I am desiring to buy my first sailboat, I have never cruised only raced a 36 T morgan that was set up to ocean race however we raced her in the Chesapeake Bay, the boat was docked at Willoughby Spit, now I am living near Kentucky Lake, my needs are as follows I am looking for sugguestions for a stable,sound,well built trailerable, preferably with a large cabin,swing keel, age doesn't matter I am asking for sugguestions on which mfg would best fit my needs best? what to look for in buying a used boat? does anyone know the largest swing keel boat avaliable and what yr was it first made? what yr would be the best kind of got the bugs out kind of boat? I am hoping to learn from others ppl's mistakes so if ur willing to help I would appreciate ur time in responding thanks so much!!! my wife is from Lousian so there is a chance in the coming yrs we might sail down the miss river, I live right on the ohio river are there reasons u would not want a certain type of swing keel boat for river running verses lake sailing? most of our sailing will be for pleasure only purposes, however if for a few extra bucks I can get a lil better performance from a boat I assume wanting a large cabin I would sacrifice performance?? am I wrong in my thinking? alll sugguestings are appreciated sincerly BLESSEDTECH
wanting to learn
- Thread starter blessedtech1958
- Start date
- Status
Precision, Seaward, Com-Pac
Builders who are still in business and who build swing or lift keel boats include Precision, Hake Yachts (Seaward), and Com-Pac. All thier boats are available used. Precision makes a 28 footer with a big cabin, and Hake Yachts makes a 32-footer with a lifting keel. I've seen them on trailers, but you'll need a big rig to pull one. http://www.precisionboatworks.com http://www.com-pacyachts.com http://www.seawardyachts.com Precisions were highly recommended to my by some die-hard sailor types when I was looking a few years ago. Your local library will probably have several books with checklists and advice for buying a used boat. But, your eyes and nose will usually tell you quite a bit about a boats general condition and how well its been cared for. The best advice is to take a knowledgeable sailor with you as advisor and disinterested party to prevent you from falling in love with an unsuitable boat.
Builders who are still in business and who build swing or lift keel boats include Precision, Hake Yachts (Seaward), and Com-Pac. All thier boats are available used. Precision makes a 28 footer with a big cabin, and Hake Yachts makes a 32-footer with a lifting keel. I've seen them on trailers, but you'll need a big rig to pull one. http://www.precisionboatworks.com http://www.com-pacyachts.com http://www.seawardyachts.com Precisions were highly recommended to my by some die-hard sailor types when I was looking a few years ago. Your local library will probably have several books with checklists and advice for buying a used boat. But, your eyes and nose will usually tell you quite a bit about a boats general condition and how well its been cared for. The best advice is to take a knowledgeable sailor with you as advisor and disinterested party to prevent you from falling in love with an unsuitable boat.
From the hunter camp
Take a look at the 26, 260, 240, and the 23. They all are trailerable without too much fuss, the first three are water ballast / centerboard, the 23 is external iron ballast, shoal draft. The 23 is still a 23, so it is light and not any harder to trailer than any of the others (perhaps the 240 is a tad easier). If you look hard enough you can find 23's with a centerboard (which IMHO is about the best setup out there for a smallish trailerable..the system on the seaward sounds pretty neat too though)
Take a look at the 26, 260, 240, and the 23. They all are trailerable without too much fuss, the first three are water ballast / centerboard, the 23 is external iron ballast, shoal draft. The 23 is still a 23, so it is light and not any harder to trailer than any of the others (perhaps the 240 is a tad easier). If you look hard enough you can find 23's with a centerboard (which IMHO is about the best setup out there for a smallish trailerable..the system on the seaward sounds pretty neat too though)
Uh-oh
Ross, I'm not trying to be the forum police or anything, but I'd suggest you edit/delete your post. The members here look down on that...
Ross, I'm not trying to be the forum police or anything, but I'd suggest you edit/delete your post. The members here look down on that...
Seaward 32RK, plus other boats
My wife and I looked really, really hard at that boat - the problem is that Hake's production is relatively slow, so there aren't that many available in the used market. Properly equipped, a new 32RK was way out of our price range. In the end, we gave up on the swing keel idea and bought a traditional keel boat. By the way, if you discard "trailerable" for "shallow draft with centerboard", there may be other boats you can consider. For example, the Pearson 35 (Centerboard) has draft of 3ft 9in with the board up and 7ft 6in with the board down. Another example is the Sabre 34 (4ft/7ft 4in). There are others out there, with all sorts of price ranges and conditions. If four feet of draft is still too deep for you, then you really are in the "trailerable" range and you'll be dealing with the compromises required to fit a boat with wheels. Good luck with your search!
My wife and I looked really, really hard at that boat - the problem is that Hake's production is relatively slow, so there aren't that many available in the used market. Properly equipped, a new 32RK was way out of our price range. In the end, we gave up on the swing keel idea and bought a traditional keel boat. By the way, if you discard "trailerable" for "shallow draft with centerboard", there may be other boats you can consider. For example, the Pearson 35 (Centerboard) has draft of 3ft 9in with the board up and 7ft 6in with the board down. Another example is the Sabre 34 (4ft/7ft 4in). There are others out there, with all sorts of price ranges and conditions. If four feet of draft is still too deep for you, then you really are in the "trailerable" range and you'll be dealing with the compromises required to fit a boat with wheels. Good luck with your search!
- Status