What Boat?

[Cameron]

I am lucky to have access through my parents in law to a farmhouse on the west coast of scotland. Looking to buy my first boat I have been given the following advice:-

Dont buy a boat under 26 feet
The smaller the boat the more you will use it
Buy a cheap used boat until you know what you want

I am thinking of getting something trailerable to avoid marina fees (my in laws also have a big 4wd- I am very lucky!). My thinking is for something like a seal 22 with lifting keel. I am 6'4 with an expecting wife. Is this going to be safe enough for day/weekend sailing from the farmhouse as a base?

We are going on a skippered charter in greece this autumn which will include some tuition. We are both mildly competent dingy sailors. Should I be doing a course before buying and if so which one?

Any advice is gratefully recieved.

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[AliM]

You certainly should get to grips with navigation - either a shore-based evening class or a correspondence course. It should give you enough information to avoid all those rocks! Otherwise, I suggest booking an own-boat tuition for a few days when you have your own boat, because that will be tailored to your own requirements (ie you probably have enough sailing experience from your dinghy days, so it could concentrate on the stuff that's more unfamiliar.

Others, far more experienced than I, will tell you about boat choices.

Sounds great fun - enjoy it!

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[Evadne]

Try and sail as many different types of boats as you can before taking the plunge. Finding out whether you like a traditional long-keeler or a lightweight flyer is something you'll have to decide for yourself.
If the former, I can recommend the Elizabethan 23 although she's a drop keel rather than a trailerable centreboarder, with less than zero headroom. She does sail extremely well though. The Shrimper is a popular, solid type of boat with more accomodation. Another favourite of mine is the Memory gaff rigged 19 footer.

Whatever you get, you are in a lovely part of the world so with your own "mooring", you should enjoy whichever boat you end up with.

I'd echo the advice on a course, local evening classes are the cheapest and best for navigation at this time of year ("Dazed Kipper" is a good place to start) and you'll meet some like-minded folk.
The advice you've been given on buying a boat is also good, but I'd add "buy the biggest boat you feel you can handle, because after a week she'll seem quite small".


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[Colvic Watson]

A couple of thoughts from someone who has just made the move from dinghy's (again) :

26' is a big increase from a dinghy, your description of your family circumstances suggests that there is going to be quite a bit of singlehanded sailing and for the inexperienced 19/20 foot is much easier singlehanded. After a few years most people can comfortably singlehanded boats up to 30' but it's a big learning curve.

Most of us think we will use the trailable aspect of a trailer sailer a LOT more than we end up doing! Buy something that is a safe fun sail.

With a baby the cabin will only be used for making tea and sheltering from the rain (no week long cruises round the coast) so headroom is not so important.

Older boats give you much more for your money and make a financially safe route into cruising.

All the best for the imminent arrival!

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[asj1]

The trailerable aspect of a trailer sailor won't be used very much! They all take too long to raise the mast rig up etc and you have to get wet to do it. Look on the trailer part of the equation as useful for winter storage at the farm, and first look at where you are going to keep the boat when it is on the water. If you can lay a mooring and keep the boat afloat at your in-laws for the 4-5 summer months and then trailer it away via a local slipway then you've got it cracked!

Whatever age the boat you buy will require regular maintence - try and buy one where the owner has kept this up to date otherwise you will end up with an expensive backlog.

I can't comment on particular models but there are a lot of small old yachts out there. The better known the make and model the easier it will be to re-sell, but possibly more expensive to buy.

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[Thistle]

<The trailerable aspect of a trailer sailor won't be used very much!>

I wouldn't say that anywhere near a Drascombe owner! Wonderful seaworthy boats which are easy to handle afloat and remarkably little problem to launch and recover. All helped by an active <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.drascombe-association.org.uk>owners association</A>.

Main trouble seems to be getting hold of one: the fact that they sell almost as soon as they are advertised is an excellent recommendation in itself.

Totally agree about the day skipper course and / or a few days own boat tuition on tidal waters.

Above all, enjoy it! Best wishes to the new family!



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[Cameron]

Thanks for all this- this is a great site.

There are moorings at the farmhouse so from what you say I dont need to go too much on the light and trailerable side. I was initially very interested in Drascombes- having seen one sail past when I was fishing up there. They do seem very expensive for what you get though. Am I right to say that this is paying for a novelty value or are you actually getting what you pay for?

