help needed on trailer sailor boat

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i'm thinking of buying my first trailer sailor.its got 2 berth
length-13' 4"
beam-5' 4"
draft-1' 1"
bilge keel

would a boat of this spec be ok to use on the sea (inshore) within reasonable sea conditions ie normal pretty calm and not to rough.

any help would be great

thanks


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depends on the boat, the location and the crew. A good small boat in the right hands can go a long way. A crap small boat in the wrong hands should not go anywhere. Good and crap cannot be commented on by dimensions alone.

If you are new to sailing you might want to ditch the idea of a cabin and get slightly larger stable dingy such as a wafarer since a cabin on a boat this size will restirct the amount of space you have for sailing her and affect performance. You can always carry a deck tent. A boat with bilge keels of 1'1" will also make more leeway that a boat with a deeper centreboard. Wafarers have travelled long distances at sea, in the right hands.

Having said that I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who can testify to having travelled a long way and had a great time in mini cabin boats.

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Sounds as if your boat could be a Redwing, the only production boat (in UK) that size that i know about. Otherwise it may be a modified dinghy. The Redwing was certainly capable of making short passages in good condtions. But you have to remember that it is little more than a ballasted dinghy, and use it accordingly.

As to whether it is 'safe' to use it - that depends on your skill and experience. Boats that size in experienced hands have sailed extraordinary distances - Frank Dyball in his Wayfarer dinghy for example. In novice hands - well just remember it is little more than a dinghy, and dont ask too much of it.

Frankly I think you would do better with something justr a little bigger - unless there is a reason for buying something quite as small! My first boat was a 17 foot Lysander - big enough to be comfortable, light enough to tow launch and retrieve easily, and seaworthy enough to put up safely with the (many) mistakes I made.

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Welcome to the Forum.

Smaller boats have crossed the Atlantic. If you can make the boat water tight and strong enough it just won't sink. However the danger lies more near the coast than away from it if bad weather springs up. ("When in doubt - stay out")

Make sure that the boat is a good sailor : that it can get you out of trouble when you make a mistake - and we all do sometimes. It is a better training and frankly just so much more pleasing when you see that you are sailing efficiently and fast.

The next consideration is comfort. If you are doing anything more than one overnight in a 13' boat for two ----> divorce !

If you look at some of the recent threads I think there may be a bilge keeled 21' Corribee coming on the market soon - but check first for modifications from standard spec. !

Good luck,

John



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Honestly think that something with that spec could, at its most ambitious, be described as an estuary cruiser. Loads of fun somewhere like Chichester or Christchurch or Poole or the East Coast Rivers, but not a tool for going very far from land.

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My advice for what it's worth....Roller reefing, outboard auxillary, bilge keel, park it somewhere with facilities. Don't rely on crew for sailing, so make sure you can manage it yourself. No bigger than 21ft although I think 13 is a bit small unless you want to get wet frequently. I'm sure lot's will disagree but hey, this only my view.....

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