[ptapaul]

My wife and I decided a year ago that we were going to learn to sail and own a sailboat that we could enjoy. We moved to Houston and are looking for a sailboat that will be responsive and perform well upwind. Additionally, the boat will need a shallow draft because the water from the marina in Clear Lake is blown out toward Galveston Bay with the winter winds plugging the deep drafters in the mud. We are looking at 36’ to 40’ boats and are interested in Tartans, Pearsons, Ericsons and a C & C (7’4” draft concerns me) that we saw this weekend. Our budget is $70,000 and that seems to leave us in the Benehuntalina market but I do not know if their designs move well to the wind. Can anyone comment or suggest a performance cruiser that could work for us?

Still Searching,
Paul