Damsel in distress

[Tranona]

I admit to being old now but I was only 57 when I bought my Twister.

Over the years since that happy day, I have sailed in many other types of yachts but none, except for a Rustler, has made me think of changing to anything else.

Admiral Fitzroy, the OP, has a baby to care for and, like a good mother, she will want to be confident that she and her baby are as safe as can be whatver the weather.

What could be more reassuring than being in a yacht in which even the frail and elderly feel safe?

Incidentally, I once had a surprise visit from a man whose father had owned my Twister. His father had been a senior RAF officer, stationed on Anglesey at the time, and my visitor recalled regular passages across the Irish Sea, in all weathers, with his parents, he and his wife, and a baby in a carrycot.

But that is all a very long time ago. Today is today and the OP is young (not 57!) and I would imagine perfectly capable of making her own decisions about the safety of her family.

Boats like your Twister are very much a minority interest and it is disingenuous to imply that they are the only type of boat that are "safe".

I can understand your fanaticism as I am the same about my Golden Hind, another relic from the past and highly desirable in its day. However I would never recommend such a boat for a modern small family, even though in the day many such families went off ocean cruising in one, much as I cruised around the Channel in my even smaller Eventide with my daughters.

Perhaps you need to own a modern boat to appreciate how superior they are in all respects for modern young families in today's sailing environment. To be honest also far superior for oldies as well if you want trouble free easy sailing rather than being a slave to the boat.

 

[Daydream believer]

It has varnish but you have been fooled by a crafty paint job. She is all grp.
But yes I’ve just spent a week varnishing. Won’t need to do it again for a while.
View attachment 159142

When are you going to do round the genoa track. Or does that not count?

 

[Buck Turgidson]

When are you going to do round the genoa track. Or does that not count?

I’m leaving the capping rail to go grey. Can’t scrape it in the marina

 

[Tranona]

I was in my 40s when I bought her.
More than 200 built not less.
“Bargain basement “ for a 50year old boat? Have you seen the asking price for well kept Twisters? Not the few that have been on the market for years due to their condition.
The OP specifically mentioned the CO32 and is considering shorter. For a couple with an infant a twister would be fine and plenty have had hot water systems installed.

Again you miss the point. There are boats that are far more suitable for the OPs requirements. Boats like the Twister were killed stone dead by newer types like the Centaur (which sold 10 times as many in a fraction of the time) and all the others that the introduction of GRP and massive increase in wealth spawned. If that type of boat was so superior it would have been made in the thousands, but you only have to recall the brief against which it was designed to appreciate that is a million miles away from the requirements of a young family in the 2020s - or indeed in the 1970s!

You are right - the rare "good" ones command a premium over similar size boats of that type - but they are penny numbers and would hazard a guess that buyers are also oldies. No different with my Golden Hind - rubbish ones sell for peanuts, rare good ones fetch good money in comparison with similar age/size boats. However that is not a measure of their suitability, just that there is always a small number of people who buy the boats for what they are, often like me oldies reliving their youth. Not young families with small children.

 

[rotrax]

I would take a look at a Gilbert Marine built GibSea 96. The two cabin 'Master version would be my preference.

Well built, very large interior volume and sail well.

If one can be found the prices are reasonable.

 

[Daydream believer]

I’m leaving the capping rail to go grey. Can’t scrape it in the marina

Shows the disadvantage of wood bits exposed to the elements. Not advisable at all. That knocks the Twisters with wood bits for 6 then
To be honest any older boat with wood trim will be a pain in the rear. Especially to someone with a child to care for in the interim. I think that wood trim in the heads always looks bad after a few years, due to the excess damp. Modern moulded heads look far better & easier to clean. Modern laquers seem to fair better compared to older varnished or laquered surfaces. But time will tell on that one.

 

[SaltyC]

Not a very wide boat so something to grab hold of,perfect boat I would say

The advantage of older designs, no doubt Tranona will be along to extol the virtues of nega beam and ballroom saloons shortly.

As someone who started in a Hurley 20, working upwards through the 70's. The twister is a good sea boat with fantastic seakeeping, tge correct boat in modern times with the improvements in accommodation? Not sure.
Modern AWB'S? Sorry, will upset many, but for a beginner / family I would go for comfort and seakeeping.

A mid position from old seaworthy (read wet) to the modern flat bottomed, no handholds empty space where you cannot wedge yourself and change a nappy.

 

[jac]

I’m going to go rogue.

at 30k budget any classic looking boat is going to be fairly old, possibly tired / in need of updating and given size / age / design considerations probably not much comfort And probably large genn.

I think you also need to be thinking about what the situation will be like next season and the season after when you have a 2 or 3 year old and more active / no day time sleep where comfort may come up the priority list.

I’d seriously reconsider the AWB. May not have the looks but may be a more practical solution. You can still look at the pretty ones and get your fix by crewing on them from time to time if required

 

[jac]

The advantage of older designs, no doubt Tranona will be along to extol the virtues of nega beam and ballroom saloons shortly.

As someone who started in a Hurley 20, working upwards through the 70's. The twister is a good sea boat with fantastic seakeeping, tge correct boat in modern times with the improvements in accommodation? Not sure.
Modern AWB'S? Sorry, will upset many, but for a beginner / family I would go for comfort and seakeeping.

