Sailboat recommendations please

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DSWright1

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Am looking to buy a boat:
- for under £20,000
- preferably with wheel steering (as opposed to tiller),
- 23 - 33 feet in length
- can be handled singlehandedly
- I will want to install in-mast furling (probably easyreef system)
- boom traveller preferably not in middle of cockpit (for safety reasons)
- preferably lift keel or bilge keel
- up to 20 years old
- above all though, I will trade-off on the above for something that is reputationaly seaworthy
Any recommendations? (So far have been looking at westerly pentland, seamaster 23, macwester wight mark II, etc, but none seem to match all of the above). Thanks, David.
 
[Am looking to buy a boat:
- for under £20,000
- preferably with wheel steering (as opposed to tiller),
- 23 - 33 feet in length
- can be handled singlehandedly
- I will want to install in-mast furling (probably easyreef system)
- boom traveller preferably not in middle of cockpit (for safety reasons)
- preferably lift keel or bilge keel
- up to 20 years old
- above all though, I will trade-off on the above for something that is reputationaly seaworthy]

1/ up to the length you are concidering tiller is the better option
2/ i sail 37ft s/handed no prob as long as set-up well
3/ inmast - why make a slow boat slower???
4/ traveller--if short handed its position isnt a prob
5/ boat choice -- well whats available @ the moment suggest you search all available options

good luck in your searches
 
[ QUOTE ]
[Am looking to buy a boat:
- for under £20,000
- preferably with wheel steering (as opposed to tiller),
- 23 - 33 feet in length
- can be handled singlehandedly
- I will want to install in-mast furling (probably easyreef system)
- boom traveller preferably not in middle of cockpit (for safety reasons)
- preferably lift keel or bilge keel
- up to 20 years old
- above all though, I will trade-off on the above for something that is reputationaly seaworthy]

1/ up to the length you are concidering tiller is the better option
2/ i sail 37ft s/handed no prob as long as set-up well
3/ inmast - why make a slow boat slower???
4/ traveller--if short handed its position isnt a prob
5/ boat choice -- well whats available @ the moment suggest you search all available options

good luck in your searches

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with Sailorman plus

wheels look completely silly on very small boats, tiller you get a much better 'feel' for the handling of the boat, go for a tiller.

inmast furling looks as if it is the best option for shorthanded sailing, but it often jams so you can't deploy the main, worse still, can't put it away when you need to.

At up to 20,000 there will be many boats available, some in brilliant nick, others not. Have a good look around and keep your options open. You'll know when you've found the boat for you.
 
[ QUOTE ]


inmast furling looks as if it is the best option for shorthanded sailing, but it often jams so you can't deploy the main, worse still, can't put it away when you need to.

[/ QUOTE ]

Careful, you'll have the inmast fan club pounding their keyboards in indignation!
 
You appear to have a number of specific wishes, some of which have been sensibly challenged by others. At the same time your spec for size is very unspecific (23 - 33 feet). I suggest that you need to define more clearly in your own mind what you intend to do with this boat and then your choce will become a little easier.

Just for the record, I sail a 26 footer, am frequently single handed, and have no difficulty handling a slab reefed main.
Good luck
Morgan
 
[ QUOTE ]
Careful, you'll have the inmast fan club pounding their keyboards in indignation!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm, just as well I read to the bottom of this thread before replying /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Anyway from the requirements sounds like David is after one of the smaller Moodys, many of which came with inmast reefing as standard (and bilge keels) which means it works properly.

there was a M28 on e bay recently in Cardiff within your budget, but can't access e bay at work to check.

Useful owners association:

http://www.moodyowners.net/

Pete
 
Rather too many incompatible criteria in your list. £20k is unlikely to get you a less than 20 year old boat over 29/30ft. Wheel steering will be rare as will bilge keels or lifting keels. If you can find a boat with OE in mast reefing then OK, but few of that size and age. Retrofit in mast does not enjoy a good reputation for performance, reliability and, particularly on smaller boats can seriously affect stability.

You will get a wider choice in larger sizes if you go back a decade, but will still struggle to meet all that for £20k.

Look at a few boats and narrow down your criteria to reflect what is on offer.
 
If you can put up with a fin keel, lots of 26' Mystere Flyers had wheel steering.
One in the local Plymouth paper asking £10,000. Looks tidy form the photo; Beta engine, lazy jacks, new rigging, etc.
Probably 1970's though.
 
thank-you for these responses - and I accept that I will have to forgo most of my criteria. However, the one thing which for me is essential is in-mast furling. Jamming issues aside, if I opt for a smaller boat (say 23 - 26feet), will this really cause instability on a boat this size?
 
Yes. Although I am one of the in mast furling advocates, would not touch it on a boat that size as its benefits are far outeighed by the disadvantages. Where in mast is fitted as standard the mast section is much smaller to reduce weight aloft and keep its stability. Retrofits, even on big boats can add so much weight aloft that there is a negative effect on both performance and stability. Even now you rarely see inmast furling on boats less than 30 ft.

Smaller than that a slab reefing system is much better and just as easy to handle if it is properly set up. In mast comes into its own when you get bigger boats with mainsails of over 250 sq ft where they are easier to handle.

Don't know how much sailing experience you have or where you sail, but if you are looking for a capable coastal and cross channel cruiser that can be singlehanded easily then you won't go wrong with popular boats such as Moody 27/28, Westerly Griffon/Konsort or Sadler 29, all of which can be found with bilge keels. Many, many other designs, but those 3 ranges set the standards for years and are now in the price range you are looking at.

Good hunting.
 
Out of interest, why is in mast essential and what thoughts went into forming your original list - there is a very big difference between say a 23' Pandora and a Westerly 33. a bit like thinking of buying maybe a torpedo boat or an aircraft carrier /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
how about a cat /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif persian or tiger /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
the reason for in-mast furling is that the last (and only previous boat) I owned was a 34ft beneteau with in-mast furling - I used to sail this alone and never had any problems. Other than that I have only sailed toppers / lasers, and been part of a crew on a Bavaria 42. I would not know how to raise the mainsail (let alone reef) on my own. I also would not want to be doing either from any-where other than the cockpit.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the reason for in-mast furling is that the last (and only previous boat) I owned was a 34ft beneteau with in-mast furling - I used to sail this alone and never had any problems. Other than that I have only sailed toppers / lasers, and been part of a crew on a Bavaria 42. I would not know how to raise the mainsail (let alone reef) on my own. I also would not want to be doing either from any-where other than the cockpit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say that this issue is as much to do with boat size as anything else - another reason to narrow down the size range that you have in mind. I sail a Pandora (22 ft) and before that I sailed a Varne 27. I never felt happy handling the mainsail alone on the Varne (and ultimately fitted a stackpack), whereas with the Pandora it's simply not an problem singlehanded - the sail is so small.

A stackpack with lazy jacks, incidentally, might address your problem in large part, especially if you lead lines aft from the mast to the cockpit. It's not my preferred configuration - I feel happier working at the mast - but many people do opt for it.
 
Although there is more string to pull and clutter up the cockpit, a proper slab reefing system with a stack pack and lines led back to the cockpit is perfectly manageable on your own. This is very common on the sort of boat you are looking at and you will soon get the hang of using it. As I said earlier the benefits of furling don't really come into their own until you get to mid 30s. Not to say that smaller boats are not fitted with it, but cost, particularly if retrofitting tend to outweigh the benefits.
 
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