East Coast boat for me?

andyb28

andyb28

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Good Morning,

I have been on a bit of a journey with boats. The short version is I had a Hunter Legend 290 (first boat), which I hoped my wife and I would sail. My wife hated sailing, so we sold it at purchased a Motorboat. Turns out, she doesn't really like boats at all. So I am looking to return to sailing as I was enjoying learning.
I am looking for a boat that I can single hand on the east coast. I am still fairly new to sailing, so am looking for something forgiving, not looking to race and like the idea of creek crawling and drying out. But will also be out in the wallet.

My mooring is in Titchmarsh and I plan to explore all around the area.
Dont want to get anything too big which is hard to get in/out my mooring so have set myself a limit of 28ft.

From my own research, I am considering a Hunter Ranger 265 / Channel 27.

I did look at a Beneteau first 285 this week, which was a lovely layout, but the fin keel is putting me off.
Are there any other boats I should be looking at?
 
You could also consider:

Super Seal 26 and it’s derivatives (Parker 275 / 285) - lifting keel / flush bottom

Beneteau First 260 - swing keel

MG C 27 - lift keel version

Dufour 1800 - swing keel version (there’s a very tidy one on eBay at the moment)

Westerly Griffon (bilge keel version)

Nothing wrong with a fin keel on the East coast btw, but having reduced draft does broaden your options on the creek crawling side and in terms of windows for tidal access.

My first East coast yacht was a swing keel Beneteau, and it was very handy to be able to lift the keel to get out of trouble.

If you want to enjoy coastal sailing I wouldn’t worry too much about the concept of “forgiving” either. Unless you’re buying a sportsboat, most small cruiser racers are very stable. Better to have a bit more sail area and the option to reef, than to have to motor everywhere in lighter winds IMO.
 
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Why does a fin keel put you off? You will get a better sailing performance & if you accidentally ground it will be safer & easier to get off a mild grounding. Most people talk about sailing up creeks but once you have been up one muddy creek you have been up them all. At low water you cannot see much except a mud wall with a bit of grass on the top.
Entry, exit to marinas is not hard to time. & a few mm on the draft does not make a big difference. Most go on about sailing over sandbanks with only 300mm below the keel but I expect they get the jitters when it gets to a metre & the 300mm is a fallicy until they are experienced.

I draw 1.8 & rarely, if ever, find it an issue. I saw my friend run aground on the Sunk sands in a bilge keel boat & it tripped over the bilge keel so it lay at 160 degrees. It was only by luck that a wave tripped it back onto its 2 keels. Fortunately the boat was built strongly & it only damaged a couple of lockers. Plus he had to rebuild the skeg & rudder. If it had not gone back up that would have been the end of the boat & possibly a crew member.

True a fin could punch through a hull, but I have run aground on the Gunfleet sands, whilst reaching at 8Kts on a falling tide with kite up & got off easily enough.
Of course a fin keel is a good compromise but not having looked at current prices I would expect them to be higher due to availability. There is the added maintenance with a fin. But all boats need maintaining.

I would also say that whilst the range of size that you suggest is perfectly Ok, a bigger boat gives a more stable platform , normally wider side decks etc- along with bigger bills of course- & is just as easy. Easier in fact, as one gets where one wants to go in less time if it is a decent design.
 
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I sail my Leisure 23sl singlehanded. Anchor most of the time. Pick up mooring etc.
Inboard VP 2001, sprayhood, ropes lead back to cockpit, bilge keels less than a metre draft.
Not a great racer but with small main and large genoa I can handle solo sailing Sea Sharp.
They are getting on a bit in age but have a keen following (and owners association) on the East Coast.
 
The Hunters you mention are decent boats for what you want.

Can I also suggest a Sadler 26, in it's day described by YM as "one of the best small cruisers for rugged offshore cruising", meets the forgiving criteria you require and as most were bilge keelers which like the Hunters sail better than earlier designs also meets your criteria for creek crawling.
 
andyb28, you may find this thread interesting to read about a similar dilema over keel depth. The idea of creek crawling seems more appealing than open water sailing, but I avoid creeks as they actually cause more problems travelling along them due to shifting channels and broken withies.

Suffolk Sailing - River Orwell - Deep Draft Keel vs Shoal Draft Keel

My advice is to find a boat you like and is in good condition, then go sailing. You have a massive choice of boats to choose from and almost anything from Hunter, Sadler, Moody, Westerly should be easy to sail and allow you to improve your sailing skills. All of these have owners associations which are worth joining to get specialist advice from other owners and participate in rallies with other owners.

If you are not a member of a club, then you should consider possibly Walton & Frinton (WALTON & FRINTON YACHT CLUB) as they do training and cruises which should assist in stretching you to achieve even more from sailing.
 
Why confine your search to grp boats? There are some excellent examples of timber boats around, designed and built specifically for our east coast rivers.
Designers including Maurice Griffiths, Alan Platt and Reg Patten come to mind.
You would have the pleasure of owning a good looking boat that has contributed to our heritage and properly cared for, would outlive all of us!
 
