Day sailing ... space below

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ossian72

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So guys, I’m narrowing my choices down as best i can and will be taking a look at the following boats when I can... would welcome some advice in terms of accommodation... which are more spacious for bundling kids into at a weekend?

I’m such a newbie that excitement to sail is fairly low on my wish list at this point - although maybe that’s a mistake. I’m thinking once the kids get older I’ll be able to do more singlehanded sailing or trips with my (sailor) wife, when performance etc will become more important. Anyway... my list... thoughts welcome!!!!


Jaguar 21
Hunter Medina
Anderson 22
Jeanneau Sun 2000
 
I've come a hair's breadth from buying examples of at least two of these designs, as well as others, in recent years. I primarily objected to paying too damn much for a convenient (as opposed to very inconvenient) mooring.

Not sure why you say "day-sailing", despite looking for boats that are definitely intended to allow overnighting. There are plenty of day-boats like Drascombes or keelboats like the Squib, that may be cheaper (and more numerous) if you really only want to day-sail.

The Hunter Medina currently for sale (at Emsworth I think) was asking £4,000 until lately, so the reduction to £3,500 may indicate an owner keen to sell: https://www.apolloduck.com/boat/hunter-boats-medina-20/579291
 
I suspect that budget will be as important a consideration as size, performance and handling etc.

I also suspect that you’ll receive conflicting and often contradicting recommendations.

Being “such a newbie”, your words, why not search the popular boats for sale sites using LOA and budget and see what’s available.

You’ll learn quite a lot quite quickly by simply looking at a few boats. This should put you in a better position to decide what’s important for your family aspirations.

I’ve only bought 4 boats and each time made the decision to buy almost immediate I stepped aboard. I’ve looked at dozens without having the same feeling.

At this stage in your sailing career, best to keep an open mind. Plus, viewing boats for sale is a recreational activity in its own right :)

Good luck with your search.
 
Had a Sun 2000 so the only one I can comment on.
2 Adults and 2 pretty small nippers as an absolute max. Rewarding to sail in a 'big, fastish dinghy' sort of way but tender in any sort of seaway...I have flashbacks of nearly losing it in an estuary with which I was very familiar and I'm pretty sure it would not have come back up. Also a pain for winter maintenance as it requires a high cradle to allow proper servicing of the down-belows.
After reading your previous threads I don't think it would suit.
I do think Medinas look like nice boats. Had a Hunter 272 and it was solid.
 
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Quiddle said:
I have flashbacks of nearly losing it in an estuary with which I was very familiar and I'm pretty sure it would not have come back up.
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Sounds like a recollection worth sharing in full.

I want one of these mini-cruisers (eventually), so I'd like to know how badly wrong it can all go.
 
dancrane said:
Sounds like a recollection worth sharing in full.

I want one of these mini-cruisers (eventually), so I'd like to know how badly wrong it can all go.
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Not too exciting a tale I'm afraid. I was sailing in 1.5m ish waves in about a F4. I regularly 'race' an open deck 16' gaff rigged boat in those waters and have never had an issue. Heeled at 20 deg I was hit by a slightly bigger wave and the boat heeled dramatically, rudder came out of the water, boom in the water and I started to cry. Luckily it came back up but it was an experience I would not rush to repeat.
The Sun 2000 has an iron ballast plate in the hull, the large centre board is unballasted, so I think it tends to trip easily.
 
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Well I am not going to dispute a scary experience with your Sun 2000, however I still found ours a good fun boat, though certainly tender. Needs a reef early. We sailed ours across to the Isle of Wight a few times and there are several kept in Chichester harbour. We did take water over the gunwhales and did get the adrenalin a bit high which is bad in an inexperienced crew. A very different boat to our stable Centaur we got next, but the point I was making was about trailer sailors and the ease of maintainance/storage. We did all ours on the trailer (which had its own challenges). It was a wide boat to trail too. But fun to sail in the right conditions, but you don't always get them. We slept six aboard (four children) and used to store stuff overnight out in the cockpit. Fine for the occasional overnight.
 
Yes, twins aged 9 in the v berth in the bow,then single berths midships and then two full length berth running from our feet to the stern under the cockpit sides. Not hardy campers, the Centaur a lot more comfortable, with headroom but that is a 26ft boat and more commitment to costs and maintenance. I should add the twins have not grown into hardy sailor types and in my enthusiasm I might have put them off a bit, but different children might have thrived on exactly the same experience. My daughter and older son are very happy on a boat.
 
Another Sun2000 owner which I've had for six years. It is a bit tender, but then you can't get reasonable performance without it. Certainly I've never felt unsafe, with my limits for singlehanded sailing being about 25 knots upwind or 30 knots downwind. The real win for me is the massive cockpit you get which is comparable to 30+ footers. You can sit six without a problem, whereas some other boats feel cramped with 3 or 4. That matters if you are mostly interested in weekending. Accommodation is very basic, but in boats that size you only really sleep in it, with all other living being outside.
 
We sailed in company with a family in a Sun 2000 alongside us in a Hunter Delta for several years while all our kids were less than 5. We got all the way from the Solent to Plymouth and back in a range of conditions. I would describe it as more adventurous than a larger yacht, however we faced a wide range of conditions from 0 to F5 and tidal gates. We were all very good dinghy sailors before this and that undoubtedly helped. Both having a lift keels / centerboards with the kids meant we were able to stop at a lot of beaches which really made the trip for them, although we also carried inflatable tenders that allowed us to moor in various places as well. I would not hesitate to recommend it and would do it again, although I felt more capable in the Delta of dealing with heavy weather, in fact we crossed the channel to the channel islands returning in a SW F6-7 and it coped with it well appropriately reefed.
We had a Medina before the Delta, and while we loved it it was pretty cramped down below and not as swift as the Sun2000.
Hope you get something and enjoy Chichester harbour and beyond. S
 
Out of your 4 suggestions I'd go straight for the Anderson 22. A tidy little boat and seaworthy too. Find a good one and keep it and you'll have a sprightly and seaworthy boat.

Another boat at this size is an E-Boat which is good fun, fast and sea kindly. Again, buy a good one (not that nasty one on eBay at the moment).

Bigger? As there's 4 of you you might wish to go a bit bigger in which case the ubiquitous Westerly Centaur is well worth a look, or indeed the Westerly Griffon that replaced it. These sail better and will be less worn although all of these boats will have needed proper maintenance to keep them tidy. With bilge keels these can both sit on the mud of a drying (read as: cheaper) moorings.

Another possibility could be the Spring 25 on eBay at the moment. It looks nice and is a sprightly performer. Although it can dry our upright with it's twin rudders, don't keep it on a drying mooring.

Whatever you do, make sure you get your prospective purchase checked by a knowledgeable friend (small boats) or a professional yacht surveyor (above 24'). Indeed, most insurance companies will expect a copy of your survey when taking out insurance with them.
 
langstonelayabout said:
Out of your 4 suggestions I'd go straight for the Anderson 22. A tidy little boat and seaworthy too. Find a good one and keep it and you'll have a sprightly and seaworthy boat..
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I know Seajet loves them and they are indeed tough sea boats and sail well, but as an ex owner I can say that the bulbkeel means you need to get waist deep to recover onto trailer, and the mast is v heavy to erect without crainage or rope from higher point and its not very big for overnight. Its strength also meant that it was heavy and hard to tow without my big Saab. My navigator told me that it was cramped for 2 adults so we went for a 26ft bilge. I think a launchable semi dayboat might suit for sheltered waters but you need a cruiser for anything else with a family so why not go for bilge keeler and keep it near where you want to sail?
 
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