Soal Draft (No Engine)

[davidpm]

Shoal Draft question
I found this thread:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/boat-review-purchase-forum/22392-looking-liveaboard.html and this post by sailandor
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Imagine a home that can slip up a creek like a big kayak and can be left almost anywhere. Consider: Shannon shoal sailer, Westerly bilge keel model, Gemini cat, Wharram Cat, Reuel Parker sharpie design, etc, etc.
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I just read sailandor’s and Pardee’s books and I really like the idea, if not the reality, and the challenge of sailing without an engine. I just spent this past summer on a Catalina 27 in CT with an inboard and lived aboard a 22’ O’Day in the Keys about 25 years ago with an outboard. The O’Day only drew 23” and I remember loving the shoal draft.
So the question is what boat models are available for costal cruising max 30’ probably about 28’or less if an oar will really be viable. Shoal draft and comfortable for two people for one to six weeks and, 20k or less.
The models mentioned above seem to be very expensive.

[sailingdog]

David-

suggest you read thomas firth jones's multihull voyaging, john vigor's 20 small sailboats to take you anywhere and jerry cardwell's sailing big on a small sailboat.

Many of the smaller catamarans are very shallow draft and reasonably affordable. Ones you might want to look at include the Wharram catamarans, the Heavenly Twins 27, the Catalac 8M, the Iroquois, and the older Geminis. These will give you far more room than a monohull of the same size, especially a shoal draft monohull. A budget of $20,000 is a bit low for any boat that is going to be capable of cruising for up to six weeks with two people, unless you're really to camp on water. There's cruising, and then there's camping on a sailboat.

[davidpm]

Camping is fine. The six weeks is more fantasy than reality. Two three days is more realistic.
I have the Vigor book but if I remember right most were deep water. I'll re-read it.
I just ordered the other books.

[Rickm505]

David

I would agree with Saildog's response to your original post, however your revised post seems to be more oriented towards day sailing with an occasional weekend getaway. Heck, you'd be happy with just about anything in the 25' to 28' range.

I would imagine any boatyard in CT is going to have lots of boats for sale at this time of the year. It may be time to spend some Saturdays walking through them to see what's available, and what condition they're in.

As for Catamarans... lots more room for LOA, but you are correct in that the boats tend to be out of your stated price range. I love my Catalac and having sailed a catamaran for a few years now, would not consider owning a monohull.

The Cat is just perfectly matched to my cruising area.

[davidpm]

Originally Posted by Rickm505

David
I love my Catalac and having sailed a catamaran for a few years now, would not consider owning a monohull.

The Cat is just perfectly matched to my cruising area.

Which model do you have and why do you like it so much?

[Rickm505]

I sail a Catalac 8M. It's 27' LOA and 26' at the water line. More importantly, it fits into a standard size slip at 13' 8" wide. It's also the smallest cruising catamaran I could find. By cruising catamaran, I mean just that. Large water tanks, engine driven refrigeration/freezer, twin inboard diesels and great load carrying capacity because of it's hull design. My boat was sailed to the USA from England.

The Catalac is an older British designed boat, not known for performance, but almost all that were manufactured are still sailing today, which says a lot for the build quality. Catalacs are well thought of and featured in a couple of Charles Kanter's books on multihulls. A 12 meter Catalac survived the famous Queens Birthday storm in '94, a fact which helped put cruising catamarans on cruisers' 'radar' as so many monohulls were lost or dismasted in that storm. If 90 foot breaking seas in a typhoon couldn't knock one over, nothing probably would.

Newer Catamarans are larger and are sort of looking more like condos. Very nice I may add, but larger than I required (just me and the admiral).

I think if you follow the link below, my website pretty much covers all of it's virtues and I don't have to continue sounding like a commercial, or start a mono / catamaran debate.

By the way, what part of CT are you in? I'm a Connecticut native who moved to the sunshine state many years ago. One more thing.... ask any guy about his boat, and responses will be similar (grin).