Many thanks for your suggestions, some good ones on here I hadn't considered and I have enjoyed looking them all up.
In particular, I have opened my search up on Parker and Sadler. However, I was hoping for something a little newer. I do also like the look of the smaller Moody's. Which again have a good reputation to being forgiving, but mainly seem to be boats from the 80's.

In respect to some of the other answers.
Sadly, wooden boats are not for me. I used to have a wooden mirror and the maintenance was an absolute pita!
Reviews of the Beneteau have put me off, I am not looking to go fast, I am much happier plodding along and certainly don't want to be screaming along on an ungodly angle :p

I understand the point about a proper keel and I am sure one day, I will change up. But I think it's important to work up to these other boats.

Please feel free to post any others.
 
The most important things to consider are related to how you are going to handle the boat on your own. Fractional rigs with small headsails, possibly self tacking are inherently easier to handle; all lines left aft and winches within easy reach of helm reduce the need to leave the cockpit; an autopilot that is easy to set up; good anchor handling equipment; navigation instruments in cockpit; engine controls easy to reach and so on. The size of boat you are looking at is likely to have most of these things already and you can improve as you go along. For the last few years I have been sailing a Bavaria 33 which I had set up specifically so that I could handle it myself - in and out of marina, control all sails, including cruising chute from the cockpit, bow thruster, remote wireless controls for anchor windlass and so on. The biggest challenge for most single handed sailors is berthing rather than sailing so look at the well established techniques for coming alongside and leaving using springs etc. You will find in a couple of seasons you get the hang of what you can and cannot do!
 
Debennut said:
Why confine your search to grp boats? There are some excellent examples of timber boats around, designed and built specifically for our east coast rivers.
Designers including Maurice Griffiths, Alan Platt and Reg Patten come to mind.
You would have the pleasure of owning a good looking boat that has contributed to our heritage and properly cared for, would outlive all of us!
Click to expand...
Perhaps the OP wants a boat to go sailing in. My wife used to say that if I wanted to do some painting there was always the lounge, the hall, the bedrooms the..... I think you get the idea :rolleyes:
 
There is a tidy looking Hustler 25.5 been sitting on the hard in Bradwell marina for a while. Not sure why it has not sold, but would be worth a punt, if still up for sale. Why not give Bradwell a call & contact the owner. Only draws about 4 ft.
My friend has one which he sails SH & does not even have an autopilot. Sails really quickly.
The new years marina fees are coming up so the owner might want to shift it before he has to pay up for another year.
 
Tranona said:
The most important things to consider are related to how you are going to handle the boat on your own. Fractional rigs with small headsails, possibly self tacking are inherently easier to handle; all lines left aft and winches within easy reach of helm reduce the need to leave the cockpit; an autopilot that is easy to set up; good anchor handling equipment; navigation instruments in cockpit; engine controls easy to reach and so on. The size of boat you are looking at is likely to have most of these things already and you can improve as you go along. For the last few years I have been sailing a Bavaria 33 which I had set up specifically so that I could handle it myself - in and out of marina, control all sails, including cruising chute from the cockpit, bow thruster, remote wireless controls for anchor windlass and so on. The biggest challenge for most single handed sailors is berthing rather than sailing so look at the well established techniques for coming alongside and leaving using springs etc. You will find in a couple of seasons you get the hang of what you can and cannot do!
Click to expand...

I think this is spot on, thank you.
Most of these things are on my shopping list, the problem is it takes a lot of time going through each boat trying to see if it's right for me.

I do think this boat needs to be a bit of a confidence booster, smaller sails and easy to dock are a big part of what I want right now.
It's difficult as most of what I look at that ticks my boxes are quite old boats. I don't really have an issue as such with that, but there seems to be a big gap between the likes of an original Hunter / Sadler and the likes of a modern French boat.

The bit I am probably more fighting myself over is the length. There are a lot more 32 foot boats that tick my boxes. I am quite comfortable sailing once out in the open water, but get very stressed if docking doesn't go right. This is only usually down to conditions and I am in a marina now. Previously when I had the Legend, I had some difficult times due to the wind either blowing us on or off. I did learn to spring off because of this. And I am guessing this wont be quite so much of an issue now I am located in Titchmarsh as its quite shielded.

Despite what others like, I really do fancy being able to creek crawl, I do it a lot in my Gull dinghy and kayak and find this very pleasant. I hope to be able to chuck out an anchor and dry out for a night. This thread has helped me think more about what is important right now.
Because of this, I am pretty sure I have limited my options to a Bilge / Twin Keeler. That brings it back to just a few boats. Probably Hunter UK and Sadler.
If age / length aren't so much of an issue, then perhaps a Moody 31 Mk2?

I would be quite happy saying the next boat that gets me away from the dark side and back sailing can perhaps be a stepping stone.
 
I think berthing is just an attitude of mind. Most can do it if they think carefully. It is not rocket science.
I am sure that the OP would benefit from assistance, if a bit nervous. A couple of hundred squids for a few hours tuition, from a local sailing school, can make things so much better. It will improve the sailing experience if one is not always worrying about entering the berth at the end of the day.
 
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