Looking for a shoal-draft trailerable...

[Kaa]

Greetings,

I'm thinking about a boat and would much appreciate ideas, suggestions, and general comments. My criteria for that boat look as follows:

(1) Must be easily trailerable. Let's say under 23 feet with a reasonable beam.

(2) Must be able to fit four adults and two kids for a daysail. At the same time, it must be amenable to singlehandling.

(3) Must have shoal draft and ideally be beachable. I like gunkholing and staying for the night in uncivilized places.

(4) Must be seaworthy in that much of its time will be spent in coastal waters. Obviously I don't expect an offshore boat, but it must be able to handle chop and waves reasonably well.

(5) Must be pretty :-) That's pretty subjective, so I'll say that I like northern european type boats (e.g. classic scandinavian boats) -- long flowing lapstrake/clinker hulls, double-enders or wine-glass transoms, this kind of thing. I don't particularly like boxy or chubby boats.

(6) Must be able to do well in light air. Speed-wise, I don't expect it to plane, but it should be able to get to hull speed without much problems.

(7) Must have some kind of a cabin. I strongly doubt that the female members of my family would tolerate extended time on a fully open boat. The cabin will be not so much for sleeping as for privacy and shelter. I'm fine with camp cruising. In the usual trade-off between the cabin size and the cockpit size, the cockpit is more important.

My location is North-East (USA) and my budget is around $10K.

Seems it has to be a monohull -- small cats are too wet/exposed and small tris are either too small (Windriders) or too expensive (Corsair's F-24s). I prefer wood to plastic given that I'm not living in the tropics and the boat will live on the hard anyway, but realize that a the availability of wooden boats that fit my criteria is very very limited. I am not much interested in racing.

Ideas?

Kaa

[sailingdog]

Not asking for too much are you...

Often, many of the goals you have are going to conflict.

You also might want to specify things a bit more...what is your idea of shoal draft. I have a multihull, and my idea of shoal draft is 15"... which is almost impossible for a monohull.

Do you want all six people to fit in the cockpit of the boat...that means it will have a pretty big cockpit...which makes the cabin pretty small and reduces the seaworthiness of the boat considerably.

A large cockpit on a small boat is a recipe for disaster if the boat is pooped—especially if it doesn't have a significant bridgedeck, and the water downfloods into the cabin.

Many trailerable boats are fairly ugly... also boats that aren't boxy or chubby and are small, are generally not going to have room for six people.

I can't think of a single boat that meets all of your criteria, with the possible exception of some of the catboats. They'd probably be worth you checking out. I somehow doubt that you'll find one in good shape for the price you're looking at paying though.

[camaraderie]

How about the West-Wight Potter 19??
http://www.sailboatowners.com/boats/...Wight%20Potter

[BlueWaterMD]

Com-Pac 23! There are a few used ones for sale on yachtworld.com for under 10K. Company has a good reputation.

[sailingfool]

Kaa

I think you've got too many priorities some of which conflict with one another, but if you back away from your somewhat old-fashioned definition of pretty in (5), then an excellent fit for all your objectives is an S-2 6.9:
http://www.sail-s2.org/html/s2_6_9.html

A real nice boat that is well put together - they are still active in many race fleets.

[Kaa]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Not asking for too much are you...

Often, many of the goals you have are going to conflict.

I know.

That's what I WANT -- I am quite sure I'm not going to GET all of that :-)

Originally Posted by sailingdog

You also might want to specify things a bit more...what is your idea of shoal draft. I have a multihull, and my idea of shoal draft is 15"... which is almost impossible for a monohull.

I want to gunkhole and be able to launch off any ramp. 1' would be ideal, 2' is probably the maximum I want to consider.

Originally Posted by sailingdog

I can't think of a single boat that meets all of your criteria, with the possible exception of some of the catboats. They'd probably be worth you checking out. I somehow doubt that you'll find one in good shape for the price you're looking at paying though.

Well, my current favorite is the O'Day Mariner. 19', around 1300 lbs displacement, 10 inches draft with the centerboard up :-) Big cockpit, small cabin, said to sail reasonably well and be quite stable (cast-iron centerboard) at the same time. Cheap and easy to find on the East Coast, spare parts easily available, plus a version of it is still in production.

However I am still green enough so that I don't trust my opinions about boats too much :-) and would be interested to hear about what you think are the drawbacks of a Mariner and what other alternatives might be...

Kaa

[labatt]

How about a Precision 21 or Precision 23? I've had a P23 for the past year (for sale now, but well above your $10k threshold) and love it. It was designed by the same guy who does Sabre's and the Colgate 26 (Jim Taylor) but as a cruiser as opposed to racer. The P23 has a 22" keel plus a centerboard and performs very well. They are easily trailerable (we went out every weekend with a launch and retrieve). Cockpit length is as much as our new Passport 40 (6 foot +) so there's a lot of room up top. She goes hull speed in 10-12 knots of wind but we had her out, reefed, in 25 knots. They have nice cabins, complete with table, stove and sink, and a porta-potti, plus LOTS of storage. My family of 4 fits slept in the cabin every weekend this summer. You can buy used ones for $10k-$15k. The owners of the company are very easy to work with and answer all questions. It seems to fit most of your criteria. A few pics here.

Here's my P23:

[sailaway21]

I have a 21' Cal-1973 with a swing keel. The boat weighs 1100 lbs and is not only fast but quick. Great in the lightest of air. Easy to trailer-previous owner actually used a mini-van. Draws 6" keel-up and 4'-06" keel down. No fixed keel, just the swing keel so it's very beachable. Six foot cockpit. Porta-potty and roomy enough below. Cost me $2200 five years ago.
The Com-pac and Potter are nice also. The Potter esp. so, except for price.