There''s been alot of discussion over the months/years about novice sailors interested in buying a larger boat to first learn to sail (better) on a smaller boat, typically in the 24-27 foot range.
This advise makes alot of sense, but what are good candidate boats in this 24-27 foot range?
Criteria would be:
>a keelboat
>responsive enough to allow one to learn...easy enough to sail for a beginner, but able enough to allow learn some more advanced techniques
>reasonably inexpensive (<$25-$30K), less is better if the boat could be found in good condition, $10K-$15K would be even more interesting
>good daysailor with optional, basic weekending
>good reputation & easy to resell when the "training" is sufficient (1-2 years?)
>fractional
rig would be nice
A Colgate 26 seems to fit this description on the higher$$ end. Are there others in the same price range or lower?