What boat- advice please

[Sunbird]

What do you recommend for a good sailing cruiser. Must sail well. The mooring dictates max length 26 foot and Bilge or retractable keel as she will take to the mud. Also not too expensive.
Many thanks in advance

Sunbird

 

[ianat182]

What Boat.......

Without a ballppark figure to work to and your location,and intended use you have too many options,but yachts you could consider might include :
The Seal22 and Seal26 both lifting keel jobs and can be trailed. Prices between £2.5 and 3K
The Sadler 25 and the Sadler 26(dearer) with bilge keels. Various prices
Westerly Pageant(23ft) ,Westerly GriffonMk2 28ft, about £9K and £14-16K.both bilge keel
Westerly Centaur(26ft)Very roomy. Usually about £10.5 to 12K(with recent engines) Bilgekeeled.
All these boats are vintage 70's and 80's and hold their prices,most are well built and have adequate headroom and loos; most will have inboard engines except the Seals, which require an outboard in the well of around 9.9hp. Look for recent engined examples of the others.
All are safe boats and well made,not very fast though the Seals can be racier if required,but all are well handicapped for club racing.
Insurance modest at around £130pa I guess.
Virgo Voyager(19ft) very roomy inside ,also bilge keeled.About £7-8K

Ther's my 2 pence worth as a starter!

ianat182

 

[TamarMike]

As you say "not too expensive" an addition to the above list could be Seamaster Sailor 23 (very similar to Pageant by same designer but usually much cheaper) or the Sabre 26. Westerlys seem to attract a premium just because they are well known. I would hesitate to add the Macwester 26 to that list as it has limited sailing capability to windward due to shallow keels & skeg and the much better 27 is a foot over your specification.