I'm stuck: comfort or speed?

[CMK]

Hello, everyone.

I am stuck on how to get back into the sailing (and sailboat owning) life. In my 20’s, I spent a lot of time sailing, working on, and living on boats. My own boat was a 28’ Albin, which I liked very much.. But the boat got too expensive to maintain both in and out of the water. And so we parted ways.

Now I am looking to get back into sailing, but this time I am trying to avoid as much of the expense as possible. So I am looking at boats that I can put on a trailer – not so that I can tow it around myself with any frequency – but so that I can store it in my yard in the winter and dry sail it from a club with a hoist in the summer.

I also want a boat that would be comfortable enough for myself, my wife and my young daughter to use for week-ish-long cruises in, say, New England, the Chesapeake, Lake Champlain, maybe the 1000 Islands. We would probably spend a few nights and take a few meals off the boat, but I don’t want anything so cramped that the nights we spend at an anchorage would be a struggle.

And finally, I (am pretty sure that I) would prefer a boat with an inboard. Getting the point from our home lake to other cruising grounds will mean a couple of days on the New York State canal system, and some of the places I intend to cruise don’t seem all that amenable to an OB.

So now I have converged on two kinds of boats: either something like an S2 7.9, or something like a Com-Pac 25. Now before you roll your eyes too far back in your heads, I know these are very different boats. (For instance, the New England PHRF for the S2 is 168; the Com-Pac’s is 243: I was also thinking about a Seaward 25, until I found out that it rates something like 270!) But I am having difficulty figuring out whether to trade-off performance for comfort or vice versa.

And yes, I know that the best way to figure this out is to sail both boats, and lie down in their berths. But there aren’t many boats in my immediate vicinity, and so I am trying to make the most informed guess I can so as to make the most efficient use of the buying excursions I will have to make. Are there people out there who have spent a week on something like the S2 with their family and come out smiling? Are there people out there who enjoy tweaking sail trim and have tried to consistently make it from one anchorage to another on something like a Com-Pac 25 and come out smiling?

Any thoughts and/or experiences would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Christopher

[Sailormann]

I would go with the S2 as it doesn't sound like you're going to be cruising for long enough periods for comfort to become a major concern. You need to check out the clubs/marinas in your are to find out what it costs to launch. I have feeling that you're going to be looking at 100 bucks plus if you plan on using a crane.

There are some other boats out there that can do the job, but if you are set on having an inboard, you're going to need a big truck to pull the boat. I think they all run around 4000 to 6000 lb.

You may find that an outboard does all you need, and the newer ones are not the trouble that old ones used to be.

You should also look at Paceships - great boats, the 24 (Westwind) is ideal for what you plan to do, and still trailerable.

[maestro]

the 7.9 is an excellant boat. handles well, can take a blow, is quick (wins MANY phrf regatts AND has a number of OD fleets across the country) As far as confort is concerned, when you are talking about boats of this size, you're not going to get a major upgrade in interior comfort in boats from 22-25 ft. in length.

If you are choosing between th Com Pac and the S2 IMHO go with the S2, however as sailormann stated, there are more boats in this size range that would do you well.

[Brezzin]

Look at comfort as you primary. Chances are your wife and child will be more willing to sail with you if they are comfortable. You didn't say if your wife is an active sailor but assuming she is, the mother in her will come out and you will find yourself trading up in short order. Or the downside is not doing the crusing you hope to.

One other point. I used to wonder why all of the boats were in the slips on a nice summer weekend. It was not until my oldest turned 7 yrs old did I know. These boats were owned by people with pre-teen children. Between birthday parties, soccer practices and every other suburban distraction you can think of kept the owners busy and off their boats. So maybe this is why you should go speed. So on Wednesday nights a least you can win a few.

[dakuehn]

I have a S2 7.3 with the full fin keel and it is a major pain to trailer. While much more sporting, I don't think my wife and two small boys would be as comfortable on the 7.9, but the 8.0 would be great. Also, while there is plenty of space on the 7.3 for the day and (maybe one night) I can't imagine staying aboard (and remaining married) for any longer than that.

[Maine Sail]

The TSBB is the Trailer Sailor Bulletin Board and they are a great wealth of knowledge..


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[CaptKermie]

Don't forget the Macgregor, it is worth looking at, trailerable with class 3 hitch, comfortable, affordable and can be fast.