Trailerable racer/cruiser?

[Filmsomething]

Well first I will say what I'm looking to do with the boat. It will be kept at a mooring on a local lake 95% of the time. I would like to take it to Lake Erie for a weekend a couple times a year and maybe to the east coast for a week. Something that 4 will be fine on for a day and 2-4 could stay the night on for a weekend (I understand that with 4 overnight it will be pretty cramped... I'm sure we'll survive though) There are about a dozen of us that race every thursday and sunday at the lake where I store my current boat(precision 21) and I would like to get something that would do fairly well against their J24s.

I have been leaning towards the S2 7.9, 8.0B, cal 25, and C&C25. They all have decent racing history and have a good layout. I am a little weary of the swing keel of the 7.9 though.(should I be worried or is it not that big of an issue?) The cal and C&C also seem to have a history of soft decks, and I really don't want to do that much repair when I purchase the boat.

I have an 04 F250 so the weight wont be an issue. I would like to be able to find the boat with a trailer so I don't have to search for one, and the last thing I want to do is have one made. I am trying to stay under/around 15k and I just cant justify spending 1/3 of that on a trailer.

thanks,
Jon

[sailingdog]

Corsair C28 or C24... Though both are a bit tight on headroom, both have pretty good one-design racing classes. A Corsair would stomp a J/24.

[sailingfool]

You have selected a nice set of boats, all are personal favorites of mine. If trailering were not an issue, I'd go with the C&C 25, a sweet boat. However, while you can load one of those on a trailer, I don't beleive its really something you can launch from a trailer, I could be wrong but I don't think so. If you want a boat you can launch/retrieve on a trailer, I think you need to go with the S2, which IMHO donesn't involve any bad tradeoffs. I expect based on the ones I've sailed, its keel is a daggerboard, not a swing...you might check with S2 owners as to whether there are any issues but I've never heard anything bad about S2s.

Also, I continue to believe your comment about the C&C wet decks is completely an urban myth - I've never heard a C&C owner complain about wet decks, a friend of mine has owned a 33 for 25 years and its looks like new and he's never repaired or replaced anything other than maintenance of engine, ports and sails. I expect C&C decks are not more/no less prone to developing wet spots than other makes of similar age.

[Filmsomething]

SD- The corsairs are just out of my price range(unless I'm looking in all the wrong places)

Sailingfool- I do really like the C&C, it has a great design and I really like the idea of a fin keel. I believe it is possable to launch from a trailer with an extension if you have a steeper ramp, But I could be wrong. The S2 is probably the rout I will go, I know the 8.0 is a shoal keel with a centerboard but I'm not sure about the 7.9 yet


edit- it appears the 7.9 has a 600lb dagger board, now is this the traditional style that I am thinking of that slides down into a location or is it swinging. The slide down style have always been bad news for me with my smaller boats

[Sailormann]

Also, I continue to believe your comment about the C&C wet decks is completely an urban myth - I've never heard a C&C owner complain about wet decks,

The majority of C&C's are no more prone to wet decks than any other boat. The exception seems to be the C&C 27, which for some reason - has an extensive history of problems. There were five different versions of the boat produced, with a production run of over 1,000. Some of them are more vulnerable than others.

C&C's are very popular here. Surveyors, brokers, owners and buyers will all tell you to be careful of the deck issues when looking at a 27.

[Filmsomething]

Would anyone happen to know the answer to this?

edit- it appears the 7.9 has a 600lb dagger board, now is this the traditional style that I am thinking of that slides down into a location or is it swinging. The slide down style have always been bad news for me with my smaller boats

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by Filmsomething

Would anyone happen to know the answer to this?

I suggest you take this question to the S2 board ( http://sail-s2.org/Home1.php ??), as S2 engineered their boats quite well, and may have been able to make the daggerboards work weel - the 6.7 I raced for a few years never had any problem with the board.

Correction to earlier post - S2s like most boats arn't perfect. I now remember when I was researching the potential purchase of a S2 9.1 that cabin top core replacement and mast step rebuilds were universal issues with the model. The 7.9 may have its own items. Bottom line is they are nicely made boats that still sail competitively today, the type of boat you can take pride in owning.