Romeo
Well-Known Member
Do you really need a cabin? I had a long look at family sailing requirements and decided that rather than staying in a cramped damp cabin after a days sailing my wife (especially) and family would rather be returning to somewehere with showers/ baths, a kitchen you can stand up in etc. Therefore the trailer sailer I went for is a 14.5 foot ballasted open boat ( a lune pilot). The advantages of an open boat include:
1. Full standing headroom throughout!
2. No problem launching and recovering by 1 person (your wife will be entertaining your son, so you will be on your own).
3. Towing is easy. I can see over the top of it with my rear view mirror, and don't need a large SUV to tow it.
4. Easy to rig single handed (ie short mast)
5. More interesting for children to sail. They can see where they are going when steering (no cabin top in the way), and are able to handle the sheets and jib halyard/ roller furling themselves. You only learn to sail when you are diong stuff, not when you are sitting getting told about it by your parents.
6. Generally more space for sitting than there would be in a cockpit of a cabin boat 10 feet longer.
As well as day sailing locally I have towed to various self catering places: Ardfern, Isle of Seil, Ullswater and Badacrow. I tend to use the search engine to find s/c places with their own pier and launching facilites, so that I don't need to launch and recovery each day. Every holiday fantastic so far, and nothing lost if you or the family fancy a day away from the boat doing something else instead.
Something the size of a medina is heavy work to launch and rig, certainly enough to put you off if you fancy a quick sail. There are 5 of them in the harbour here and I don't think any of the skippers would consider them for towing and daysailing on their own. Open boat alternatives would include Drasombe lugger, lune whammel and hawk20. All in the 18 to 20 foot mark, and all giving far more space to sail as opposed to sitting concertina like in a pokey, smelly cave. The lugger especially is very forgiving for beginners.
Good luck in your deliberations.
R
1. Full standing headroom throughout!
2. No problem launching and recovering by 1 person (your wife will be entertaining your son, so you will be on your own).
3. Towing is easy. I can see over the top of it with my rear view mirror, and don't need a large SUV to tow it.
4. Easy to rig single handed (ie short mast)
5. More interesting for children to sail. They can see where they are going when steering (no cabin top in the way), and are able to handle the sheets and jib halyard/ roller furling themselves. You only learn to sail when you are diong stuff, not when you are sitting getting told about it by your parents.
6. Generally more space for sitting than there would be in a cockpit of a cabin boat 10 feet longer.
As well as day sailing locally I have towed to various self catering places: Ardfern, Isle of Seil, Ullswater and Badacrow. I tend to use the search engine to find s/c places with their own pier and launching facilites, so that I don't need to launch and recovery each day. Every holiday fantastic so far, and nothing lost if you or the family fancy a day away from the boat doing something else instead.
Something the size of a medina is heavy work to launch and rig, certainly enough to put you off if you fancy a quick sail. There are 5 of them in the harbour here and I don't think any of the skippers would consider them for towing and daysailing on their own. Open boat alternatives would include Drasombe lugger, lune whammel and hawk20. All in the 18 to 20 foot mark, and all giving far more space to sail as opposed to sitting concertina like in a pokey, smelly cave. The lugger especially is very forgiving for beginners.
Good luck in your deliberations.
R