A mid position from old seaworthy (read wet) to the modern flat bottomed, no handholds empty space where you cannot wedge yourself and change a nappy.

I remember my father having a Hurley Felicity in the early 70’s but I think expected levels of comfort have moved on. We also need to be realisti. For most people with very young families trips will probably be limited to short sails to a convenient beach in nice weather, not beating into a F7 in Novembe. Comfort is therefore relattice to in harbour performance

 

[Tranona]

The advantage of older designs, no doubt Tranona will be along to extol the virtues of nega beam and ballroom saloons shortly.

As someone who started in a Hurley 20, working upwards through the 70's. The twister is a good sea boat with fantastic seakeeping, tge correct boat in modern times with the improvements in accommodation? Not sure.
Modern AWB'S? Sorry, will upset many, but for a beginner / family I would go for comfort and seakeeping.

A mid position from old seaworthy (read wet) to the modern flat bottomed, no handholds empty space where you cannot wedge yourself and change a nappy.

Coastal cruising with a small family is not an endurance test. Do you really think a boat that is good in extreme weather is essential for such a task? I doubt changing a nappy on an infant ever crossed the mind of Kim Holman when he designed it - he wanted to win handicap races across the North Sea in all weathers. If you do think such things are important then just about everybody else has got it wrong. Remember I have one of those types of boats and would not dream of recommending it to the OP.

Amazing all the thousands of people, families, couples, charterers, beginners, experienced sailors etc get along just fine with modern boats. Only a very tiny minority in today's would buy a boat like a Twister - not picking on that in particular but to illustrate the point. If that type of boat was so desirable it would still be made in the thousands - but it is not. Of course they were successful at the time, but you have to place them in the context of the times and look at what the alternatives were. The reality is that in less than 10 years, such boats disappeared from the market as owning small cruising boats became possible for a mass market.

 

[Poignard]

I

It was a retorical question

It was meant to be a humorous answer. Sorry if it didn't amuse.

 

[SaltyC]

My prediction was correct!
Yes, sailing with youngsters is 'short hops' the reason we do the Clyde.

However, you cannot predict the 'Punami' so a stable platform is required. A modern broad beam, no handholds is challenging, an old narrow beam Boat is restricted, a compromise needs to be found.
I accept that.

 

[Wansworth]

I
It was meant to be a humorous answer. Sorry if it didn't amuse.

Trouble with written word

 

[Poignard]

Last winter we of the Twister Class Association enjoyed one of our periodic get-togethers at CA House, London.

A great weekend but what struck me, as always, was the great diversity of people who sail Twisters. People of all ages, thirty somethings to octogenarians, different
backgrounds, and some who had travelled from other countries to be there.

At dinner I sat next to a corporate lawyer from one of the big London law firms, a man who could probably afford to buy any modern yacht he fancied yet there he was, the enthusiastic owner of a 55 year old Twister. Opposite me, a doctor. Further down, a builder. Nearby a teacher.

The plain fact is, all kinds of men, and women too, love Twisters, enjoy sailing and caring for them, and often spend more money on them than their value might suggest is justified.

Some cross oceans, some stick to coasting, some are just happy restoring a beautiful boat.

My point is that your attempt to stereotype the owners of Twisters as aged luddites, trying to recapture their lost corinthian youth is so wide of the mark as to be ludicrous.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Stereotyping any boat's owners is liable to end in ridicule. You even find good guys on jetskis. Just not every time.

 

[Poignard]

Stereotyping any boat's owners is liable to end in ridicule. You even find good guys on jetskis. Just not every time.

It's as silly as defining people by their cars.

 

[underdog]

How about an Artekno H323. (Big H Boat) with standing headroom

 

[penfold]

What's magic about a Twister? I could wax equally lyrical about the socio-economic spread of people you find sailing Sigma 33s, also designed to win races offshore in all weathers, conversing with an owner just a couple of months ago who is at the end of several years of ground-up restoration(a boggling and probably alarmingly expensive exercise but he did it, even down to removing the deck and keel)and it would be equally anecdotal and irrelevant. People like what they like.

 

[Tranona]

My prediction was correct!
Yes, sailing with youngsters is 'short hops' the reason we do the Clyde.

However, you cannot predict the 'Punami' so a stable platform is required. A modern broad beam, no handholds is challenging, an old narrow beam Boat is restricted, a compromise needs to be found.
I accept that.

The proportion of time spent in conditions where the supposed benefits of narrow beam, cramped boats with lots of handholds might be valuable is simply not measurable. The essence of pleasurable family cruising, particularly with small children is to avoid getting into such situations. So why choose a boat on that basis? Go back to the OP. Cruising the Solent, south coast with aspirations for cross channel. All day sails in good weather with long stops either end in sheltered anchorages harbours or marinas. Just what the vast majority of family leisure sailors do - and they don't do it in boats like you advocate.

The club I belong to has something like 600 cruising boats in its marina or on swinging moorings located right in the middle of that cruising area. I can count on the fingers of both my hands the number of boats that fit your model, one of which is mine and almost all the rest are owned by "mature" people.

 

[Wansworth]

Hillyard 9 tonner,centr cockpit,quintessenial family boat