Goodbye Paean - help me choose another boat

[JumbleDuck]

Meantime, I would like a small, cheap toy that I can take out solo around the Solent, Chichester Harbour and perhaps Poole. I am 55 and while relatively fit I do not want to end up in the water, so a racy dinghy is out of the question. However, I was wondering about some sort of camping dinghy. Add a little cover, blow up mattress, sleeping bag & camping stove and perhaps I could go on some fair weather adventures. Budget around £1k. I don't mind tatty but it has to be sea worthy. Suggestions?

How about a Hunter 490? Oliver Lee design, 16' long, small cabin, nice big lifting fin-and-bulb keel (so none of that "capsizing" nonsense), sails like a dream. Looks like this

And by a happy coincidence I have one for sale at well under your budget. Good trailer included.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Drascombe lugger, although the full rig might be a bit of a handful single-handed.

Perhaps he wants to go to windward, though? I love my Drascombe Longboat, but it has the sailing qualities of a discarded crisp packet.

 

[JumbleDuck]

IRRC A Ford Ka isn't capable of towing anything.

The original ones couldn't tow. The current model is good for 750kg..

 

[PhillM]

The Hunter looks nice. Food for thought.

I have been thinking about how to overcome my addiction to varnish and love of old wooden boats. I have found an unloved XOD from 1955 and it is basically sound. I could pop her on the drive and get her ship shape, then use her as a cruising dinghy or race in my club fleet. I have never sailed one but have seen plenty of others having a lot of fun.

Decisions, decisions ...

 

[michael_w]

I've heard a very good XOD sailor describe his boat as 'a wooden washing machine'

 

[ridgy]

JumbleDuck has given you the answer. Price is right, small enough to tow with anything and big enough to seriously contemplate spending a night on.
Also raises the possibility that someone else might actually want to come with you. Dinghies are for racing or buggering about on for a couple of hours.

 

[Tranona]

I've heard a very good XOD sailor describe his boat as 'a wooden washing machine'

Known by the younger members in Poole who have to crew on them as "gentlemens' dugout canoes"

 

[TernVI]

How about a Hunter 490? Oliver Lee design, 16' long, small cabin, nice big lifting fin-and-bulb keel (so none of that "capsizing" nonsense), sails like a dream. Looks like this

And by a happy coincidence I have one for sale at well under your budget. Good trailer included.

That's nice, but in Solentshire, it will maybe cost a fair bit to moor, or need a decent sized car to haul it out.

The XOD is worth considering, if you have any interest in racing.
Consider doing it as a partnership? You need crew and there are plenty of races to share out.
Or do what I did, take a few years out of 'big boat' ownership, buy a dinghy for a bit of racing and see how many other people's boats you can get out on. Even consider contributing in some form. Or volunteer for one of the many sailing charities.

 

[PhillM]

Thanks everyone, still lots of thinking to do.

@JumbleDuck she is one lovely boat. My problem would be with towing and mooring. My other problem is boat-love. There are so many craft that I could sail and would meet my needs, but could I love them? The whole process of boat restoration is engaging. To sail on a boat that you have had the privilege of bringing back to life is like no other experience I have ever had. I guess it is the closest a man can get to giving birth (and I have watched 5 of my own kids come into this world) . The point is I watched. Yet, I participate in restoration. The end result is co-created between the designer, all previous owners and myself.

I am going to view a 1955 XOD hull tomorrow. I can pick it up for not lot of cash and it might be my privilege to bring it back to life. It opens up both racing and solo cruising. And of course she is wooden, which is a passion of mine. Hopefully not too many £££ to restore as I still need to save for that Bluewater (sub 32 foot) cruiser!

 

[roblpm]

Thanks everyone, still lots of thinking to do.

@JumbleDuck she is one lovely boat. My problem would be with towing and mooring. My other problem is boat-love. There are so many craft that I could sail and would meet my needs, but could I love them? The whole process of boat restoration is engaging. To sail on a boat that you have had the privilege of bringing back to life is like no other experience I have ever had. I guess it is the closest a man can get to giving birth (and I have watched 5 of my own kids come into this world) . The point is I watched. Yet, I participate in restoration. The end result is co-created between the designer, all previous owners and myself.

