Trailer Sailor - Training and size

[coveman]

A lot depends on the type of sailing you want to do - ie cruising, racing, and your budget.

Also look into the upkeep costs - the more complicated the boat the greater the costs in general.
The boats that come to my mind are the Drascombe/Devon range - not a performance boat compared to modern yachts, but hold their value extremely well and have a good Association that is excellent for newcomers such as yourself as they hold rallies around the country, which you would probably find useful. A good second hand Coaster could be bought for around £5000-£8000. Why not attend a rally as crew and then you could get an idea of the range before buying?
I had a Drascombe Longboat Cruiser and had many hours of fun with it.

If you want more performance then the Hawk or one of the Swallow range may suit, but as Swallows are relatively new the secondhand price is higher than the Hawk.

Cornish Shrimpers have a good following and again have rallies you could attend but are a heavier boat - again a high resale value.

There is an article on various trailer sailors in the latest PBO ( May 2018) issue that you may find helpful

Going on from these if you want a boat with good accommodation something like a Westerly Pageant may suffice but is heavier again and would not be a boat you could legally trail.

Probably the best bet is to join a good club where there are a variety of boats and you will probably spot the type of boat you like, or be able to crew on a few, and get a lot of help/advice from other club members.

I love my Etap but it needs legs to stand up as the lifting keel does not fully retract, but as I have a deep water mooring it does not bother me.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Most of the stern first original trailers will have become unserviceable by now. Mine was on a bow first one and relatively easy to launch and retrieve although it would have benefited from guides.

If you end up with a Leisure 17, which is intended to be trailered stern -first, it is a good idea, if you are attempting to launch off a slipway and are lowering it seaward on the end of a rope, to attach the outboard, move the anchor and chain to the lazarette and stow a couple of drums of water in the cockpit, so as to have plenty of weight aft, to prevent the whole thing upending itself onto its bow.
Don't ask me how I know this. Fortunately the Malahide Sea Scouts saved the day!

 

[pij27]

Will read the may issue with interest. Thanks

 

[coveman]

Will read the may issue with interest. Thanks

The "May" issue is already published and should be in the stores now. For some reason they always seem to be a month ahead!

 

[pij27]

Thanks. Will get the issue and read over Easter. Will also look for a suitable boat

 

[brokethebox]

Hi pij27, and all,

I'm just posting a wee message so I'll see all the future posts, mostly.

I'm also interested in a trailer sailer, for many of the reasons you are such as the ability to take it home and work on it outside the house rather than a 2 hour drive to the boat followed by the faff of getting in and removing covers, to be repeated in reverse before I can go home (been there, done that).

I'm really interested in the Norwalk Sharpie 23, an etap, or maybe a trapper ts250.

Broke

 

[TSB240]

Hi pij27, and all,

I'm just posting a wee message so I'll see all the future posts, mostly.

I'm also interested in a trailer sailer, for many of the reasons you are such as the ability to take it home and work on it outside the house rather than a 2 hour drive to the boat followed by the faff of getting in and removing covers, to be repeated in reverse before I can go home (been there, done that).

I'm really interested in the Norwalk Sharpie 23, an etap, or maybe a trapper ts250.

Trapper Ts 250 was either a fin keel (1.7M Draft) or a Colllins tandem wing keel. Not many about. There is a lovely 250 based here but the owner knows what he has is pure gold dust. They are very roomy for a 24 footer. They will easily outsail much bigger boats because of their 1/4 tonner design heritage and Ed Dubois new how to make them very quick..

I had a TS240 lift keel and miss the fun of easily beaching and relocating to new distant and warmer holiday venues by road! I don't need to bring it home any longer. I found it was easier to move home and I am lucky enough to look out the window at my new boat floating ready to go 100 yards away!

Can someone organise some nice hot weather for May and June in North Wales please?

 

[brokethebox]

Sorry TSB240, typo, yes, i meant the TS240

 

[pij27]

Interesting to read how alot of previous trailer sailor boats are now listed as day-sailors. Still opens up the search for a small vessel and the article has given me a few more names to look for

 

[pij27]

having now looked at the latest version of PBO, regarding weekend trailer sailor boats quite shocked at the prices. I know they are new but from these prices think alot of these will take a lot of years to get into my budgetary area. With that in mind, are there any ranges or makers I should look out for, both good and bad, as there a lot appearing on ebay which initially look good. My fear is buying a boat and finding that A) Not ideal for me and B) even harder to sale to rectify.

 

[Tranona]

having now looked at the latest version of PBO, regarding weekend trailer sailor boats quite shocked at the prices. I know they are new but from these prices think alot of these will take a lot of years to get into my budgetary area. With that in mind, are there any ranges or makers I should look out for, both good and bad, as there a lot appearing on ebay which initially look good. My fear is buying a boat and finding that A) Not ideal for me and B) even harder to sale to rectify.

Almost every buyer, particularly first time goes through this, and it is a truism that the first boat rarely lasts long as you really can't be sure of what really suits you until you have your own direct experience.

Two things to consider are that first there are very few intrinsically bad boats (although many in poor condition) and second in today's market "entry" costs are comparatively low.

As to prices of new boats, few builders are making much of a living and many of their customers are experienced older people who are maybe buying their forever boat - often in this type downsizing from bigger cruising boats. There is, however, still a good choice of more modestly priced boats secondhand and because of their relative simplicity it is perhaps easier to avoid buying a lemon.

As to makes and designs, there are so many and often your choice is limited by what you can find in your local area. Travelling the country can be an expensive and time consuming business so perhaps best to look in the area you intend sailing.

 

[pij27]

Thanks for that, So its really a case of picking something that looks right and is comfortable to sit in. Then get out on the water and enjoy. Building up experience to know when changing the boat what things I need

 

[solent clown]

You can have this one for free if you want it, hop on the ferry and come collect! 18ft seafarer.

s-l500 (1) by mark punksteel, on Flickr

s-l500 by mark punksteel, on Flickr
s-l1600 (3) by mark punksteel, on Flickr

s-l1600 (5) by mark punksteel, on Flickr

s-l1600 by mark punksteel, on Flickr

 

[coveman]

having now looked at the latest version of PBO, regarding weekend trailer sailor boats quite shocked at the prices. I know they are new but from these prices think alot of these will take a lot of years to get into my budgetary area. With that in mind, are there any ranges or makers I should look out for, both good and bad, as there a lot appearing on ebay which initially look good. My fear is buying a boat and finding that A) Not ideal for me and B) even harder to sale to rectify.

I would therefore recommend you join a club and crew on a few different boats to get a feel of what may suit you and then you can make some sort of judgement.

There are lots of older low price boats for sale but you really need to know what fits your requirements.

If its a day sailer you want a Drascombe may suffice - plenty of them on the market at different prices dependant on age, and good resale value if you want to trade up. Have a look at the website -http://www.drascombe-association.org.uk/smallads.php.

 

[pij27]

Now that I have taken up Solent Clown's generous offer, will be slowly exploring the solent and isle of wight as experience grows