sure about a 14' boat!
In a nutshell - sometimes I would like to pop on down to the marina (we live close by) and there are times when I feel like sailing, but not rigging the boat, nor de-rigging and cleaning it up afterwards. Sometimes it's an effort/motivation thing, but generally it's a time thing (as in, I don't have enough of it!).
I'd like something that would hold myself (I am average size, weight and shape), possibly one other person but that would be a bonus, and I would go for a single-seater if it fits the bill otherwise. I'd rather not get something like a Lazer or really, anything that requires a wetsuit (though I understand that any small sailing dinghy is prone to capsizing if you aren't studious about handling it ...) and a hiking harness. I'm not really looking to do that type of high-performance dinghy racing or whatever. That said, I might prefer something slightly more capable upwind than a Sabot (of which there are many used ones for sale). I'd prefer a daggerboard or centerboard to lee boards.
Ideally I'd keep it rigged (stepped, that is) in the water, ready to go, alongside QUANTA. And ideally, I'd like to keep this as affordable as possible; that means used, and probably something cat rigged though I would love something with a jib (ideally!
).So I have two questions, essentially:
1. what kind of boats would you guys recommend that I check out?
2. what other places to look, or tactics to search, would you recommend? for example I was considering posting a "want to buy" kind of post on Craigslist, and/or posting a similar thing on our bulletin boards down at the marina.
If all else fails, I am sort of considering a new Walker Bay 8 with the "performance sail kit" but at $2100 on sale, and excluding tax and shipping, that is about twice as much as I was hoping to spend.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. I only mentioned SoCal because I know that availability of these things tend to be localized ... and I am not willing to go out of state or pay for delivery.
