Silhouette & budget boating

[m1taylor]

Hi,

I am now ending my first season with my first boat, a Pedro 17ft trailer sailer which was bought for little more than the price of small outboard. It leaks from above, needing need windows and seals. It's been fun, but I am aready looking for another boat on my meagre budget. My drying out mooring has a limit of 18ft on it. I have seen a silhouette 17ft which is old, but seems a much more substantial boat than a Pedro with proper bilge keels as opposed to triple shallow keels of the Pedro.

So, a novice here asking what Silhouettes are like? With an 18ft limit on length, any other suggestions.

Thanks

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[Rabbie]

You might consider a Sunstar 18, such a good boat I bought 2. Big sister of the leisure 17. More comfortable than a Sillouette and a better sailer. IMHO. Sailfish 18 is another nice small single-hander.

<hr width=100% size=1>A day not spent on my boat is a day in my life wasted.

 

[clyst]

The Silhoutte is an excellent sea worthy little boat a bit cramped but a good pedigree being designed by Robert Tucker. Knew one chap who regulary sailed one from Plymouth to the Channel Islands .
Do a "GOOGLE" and checkout the owners site stacks of information !!

Cheers

Terry

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[FullCircle]

Silhouette III are best, but they still sail sideways upwind. I was quite impressed by the Express Pirate. Good cockpit and quite weel thought out. Cheap too.
I think Rice & Cole have one at Burnham On Crouch.

<hr width=100% size=1>Our engine will never wear out - it only runs for 5 mins before packing it in again.

 

[oldharry]

Silhouette is a reasonable little boat, but no great shakes as a performer. . One of the best of the 17 footers is Percy Blandfords Lysander, a 60s design still going strong, with a very active Owners Association, look them up at www.lysander.org.uk. Quite a number for sale in both ply and GRP from around £600 up, and an excellent seaworthy all rounder. I Learned much of my sailing in one having started on a Silhouette, and know which I would prefer every time!

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[temptress]

HI,

I did my first non-dinghy sailing in a Silhouette. Great little boat and I often think back to the sailing I did then. We used to take Fulmar (a Mk II) across the channel to St Vast and C'bourg as well a regular cursises to the drying harbours in and around the solent/dorset/sussex coast. Had to plan carefully as we could only manage 3 to 4 knots and this was before GPS or even Decca.

But why are you changing your current boat? Going from your current boat to a Silhouette may not make much diference to your sailing or comfort.

<hr width=100% size=1>Temptress of Down
Southsea Marina
Hants

http://hometown.aol.com/temptressofdown

 

[aitchw]

Like you, I have just come to the end of my first summer with a small cruiser, with no money for something bigger. Mine is a Seasafe Dandy, 16', but with a long straight edged keel as well as bilge keels. I have decided to not to look for another yet and to get the most out of her while I gain experience of owning my own whilst continuing to sail with my friends in their bigger boats. This winter will see windows and seals replaced and some other tidying up. I am convinced that I won't gain anything until I can support something in the range 22'-25' and in the meantime can feel that I am not totally crippling the family budget and becoming much clearer about what I want from a sailboat. I honestly think you won't gain that much from an immediate change within the size constraints.

Good luck and good sailing anyway, whatever you decide.

Howard

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[justin]

I entirely agree with Howard. I too have a Seasafe Dandy which I sail on an absolute shoestring budget, and after much careful deliberation I decided that upgrading to anything less than a 20 footer would be impractical and probably achieve very little for the undoubted extra expense when compared with the benefits!

I looked at getting a Silhouette origionally, as a solid budget cruiser. However my Dandy came up at the right price and is totally bullet proof, small but perfectly formed! Like the dandy the Silhouette is an old design but I don't feel thjat that is neccessarily a bad thing. I have spoken to quite a few owners and ex owners and no one has had anything bad to say other than what you would expect for a 17ft bilge keel cruiser (cramped, leeway etc). I believe that someone even sailed a Silhouette across the Atlantic at some point! There is a review of the Silhouette available from the PBO copy service. Good luck with your deliberations.

Cheers,

Justin

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[m1taylor]

Some really useful replies.

Reason for changing from a 17ft to a 17ft - good question. Well Pedro's have an odd arrangement underneath with two small side bilge keels and a larger ballasted central one. This works fine and the ballast on the centre adds stability. But..you can't really stay on the boat when she dries out as she will lean over. With no one on board she will rest upright on the wide central keel. So you can't really anchor up overnight in an estuary - if you did you would be in for a very uncomfortable night!

So this is a low budget change due to some itchy feet (I like the sleeker look of the mk III Silhouette) and a desire for slghtly different specification.



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[FullCircle]

Tried making a pair of beaching legs? They can be really cheap!!! And you would then be able to stand it upright with you on board. Simple really.


Jim

<hr width=100% size=1>Our engine will never wear out - it only runs for 5 mins before packing it in again.

 

[aitchw]

I take your point but Jim's suggestion for beaching legs is a good one and cheap. At the end of the day it's all about having fun and if your concerns about your boat prevent that then by all means you should replace if the opportunity arises. I think lots of us who needed a very low cost first (and subsequent) boat have looked at Silhouettes and Leisure 17s and the MkIII Silhouette will probably fit the bill quite well.


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[VicS]

I don't think anyone has posted it but apologies if I've missed it. You'll find the Silhouette owners at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.soia.org.uk/>http://www.soia.org.uk/</A>

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>Ne te confundant illegitimi.</font color=purple>