Is 35ft really a starter boat?

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eddystone

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Idly looking at sailing magazines online. Sailing Today has a review of an Elan Expression 35 referring to it as a "good starter boat"; also references to "entry-level boat" and "good little yacht". Obviously things have passed me by in a big way - my 32ft is definitely a "finisher boat"! - no wonder there are no 25/26 footers made any more.
 
We have a 28-footer Twister which seems perfectly adequate for two of us for several weeks at a stretch. We wouldn't want a larger boat even if we could afford to buy and run it. We would only fill it with more uneccessary stuff.
 
eddystone said:
Idly looking at sailing magazines online. Sailing Today has a review of an Elan Expression 35 referring to it as a "good starter boat"; also references to "entry-level boat" and "good little yacht". Obviously things have passed me by in a big way - my 32ft is definitely a "finisher boat"! - no wonder there are no 25/26 footers made any more.
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For many people an AWB in the 32-35' range probably is a starter boat. Some bloke trying to persuade a non-sailing wife to let him buy is probably going to have to face up to it that the Contessa 26 is going to have to come off the short-list.
 
lpdsn said:
For many people an AWB in the 32-35' range probably is a starter boat. Some bloke trying to persuade a non-sailing wife to let him buy is probably going to have to face up to it that the Contessa 26 is going to have to come off the short-list.
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My wife's aspirational boat is a laser, although I think she may have left that a bit late in life. (Sincerely hope she doesn't read this forum).
 
In answer to your question: No.
The idea of the sea being populated with 35' boats where skipper and crew have little knowledge and less experience is not a happy one. We would need a bigger Solent.
As to where these boats finish up - a walk around any marina on a sunny Summer weekend will tell us - the boats might reasonably be expected to have gone sailing, but no, here they all are, secured to the pontoon and soaking up money and giving no joy in return.
I will concede that the term "starter boat" could have different meanings, and it might possibly refer to a purchase by someone who has extensive knowledge and experience gained on other people's boats (and too much money). But that's not how the term is most likely to be taken.
Sloppy journalism, perhaps driven by a need to please advertisers. And not confined to a single journal.
It brings the sport into disrepute as the upper reaches of more and more harbours become choked up with big white fibreglass blobs. Almost enough to suggest that the environmentalists might even, to some extent, have a point ..
 
blackbeard said:
In answer to your question: No.
The idea of the sea being populated with 35' boats where skipper and crew have little knowledge and less experience is not a happy one. We would need a bigger Solent.
As to where these boats finish up - a walk around any marina on a sunny Summer weekend will tell us - the boats might reasonably be expected to have gone sailing, but no, here they all are, secured to the pontoon and soaking up money and giving no joy in return.
I will concede that the term "starter boat" could have different meanings, and it might possibly refer to a purchase by someone who has extensive knowledge and experience gained on other people's boats (and too much money). But that's not how the term is most likely to be taken.
Sloppy journalism, perhaps driven by a need to please advertisers. And not confined to a single journal.
It brings the sport into disrepute as the upper reaches of more and more harbours become choked up with big white fibreglass blobs.***** Almost enough to suggest that the environmentalists might even, to some extent, have a point ..****
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Yes...if the blobs ever dropped the hook ;)
 
For most of the big manufacturers now 32' is their smallest purely cruising boat. So ST is not referring to it as a starter boat for everybody, but among the smallest boats available for those considering buying new. Not everybody who buys a "big" boat is a first time buyer. I bought my new 37' after 20 years of an old 26' and it was among the smallest and cheapest in the range that would do the job I wanted it for - so you could say for me it was a starter boat in the sense that I could do things with it that were just not possible in a smaller older boat.

All about context and perspective, not universal absolutes.
 
There was a time when a 26' boat like the venerable Centaur was considered the ideal size and most boats that were over 30' were just beyond reach for a lot of people.
Nowadays that has changed. People earn more and since the eighties it has become uneconomical for manufacturers to turn out boats that are less than 30-35' unless they build them in a country where the workers are paid the equivalent of peanuts (by Western standards).
 
35ft is perfectly handy for two, you can also single hand if you really want to. We went from years of performance dinghies to a 35ft boat, and were pleasantly surprised to find most sailing/helming was quite familiar. On the heavy side of 5tons IS different, but you learn close handling in time. I have sailed her with 7 on board, but that was just OTT. Two of us or 3 have enough living space without falling over each other. We did sail 28 and 30ft boats prior to deciding on 35ft , but found them cramped. You pays your money...
 
The same sort of remarks are made about motorboats.
I started with a 25ft , which I had for 6 years, and pleased I did.
I see people buying a 35ft boat as a first boat. They possibly frighten themselves and almost certainly frighten other people.
 
Tranona said:
For most of the big manufacturers now 32' is their smallest purely cruising boat. So ST is not referring to it as a starter boat for everybody, but among the smallest boats available for those considering buying new.
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Wouldn't they then have described it as "among the smallest boats available for those considering buying new"? I don't think alternative readings work here - the magazines are generally convinced, or trying to convince us, that 35' is about the right length for someone to start sailing in.

Tehy may be right, too, if by "sailing" they mean "having a holiday home in a marina and occasionally venturing out to motor to another marina or even put the sails up if it's a really nice day". Not, of course, that that is how all 35 foot boats are used, but I suspect it's how most 35' starter boats are used. Blackbeard has it spot on, and in my local marina I notice that the least used boats are often the longer, newer ones.
 
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35ft is about the minimum size to run profitably as a Sailing School boat...
Since most people these days start their yachting either charter holidaying or doing RYA courses, they are quite likely to be familiar with this size of boat when they come to buy.
It's still a small boat once you're south of the Lizard....
 
We have met several couples in Greece in their 55 ft starter boats! Out on the water they managed to get around, although there seemed to be a lot of motoring involved. One of the couples we spoke to was petrified of taking the boat into any port, anchoring off everywhere. Others have suffered considerable problems berthing, to the amusement of onlookers.

20 years ago a 35 ft boat was considered to be ideal for a cruising couple, and we have found that to be so. There seems to be a general belief now that 'bigger is better', applicable to motorhomes also. Magazines rarely point out the problems associated with starting in what many here would consider to be boats that are too big.
 
lpdsn said:
For many people an AWB in the 32-35' range probably is a starter boat. Some bloke trying to persuade a non-sailing wife to let him buy is probably going to have to face up to it that the Contessa 26 is going to have to come off the short-list.
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You've got a good point there.

I first took the The Old Guvnor to view a rotting Folkboat in an East Coast mud berth in mid-winter, then a Contessa, finally a Twister, which seemed huge in comparison [and which was what I really wanted all along ;)]. We bought the Twister.
 
I think the boat in question is under 33ft LOA. Not that that alters much.

To keep the boats cheap you have to flog a lot and appeal to a range of buyers:

Those blokes (generally) who have wives who dislike/loathe/are ambivalent to boats. They may be only allowed to buy one by involving the missus in looking at cushions, kitchens and bathrooms. As identified by ipdsn. In the end the wife may well leave the bloke to it, if the kids aren't interested, that is often that.
Those picked out by blackbeard. The sailing boat is a new BMW by other means. It will be a handy weekend retreat, most of it's annual miles will be on the Travelift.
Charter concerns.
Serious committed cruising families with experience of boating.


Of the lot, the design brief will favour the top three. Where you put together a specialist brief you limit the market eg racing boats and semi custom cruisers.

There is probably limited harm in a 35 foot starter boat because mostly they wont be used much.
In terms of drumming up a market, you can see why they do it. Is what, I think, I am saying.
 
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