Next boat - is my wish list achievable?

mrming

mrming

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Am starting to daydream about our next boat. I've only just got the current one up to scratch so it won't be for a while yet, but here are the criteria:

Good sailing performance. Preferably a simple fractional rig. Must go in light airs. Am happy to reef for heavy airs.

Enough accommodation for two adults and two kids for the occasional weekend / week at a time. Comfy but doesn't have to contain half a rainforest's worth of teak.

Would be amazing if it had hot and cold water and a shower.

Can be raced competitively with just 4 crew (and compete on IRC).

Preferably doesn't have an iron keel.

Am thinking sub 30 feet and the budget would be around £20k.

What would the panel suggest? Currently I'm intrigued by the MG C27.
 
Your wish list is almost identical to ours last year. We settled for a Hanse 301 at around your budget plus a tiny little bit

Not raced her yet but sails very well. She came with either laminate genoa or self tacker for when cruising short handed

I have enjoyed having 4 + 2 children on board for a long weekend which was not an option previously!

Only cold water, hot is an option or boil a kettle!

Not found the 10hp donk a problem in our very tidal cruising ground in the Irish Sea.

Lead Keel

Take your time and have a good look around as we found a massive number of overpriced, poorly maintained, older style, out of commission boats at around that price and size that looked attractive on paper but in the flesh were horrendous money pits.

In the end we settled for a relatively young boat that was in commission,very local to us, known to friends and avoided the potentially high costs and time of travelling the country, brokerage,survey fees and relocation.
 
nicho said:
TSB240 said:
....plus a tiny little bit

There's always that "tiny little bit" for some reason........sometimes become a "tiny big bit" too!
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Thats my point I'd rather a "tiny little bit" for a known entity rather than a decommissioned potential money pit!

In my recent experience it would have been foolish not to be looking at up to twice the budget in asking price and to trade off the additional purchase/sale costs!

In particular look out for recent steep reductions in price of your target boats as these indicate an owner being keen and realistic about selling.

I will admit that paying "a little more" than budget is also eased when sale of your current asset has been completed!
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onesea said:
Depends on your taste:
http://www.clarkeandcarter.co.uk/brokerage-boats/searchfullspecs.php?DocumentID=4416149
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I actually like those but it's way too big. Has to be under 30 foot really.

TSB240 said:
Your wish list is almost identical to ours last year. We settled for a Hanse 301 at around your budget plus a tiny little bit

Not raced her yet but sails very well. She came with either laminate genoa or self tacker for when cruising short handed

I have enjoyed having 4 + 2 children on board for a long weekend which was not an option previously!

Only cold water, hot is an option or boil a kettle!

Not found the 10hp donk a problem in our very tidal cruising ground in the Irish Sea.

Lead Keel

Take your time and have a good look around as we found a massive number of overpriced, poorly maintained, older style, out of commission boats at around that price and size that looked attractive on paper but in the flesh were horrendous money pits.

In the end we settled for a relatively young boat that was in commission,very local to us, known to friends and avoided the potentially high costs and time of travelling the country, brokerage,survey fees and relocation.
Click to expand...

I've been through the buying a boat abroad and spending a fortune bringing it up to scratch, so I will have no trouble following your advice this time round. In my experience decommissioned older boats are indeed exactly what you describe - a horrendous money pit. The cost of racing sails alone is serious money, never mind replacing knackered hardware and outdated electronics.

I have to say that IRC 0.880 for a 29 footer seems a little low. That could be good or bad though. :) Anyone raced against one on IRC?
 
While not satisfying all your criteria, the Contessa 28 may be worth a look. In budget and some spare for a good set of sails straight away.

Yoda
 
yoda said:
While not satisfying all your criteria, the Contessa 28 may be worth a look. In budget and some spare for a good set of sails straight away.

Yoda
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Looks a solid boat but a bit heavy for me. One criteria I should add is that it shouldn't be slower than my current boat (Benny 235) in light airs.

TSB240 said:
The 291 is its predecessor not too shabby by all accounts

http://www.hanseyachts.co.uk/readnews.asp?article=94
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Yep I did see that (we did RTIR this year). The 291 has also had some other good results which seem to confirm it can do the business on the race course. Can anyone tell me the difference between the 291 and 301? Is the 301 as competitive?
 
If racing is the main aim have a look at the J92. Pretty good under IRC and early examples are creeping close to your budget. To be honest if you want to race relatively seriously in a 30 footer and you can't countenance more than 4 on the boat it has to be an A-Sail boat. Even then you'll want more weight on the rail in the fresh stuff.

Otherwise there was a forumite with a mustang (racecruiser I think?) which seemed to pick up some results. No idea what the accommodation is like though.
 
flaming said:
If racing is the main aim have a look at the J92. Pretty good under IRC and early examples are creeping close to your budget. To be honest if you want to race relatively seriously in a 30 footer and you can't countenance more than 4 on the boat it has to be an A-Sail boat. Even then you'll want more weight on the rail in the fresh stuff.

Otherwise there was a forumite with a mustang (racecruiser I think?) which seemed to pick up some results. No idea what the accommodation is like though.
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I do like the J/92 and it's the boat to beat on IRC in our area. Problem is they have 6 or 7 on board!

What I really want is a roomy 27ish. Hence my interest in the MG C27.
 
jerrytug said:
What the feck is "an A-sail boat"?
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One of these:

88.jpg
 
mrming said:
The 291 has also had some other good results which seem to confirm it can do the business on the race course. Can anyone tell me the difference between the 291 and 301? Is the 301 as competitive?
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I am fairly sure that the 291, 301 and the 311 used the same hull mould (ex Aphrodite 291) (except sugar scoop transom on 301) same rig on 291 and 301, 311 has a double spreader set up, different internal layouts.

291 has the older style layout with heads separating forepeak and saloon. 301 dispenses with impractical "double quarter berth" and replaces it with a full width double aft berth.

This is a proper challenge for consenting adults but a fantastic den for up to three children!
 
mrming said:
One of these:

88.jpg
Click to expand...

To be honest, just up your budget and there's the perfect boat for you!

A left field option might be a cork 1720... The class is all but dead so people have been taking them and putting proper lifelines and a cuddy cabin on and rating under IRC. With some success I think. Added bonus that when the True wind is 150 to the river at 25 knots you're going to be grinning for days!
 
flaming said:
To be honest, just up your budget and there's the perfect boat for you!

A left field option might be a cork 1720... The class is all but dead so people have been taking them and putting proper lifelines and a cuddy cabin on and rating under IRC. With some success I think. Added bonus that when the True wind is 150 to the river at 25 knots you're going to be grinning for days!
Click to expand...

1720 - fastest I've ever been in a saily boat. 25 point something knots. Terrifying! See…


at about 1m45s
 
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flaming said:
To be honest, just up your budget and there's the perfect boat for you!

A left field option might be a cork 1720... The class is all but dead so people have been taking them and putting proper lifelines and a cuddy cabin on and rating under IRC. With some success I think. Added bonus that when the True wind is 150 to the river at 25 knots you're going to be grinning for days!
Click to expand...

The IRC'd 1720 is pretty cool actually, but the cabin is too small to be practical - it's just a nod to the rules:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.149987275086232.38962.114205695331057&type=3

To be honest if the budget was unlimited I'd just have two boats. Something small & silly for racing and a comfy, fast cruiser. Unfortunately we're firmly in the reality of having to compromise. Does anyone know anything about the Dehler 28? You never see them racing which makes me a bit suspicious.
 
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