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Basic rankings of Sailboats

3K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  rgscpat 
#1 · (Edited)
Where's the best place to find the rank of sailboats, similar to powerboats (runabouts, where Bayliner's are the starter or basic, on up to the Mariah's, Crownline's, etc?
 
#3 ·
Have a very lose one:

Racing boats, that have many categories.

Pleasure boats divided in dinghy and sailing boats.

Regarding dinghies you can have plenty categories, regarding sailing boats you have day sailors (not meant for cruising) and cruising boats.

Regarding cruising boats you have an huge variety that go from weekend cruisers to voyage boats, from boats to use in sheltered waters to offshore boats. From boats that have an incredibly good sailing performance and that are meant to cruise almost exclusively sailing to others that are meant for motoring almost all the time and that use sails has an auxiliary mean of propulsion.

Take your pick, there are for all tastes;)
 
#4 ·
Multi,

There are way too many variables involved to boil it all down to a simple "this boat is best" kind of list.

By their nature, sailboats are a much more complex system than a powerboat. Hull design and construction methods are strongly influenced by the intended use (racing, day sailing, coastal cruising, bluewater voyaging, etc.) and many times wind up being very, very different.

Within each of these categories, you'll still be faced with trying to compare several relatively incomparable vessels.

A lot comes down to personal tastes as well.

If you narrow your search criteria down significantly, then you may be able to find a better answer. For example, "Who builds the best 27'-34' coastal cruiser?" would get you many responses.
 
#5 ·
As PCP as many boats made to fint the endless possiblities and wants of the people who sail them. very rarely is there a boat that has everything you want, unless you are loaded.

Budget, intended sailing purpose, region of sailing all are large factors. The cockpit, hull interior sailing plan design. workmanship. Then many more things to drill down to

This is a good forum. I beleive there is a place on SN to look at an overvierw of boats by the owners or go to the individual boats owners forum sites.

dave
 
#8 ·
This is a good forum. I beleive there is a place on SN to look at an overvierw of boats by the owners or go to the individual boats owners forum sites. dave
Keep in mind that you will virtually never see anything critical about any boat by someone who owns one. :) The specific boat forums can provide a lot of info by looking in the projects sections - are they doing rudder repairs or galley trim?

The most unbiased info I think comes from people experienced with a particular boat but who don't own one.
 
#6 ·
Where's the best place to find the rank of sailboats, similar to powerboats (runabouts, where Bayliner's are the satrter or basic, on up to the Mariah's, Crownline's, etc?
Tell us where you want to use it, large lake or crossing the Pacific, how many people will usually be aboard, daysailer only, occasional overnight, weeks at a time, racing, general cruising or something inbetween, etc.
 
#9 ·
All good excellent info you've all provided. What I want to avoid is supporting my name...Multiboat. Today I have 2 kayaks, a canoe, 2 jon boats (14' to fish and 18' to handle the weight of duck decoys, gear & hunters on a river that can get whitecaps) and a Bayliner that I just sold but replaced with a pontoon. I'd end up divorced if I acquired a dinghy, racer, weekend cruiser,.... I liked the advice on one thread about starting small, buy used from Craigslist, get the feel of the sail, then re-sell and go bigger.
 
#10 ·
If you want to sail and learn, not get the spouse tooooo pissed at you, reality is, ANY boat in the what I would say is 8-10' range, with a single sail would work just fine. Assuming it does not have any holes in it so it sinks etc. The types of boats that fit in the catagory cover the first 300 or so pages of a book I have from the early 80's. Total pages from memory is a lot. Book is 3-4" thick!

Reality, any dinghy will work. Not sure I would want a laser or sunfish per say to start with, but even sailing boards like these would work. Heck, even a hobie 14 could be interesting to learn on...........

Marty
 
#12 ·
Some boat manufacturers and brands have a reputation for good or bad quality, but this is complicated by the fact that sailboats can have different "types of quality", i.e.,

-- overall quality of design and engineering;
-- aesthetics, satisfying design, fit and finish, quality finishes, luxury touches, appearance that boosts pride of ownership;
-- suitability for intended purpose -- racing, dockside entertaining, coastal cruising, crossing oceans, etc., flexibility of design;
-- execution of the design/build quality -- quality and professionalism of installations, meeting and exceeding codes, consistent lay-up, bonding, fastening, robust connections and installations, things don't fall apart;
-- livability, conveniences, ergonomics, hand holds, crew safety/safety engineering, traffic flow for living aboard, useful sea and port berths, functional galley, "human engineering";
-- maintainability, ability to access and inspect systems, ability to replace systems without having to tear the boat apart, modular designs, use of commonly available and easily repairable systems;
-- durability, ability to survive poor conditions, ability to maintain structural integrity and keep resale value;
-- sea kindliness, comfortable ride, ease of steering in all conditions, ease of short-handed or single-handed operation.

And in the modern world, boats get built to "price points".
 
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