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[simonfraser]

don't mess with trailer sailors you'll have enuf on your plate with a new baby.
swinging mooring, less to hit when your moor up. use a danboy with a pole.
shallow draft to get into creeks? centre board perhaps.
but, who do you want on the boat wife and kids, or just yourself?



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[Cameron]

Wife and kids will come. Dont tell her i said so but my wife is a much better sailor than me.

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[Cameron]

Having looked over all of thos I think the seal 22 might be a good bet- apparently you fold back the coachroof to make a bigger usable cockpit. They seem pretty well priced as well.

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[machurley22]

Can't let this thread go by without putting in a plug for the Hurley 22.

If you sail the West coast, as I do, there is mostly plenty of water so I can't see any real need for a lifting keel. The Hurley can be towed with a large 4x4 if you get one with a trailer. Big enough for 2 adults and 2 (smaller) children. Lots of them were built and they are still very popular and so are easy to buy or sell at reasonable prices. Above all a safe and seaworthy first boat for a man with increasing responsibilities!

Have a look at the website or the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hurleyowners/>Newsgroup on Yahoo or even <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.daveprkl.supanet.com/index1.html>Silkie's</A> wee website.

Dave

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[Inselaffe]

Hi,

because of your post I finally got around to posting the info about an ETAP 22 that I found out when I was in a similar position to you last year (albeit in Germany).

maybe helpful, maybe not. Another possibility anyway.

But I'm sure you'll get loads of great advice from the many far more knowledgeable than me on this forum.

I also looked seriously at hurley 22 as a safe option, but in my case didn't want bilge keel version and fin keel version no good for my sandbanky area. presumably not a problem for you though. Didn't know the SEAL 22 though. Also thought of Sonata, but maybe ok for me and mates but wasn't sure with Girly and me, think I was right. etc etc etc

Lots of possibilities, sometimes I wished there weren't so many possibilities!

have fun

Leigh



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[simonfraser]

unless you are very brave, get a caravan, much easier!

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[Colvic Watson]

Sailed a Hurley 22 for a while many years ago, and I agree it's a great boat - came in fin as well as bilge? Got to put in a plug for the Halcyon 23, tons of cockpit, great seaworthy capabilities, good fast sailing and comes with an inboard. One or two for sale right now with trailers. Lots of 22/23 footers out there for £4,000. Use Google to hunt for particular classes of boats.

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Are we nearly there yet?

 

[bob26]

Re: When I\'m 6 feet 4

Hurley 22 is a very nice solid 22 footer but headroom is way too low for me and I'm only 5'7"

Unless you are just asking people to wax lyrical about their own favourites(fair enough), you really need to analyse your own needs/wants a bit more closely and come up with a more detailed spec.

Where on the following sorts of spectrums do your preferences lie?

Speed/sailing ability versus comfort
Sleek lines or standing headroom?
Stability versus shoal draft/ability to take ground
Size versus trailerability/easy diy haulout
Traditional style versus modern starwars looks
£30k or £3k

Of course if you just want a good strong alround seaworthy easy to sail boat that looks like a boat should and sails quite well you could forget all that and get a Trident 24 for a lot less money than they are worth. You get choice of fin, bilge or drop keel. You can even stand up in it - as long as you don't close the hatch. And there's a fantastic owners association http://www.trident-owners-association.co.uk/









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[machurley22]

Re: When I\'m 6 feet 4

NM

Dave - waxing lyrical - 5'11.75"

PS - Sitting headroom is sitting headroom.

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[Cameron]

Re: When I\'m 6 feet 4

Must say I like the look of the hurley (3k-4k also sounds more my speed than 30). Has anyone been one a seal 22 though- they dont look nearly as stable as the hurley to my untrained eye.

The unsinkable ETAP sounds good too, but does all that foam not take up the interior?

There are a couple of drascombe longboat cruisers for sale- if these were 2-3k I would buy one at the drop of a hat but instead they seem to be 5k plus.

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[AlistairM]

Re: One Last Plug

May I be so bold as to put forward the case for a Vivacity they are more of a vintage but having just acquired one myself have found them to be very seaworthy and offer resonable accomodation.

Very good for single handed bods and roomy for the size.

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[Lee_Shaw]

What about a Trapper TS 240?

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[skipper021]

If you want to go down the low maintainance route and buy new or nearly new, have a look at the Europa Ts240
This model is available with an inboard diesel or outboard and is trailable. it has a separate heads and standing headroom with a decent size galley.


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