I am going to view a 1955 XOD hull tomorrow. I can pick it up for not lot of cash and it might be my privilege to bring it back to life. It opens up both racing and solo cruising. And of course she is wooden, which is a passion of mine. Hopefully not too many £££ to restore as I still need to save for that Bluewater (sub 32 foot) cruiser!

Is the blue water boat going to be wooden too.....?!

Maybe a nice plywood RM890?! RM890 review

 

[PhillM]

Is the blue water boat going to be wooden too.....?!

Maybe a nice plywood RM890?! RM890 review

Many people went blue water in a wooden boat. But they were new at the time. 60 or more years later and it’s fair to say they are not as pristine as wooden boats once were. So, no, my BW boat will be newer grp. But it will have a wooden sailing tender!

 

[ianat182]

Many people went blue water in a wooden boat. But they were new at the time. 60 or more years later and it’s fair to say they are not as pristine as wooden boats once were. So, no, my BW boat will be newer grp. But it will have a wooden sailing tender!

I'm of the opinion that the Albacore would be about right for you. A canvas frame arrangement could be fitted over the boom and they are fairly spacious too; a decent turn of speed,towable, no spinnaker but reasonably beamy. Downnwind they do roll a bit but have room for your other half too. Pricewise they go for around a thousand and are saleable when you need to sell. I shared one for some time, even raced it in handicap ,if that would interest you.

ianat182

 

[JumbleDuck]

That's nice, but in Solentshire, it will maybe cost a fair bit to moor, or need a decent sized car to haul it out.

They dry out fine and fit in the "day boat" berths which all the marina round here seem to have ...

 

[Neeves]

I've heard a very good XOD sailor describe his boat as 'a wooden washing machine'

I do recall X-Yachts, in '80s and '90s, as being likened, by the rail meat, to submarines with a mast

Jonathan

 

[Neeves]

Many people went blue water in a wooden boat. But they were new at the time. 60 or more years later and it’s fair to say they are not as pristine as wooden boats once were. So, no, my BW boat will be newer grp. But it will have a wooden sailing tender!

Fibreglass is popular for a number of reasons, maintenance is one of them.

It depends if you actually want to sail often.

Jonathan

 

[zoidberg]

Do not let me lead you into temptation....

....but this boat was used for dinghy-camping 2-up around the Solent, the Small Isles, Lofoten, Swedish Baltic, Corsica...... for it stows on a roofrack, so goes anywhere a car can. A drysuit is indicated, as is other gear in rolltop drybags.

I set it up for 3-sails, and that was lotsafun. Perfectly capable of coastal passages, provided a careful watch was kept on the weather.

It dries out flat, on sand or mud or grass, is a lot more comfortable to sleep on the trampoline than on the bottom boards of, say, a Wayfarer..... and we could erect our tent on there, too.

 

[zoidberg]

At 55 you might enjoy a bit more comfort as an adventure turns into a SAS endurance exercise if you have to sail home to windward in a dinghy full of camping gear.

I have the feeling, now and then, that Master Neeves has spent a lot of his more recent career sailing in carpet slippers, being waited on hand and foot by some lovely young crew.....
Er, that's something we could all aspire to....

 

[Neeves]

Carpet slippers? - you have carpets in a yacht!

Uggs. It that time of year again, the nights are closing in we will need to dust of the footwear quite soon.

I'm a fairly typical husband and have no memory for dates, years, anniversaries and ages (including my own). She assures me, and anyone who has the temerity to ask, she is 35, and who am I too argue . I'm looking forward to my (and her) senior years when life might slow down a bit.

Jonathan

 

[Neeves]

deleted - double post.

 

[PhillM]

Lots of brilliant ideas here. I am having a lot of fun thinking about which way to go. I am tempted by a dinghy but not by capsizing single-handed in the middle of the Solent. I am tempted by a keel boat but there are only wooden ones within my budget. Luckily, I do love wood and have most of the skills needed, oh and I enjoy all that painting varnishing. I have even been considering buying some plans and building one in the garage.

There is no way that my partner will sail in anything less than 30 foot and it must have a separate heads, shower, cooker and fridge too. She would like it to be somewhere warm too!