Sprinter 32 vs Carter 33 vs UFO 34 for single-handed use ?

[Boo2]

Hi,

The question's as per title : can anyone give me advice as to which of Sprinter 32, Carter 33 or UFO 34 would be the best boat for largly single-handed use by a novice ? I should say my ultimate aim will be single handed cruising but will initially sail with crew (assuming I can find some...).

Ultimate aims are :

1. Round the UK
2. Probably the Med and further afield

I want a good secure boat capable of coping with bad weather and, as I already said, capable of extended single handed cruises.

Thanks for any advice,

Boo2

 

[cds8]

UFO 34

Hi

I owned a UFO 34 and sailed her short handed and found her to be a great boat. Tough, nice boat to sail, great upwind and in heavy weather, but in common with many narrow sterned IOR boats of that era a bit of a handful downwind in a blow, especially if pushed hard. I daresay the Carter 33 would be very similar.

Ours was tiller steered, and I thought much better than wheel steered versions, (a) because they're not the lightest boats on the helm, and (b) they have a lot of tumblehome, so going upwind in a breeze on the wheel steered version was a bit like standing in the way of a fire hose. The tiller was so long on ours we tended to set up the Aries vane, lead the snaffle lines forward and duck under the sprayhood = perfection!

Good room below for a small crew below, and a good sea going layout.

They can vary hugely, as many were home completed - with the usual variance in quality. Boats built by Landamores and other pro builders are well worth looking for (and some home builds. There was even a version called a Hazelwood 34 that had a rather odd interior layout built in the later days.

We loved ours and I'd say if you can find a good one you could get a lot of boat for the money.

 

[sailorman]

Carter 33
good designer ,solid. not extreme plenty of room below
the other two would need more attention to sail them to potential

 

[Ariadne]

Got to be the Carter 33, see if you can get the mast rigged 3/4 ton racing version. Ours was great fun to sail, very safe and quite forgiving as well. No problem for them down the Med or anywhere else for that matter. The previous owners of ours had done two Transats, and the Fastnet a couple of times.

 

[sailorman]

Got to be the Carter 33, see if you can get the mast rigged 3/4 ton racing version. Ours was great fun to sail, very safe and quite forgiving as well. No problem for them down the Med or anywhere else for that matter. The previous owners of ours had done two Transats, and the Fastnet a couple of times.

are we talking "Concubine" the 35 footer she was 3/4 ton. the 33 rated 1/2 Ton & a very different design

 

[mono]

Sprinter

I owned a Sprinter back in the 70s. She was fast and a very good boat to windward - with a draught of 5' 7" and high ballast ratio she stood up to her sail well, though she was initially tender, due to her relatively narrow beam of 8' 7".

I sailed her single handed without problem but mine was tiller steered without the optional trim tab - might have made a difference.

The downsides of the design, for me, were the huge cockpit (9' long), key hole cabin entry (typical Van de Stadt of the period) and large saloon windows, all of which would make her possibly a bit vulnerable in heavy weather.

 

[Ariadne]

Well there is the crux of the matter ain't it. She was a Carter 33 but was the I'm told the "Concubine". She is/was 3/4 ton class as the racing info from the RORC stated that. Anyway I've tried to upload a photo and hopefully somebody can tell me what it is.

It was the Ariadne that pre-dated the one that was smashed up in the79 Fastnet, and was bought from American the owner that died in that race.

 

[sailorman]

Well i am getting confused with the 35 footer.
that boat of yours is a Steal have it & enjoy

 

[LadyInBed]

which would be the best boat for largely single-handed use by a novice ?

Can't answer your question as to which of those boats, but IMO almost any boat of that size can be single handed, as it isn't so much the boat but how it is set up.
The other factors are experience and the ability to think ahead to envisage and plan for many different possibilities.

 

[Boo2]

... vs She 31 ?

Hi,

Just want to throw the cat among the pidgeons and ask how the She 31 looks in this lineup ? I've not been able to find LYS numbers for this boat but they look very fine, and although they're a little smaller than the Carter 33 I don't think that will be an issue for me in that I will most likely not have many people on board at one time.

I have a chance to go and view a Carter 33 and a She 31 in the same boatyard so will know my own preferences better after that but I am interested to hear other people's opinions between these two boats as well.

I'm guessing that phrases like "it depends what you prefer" and "condition and equipment make all the difference" will trip off people's tongues here , but if anyone has sailed both and wants to report their feelings about the differences then I'd be very glad to hear them.

Thanks,

Boo2