Ideal learner boat ?

[liquorice]

My wife and I have been sailing on and off for a few years now, but always careful to leave enough gap between each sail that we have to start learning again from scratch....

We've now decided that when we get back to the UK we'll buy our own boat on which to really get to grips with this sailing thing. My question is what boat would you recommend for learning on ? We don't want to spend too much as we're bound to have a few bumps at first, but we want to get something that will give us some idea what it's like to sail something bigger if we get the bug. We were thinking along the lines of a Westerly Centaur or equivalent, and a budget of up to £15K.

Any ideas ?

We would be sailing around N. Kent/ SE England.

Thanks


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Johnjo]

If you are thinking along the lines of a Centaur then a Sabre27 will take a lot of beating,IMHO.
Its roomier than a Centaur with better performance, easy to sail, light on the tiller and very forgiving.
Got a thriving owners association as well <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.sabre27.org.uk>http://www.sabre27.org.uk</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Davydine]

Hi there,

My wife and I sail a 1969 Macwester 26 which is very solid and has pretty spacious accomodation but does not have particuarly great sailing performance. If you can find a newer one (about 1975 onwards I think) they had better designed keels and better sailing performance. On the plus side they will probably cost you less than a Centaur as to some extent you pay for the westerly name - of course this can be an advantage when you come to sell!

Another type to have a look at is the Leisure 27 it will cost you a little more than £15K but they have a good reputation and a great owners association. You could also try a Mirage 2700 or 28 which could fit the bill.

One piece of advice I was given was to just go out and buy a boat. Whatever you buy it will probably not be the right boat for you, but then you will know exactly what you want when you buy the next one.....

Happy sailing
David

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[IanPoole2]

If you are going to sail on the East coast / southern North sea - whatever boat you choose make sure you have either bilge or lifting keel - much less embaressing when you get stuck in the goo.

Also - decide if you want day sailing, weekending or extended cruising - as said before the first boat is probably short term - so easy resale is good. Ease of use and shorter LOA useful here, especially if not used for more than 1 night to 2.

Mines a Cobra 850 - there are smaller cobras for less money 700 & 750, these can be got for less than £10K.
Also look at cheap Hurleys, Jaguars, Mirages. And Sadlers are normally a very good buy.

Another idea is to try to get a boat that does n't need too much doing to it - that way you can use it straight away and GRP usually is a lot less maintenance than wood, but less attractive (though there are exceptions).


<hr width=100% size=1>