Buying first boat. Major criterion -- TRAILERABLE

[Wankel]

So I've finally decided to buy my first sailboat. There are tons of threads here that discuss first boat choices, blah, blah. But most of the boats discussed aren't easily/practically trailerable. I'm wondering which boats are the best combination of space/livability and sailing quality while still being trailerable.

Here's the situation:

~$8-10,000 budget
need to comfortably house 2-3 people for a weekend, one week max
not intended for blue water, only lakes, sounds, intracostal waterway (I'm located in North Carolina)
can easily be sailed single-handed

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Faster]

Swing-keel Catalina 25, and an S2 7.3 are two trailerables that came up in a yachtworld.com search with your numbers. Either would adequately fill your needs.

have a look:
YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

[TomandKarens34]

O'Day 25 or 24 should fit the bill as well. Too bad you're so far south, I got one I'd sell. Save you $3K.

[Hartley18]

You asked for something "easily/practically trailerable" and there are lots of boats that fit this criterion (including Hartleys!), but the question that you need to answer first is:

What kind of car/truck to you have to pull it with??

If it's a normal family car, you're stuck at 20' or less..

[Wankel]

I'd be towing it with a Ford Explorer with the towing package, rated at 5400 lbs. It's not my car, but the owner is happy to let me borrow it occasionally.

[Hartley18]

Okay - so it's under 25' then.

Check the listings for the boats posted above and check that their weight+trailer doesn't exceed 5400lbs. Bear in mind that any two boats of the same length and make will not weigh the same, depending upon how they've been fitted out, but they'll be close.

Both Catalina and O'Day are good - if you like plastic..

[Wankel]

What about this 1987 Macgregor 26? It looks pretty good to me. Any thoughts? I see a lot of love and hate for the new Macgregors on this forum...

Hmm well now that I know I can't post links, add the requisite stuff to the start of this:

yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatDetails.jsp?&units=Meters&currency=USD&ro=4&r=1761777&rs=yachtworld.com&rt=Cruiser/Racer&boat_id=1761777&checked_boats=1761777&toPrice=15000&Ntk=boatsUK&hmid=0&sm=3&enid=0&luom=127&currencyid=100&cit=true&boatsAddedSelected=-1&ftid=0&slim=quick&Ntt=macgregor

[Hartley18]

MacGregors with water ballast are not everyone's cup of tea, but that particular one seems to be in very good condition (the flower-pots are a nice touch!..) and is "pre-powerboat" which means it doesn't look like a MacGregor - if you know what I mean.

Have a close look, take it for a spin and let us know how you get on.

[Sailormann]

What about this 1987 Macgregor 26? It looks pretty good to me. Any thoughts? I see a lot of love and hate for the new Macgregors on this forum...

MacGregors are not known for quality, which is a large part of the reason that you will read so many negative things about them. I am under the impression that the older boats that were not built as "powersailers" may be a bit better constructed than the later models, but that is based on nothing more than inference. FWIW, MacGregors were designed to do the type of sailing that you are describing...

I would recommend other, better performing boats such as:

Balboa 26, CS 22, C&C 24/25, Catalina 22, Shark, Thunderbird, Stone Horse, O'Day boats under 25 feet, etc.


Good Luck !

[blt2ski]

Unless there is a thunderbird that is different from the one I know of, that is not too trailerable. Altho at 25' it does fit the size criteria.

Any way, san juan is another brand, as is Aquarius, ranger to add few more to the list of brands to look at. There are even a few benateaus that are trailerable floating around.

Stay away from Bayliners buccaneer line and one by Reinell too.

Marty