First boat...help, please!

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srt9969

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Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a while, and now hope to garner some advice. I'm looking for a first boat, 26-28', for two people, one day skipper + one comp crew, to do day/weekend sailing, perhaps the odd week in summer, around scottish west coast, experience building. Mostly short hops, but some passages. I'd like wood, longkeel, any rig,but fancy gaff or cutter. A long list, I know, I left off loads of stuff...
Anyway, can anyone suggest appropriate candidates? I know there are a lot out there, but I'd like to get an idea of what people see as good designs in this ballpark.

Thanks in advance,

Sean
 
Hi Sean

We bought our first boat a year ago with exactly the same level of experience and criteria. With adivice from here and elswhere we ended up with a Johnson and Jago 4 tonner - Bermudan rigged cutter - 21' LOD - 25'LOA. We have spent a week onboard no problem.

A wise old salt said to me, which was very true in our case, when you see the right boat - you will know it!

One thing I will offer, (but judge the validity of this against the fact I am very inexperienced), I have found close boat handling of a 21' LOD, heavy, underpowered, classic long keeler far more challenging than the 38' to 40' fin keelers I took my RYA courses on so I wouldn't go too big.

Good luck in your search.
 
Hi there - you picked a good place to ask for advice. I'm sure someone with a lot more experience than me will give more advice regarding the boat for you but...

I have owned my 28' 1980 GRP yacht for 5 yrs now. I work full time and have a young family and I am only managing to keep up with the maintainence after a concerted effort this year. I would have loved the same boat that you are looking for but I opted for fibreglass as I knew how much work was needed to keep your boat looking good and well maintained.

Your profile doesnt say what your situation is but I would make sure you have thought out how much time you can devote to working on your boat and how much sailing time you have. I find I rarely get jobs done when the family are on board for the weekend. And then SWMBO gets a bit narky when I say I need to go back to the boat the next weekend to do jobs on her.. I know if I had a wooden classic she would just deteriorate...

Good luck with yur search and happy sailing.. owning a boat is a great feeling and the hard work is worth it!
 
Hmm, know what you mean. I work full time, with a 4 year old and an 11 year old. However, I find I can keep well on top of maintaining a 37ft gaff cutter - she is in far better condition now than she was when I bought her. A lot of it is experience and "tricks" - knowing which bits need early attention and which bits are a waste of time, plus some use of modern materials. Straight maintenance is not such a problem - the bigger issue is the tendency that we all have to want to "improve" things.

I don't think it takes me much longer to paint my topsides than my "yard neighbour", with a very nicely kept GRP boat of the same size, spends polishing his. Everything else is about the same - engine, rig, etc. Brightwork can take a great deal of time, though. Going over to Coelan has added a week to my sailing season!

Now, getting back to the original question, the good news so far as designs go is that Darwinian selection has operated quite ruthlessly on the wooden boat fleet.

Anything that was not much good has disintegrated, either during WW2 or during the past 40 years - almost all the boats that survive are good!

A good deal will depend on where the sailing area is - a Maurice Griffiths centreboarder would be wasted in a deep water area but the converse is also true.
 
Thank you all for your comments. Sorry about the profile, I just signed up and posted!
I'm studying wooden boatbuilding, so I know I want wood...
I take your point, Mirelle, about 'survivors'. Maybe I should just relax a bit, and buy whatever takes my fancy (within reason and survey, natch...).
Thanks again for your help,

Sean
 
The Scottish West Coast is not my sailing area, so I cannot usefully say much on what boats might be best, other than the general observations that its mostly deep water, and windward ability is considered very handy to have, there. So... perhaps something Bermudian rigged, with a deepish keel and long ends, of a roughly Metre-boatish sort of shape?

Time spent in a car, driving round the sailing centres, looking at boats and chatting to people, can come in very handy, esescially at this time of year.
 
Hi,
Hope you find the right boat for you, there's some pretty good advice here.
Out of interest, where are you studying boatbuilding? Is it an apprenticeship, or at a college? I only ask 'cos there have been various discussions and threads here looking for advice and reviews. Interested to hear what you're doing and what you think of it.
All the best! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I saw this rather beautiful 27' Bangor S class for sale in Wooden Ships . Looks like it might fit your requirements and has a handy cutter rig too.

1602148_1_thumb.jpg
 
Thanks for the wooden ships tip, for some reason I have neglected that site.
Jesse, I'm at IBTC, same as you were....so I'm sure you've highlighted the superior quality of the experience, and therefore the excellent standard of its graduates...

Sean
 
That's a very good point about painting / polishing.
I could prepare, undercoat and gloss my Stella in a weekend and it looked as if I had achieved something.
Now I spend several weekends polishing my plastic topsides and they don't look much different to when I started.
 
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