Argggh

[sailordave]

I have been sailing for 35 years. I have a pretty good sense of what I like and want in a boat.

I also am of the SMALLER camp v. LARGE boat camp.

I am considering a few older classic plastic boats and am looking for some unbiased opinions.

HR Mistral 33' . Nice lines, not sure I want all that wood to take care of. What issues are any of you aware of w/ them?

Sea Sprite 30. CE RYDER, need I say more? I'm just a little leery of the short length and low SA/D ratio.

Southern Cross 31 cutter. Same thing. Great sea boat from all I can find, but I also sail on Chesapeake Bay. Light air performance would be horrendous w/ a SA/D of less than 13!

Stepping up in cost, but definitely up there in eye candy appeal is the Hinckley Pilot 35. Probably a bit smallish below, but for just two people...
God, I drool every time I see one of these! I've heard said they can be wet in rough weather though... And yes, I could probably afford it. Or at least I could before last Oct!

Bristol 35. Not a Hinckley, but would do for offshore and still has light air performance I suspect.

Cape Dory 36. Now this is probably the closest to a good compromise on looks, cost and filling my needs that I have found.

I'm really leery of a SA/D less than 15.5
So, let me have it. Offer up your opinions!

[kwaltersmi]

Dave - I like your taste in boats!

I'm a big fan of a full keel boat with classic looks. I like the Southern Cross 31 (and 28 too!) but would be a bit leary of the Airex core and home built kits. Maybe my "leariness" is unwarranted, but that's my reaction whenever I look at an SC. However, I think the Sea Sprite line is a good compromise because you still get the Ryder design and SC look without the kits or cored hull (I think).

I also like HR boats, but I think the Mistral is tough to find on this side of the pond. You might also consider an HR Monson and Rasmus, though they are quite different animals than the Mistral.

I am not familiar with the Hinckley or Bristol specifically.

Cape Dory's are great boats and the 36 has great proportions. If you're considering the SC31 and SS30, why not one of the smaller CD's too?

Good luck with the search!

[sailingdog]

I'd add the Golden Hind and Elizabethan boats to that list. The WestSail 32 is also a classic, and a tough boat to boot.


I'd seriously recommend you look at James Baldwin's Boat List.

[sailordave]

Originally Posted by kwaltersmi

Dave - I like your taste in boats!

I'm a big fan of a full keel boat with classic looks. I like the Southern Cross 31 (and 28 too!) but would be a bit leary of the Airex core and home built kits. Maybe my "leariness" is unwarranted, but that's my reaction whenever I look at an SC. However, I think the Sea Sprite line is a good compromise because you still get the Ryder design and SC look without the kits or cored hull (I think).

I also like HR boats, but I think the Mistral is tough to find on this side of the pond. You might also consider an HR Monson and Rasmus, though they are quite different animals than the Mistral.

I am not familiar with the Hinckley or Bristol specifically.

Cape Dory's are great boats and the 36 has great proportions. If you're considering the SC31 and SS30, why not one of the smaller CD's too?

Good luck with the search!

Well the SeaSprite and the SC are actually a little too small for me and what I want to do (okay, I'm not in the REALLY small boat camp!) so that's why I am not looking at the Cape Dory 30, etc. I think they have such a high D/L ratio they would be a slug in the light air on the Bay. Maybe not, but ...

The MISTRAL is a nice boat if a bit small below. Have been in love w/ them since I saw one in Bermuda after the Annapolis Bermuda race. I know where a project Mistral is. Not sure I want to take on a project boat right now.

Bristol's (the older ones) are pretty good bluewater boats.

Hinckley, well, what more can you say!? If you aren't familiar w/ Hinckleys all I can say is you need to go to New England and see some!

I figure something around 34-37 foot max would be perfect. I just want to hear what the negatives are about these boats. I actually DON'T want a 40+' boat!

Thanks.

[sailingdog]

Just remember, Southern Cross boats were made in 28, 31, 35, and IIRC, 37 foot LOA sizes. The Elizabethans are made in 29, 31, 35 and 37 IIRC.

[Sailormann]

The Hinckley is in a class of its own. The rest are further down the ladder.

[sailordave]

Originally Posted by Sailormann

The Hinckley is in a class of its own. The rest are further down the ladder.

Well YEAH. That goes w/o saying. What I'm really looking for are negatives. As in what about any of those boats previously mentioned are poorly designed, poorly built, or poorly behaved at sea. They all LOOK good. Most have pretty decent pedigrees, but which one (if any) has a crappy way of fastening the flux capacitor to the articulated widget?

Which one's are definitely known to be slugs in light air? Personal experience only please!

[CrazyRu]

No personal experience here. However PHRF table gives very good tool to compare boats performance. USSailing maintains a database of PHRF for different boats
http://www.ussailing.org/phrf/Tool_%...021%202008.pdf

[mrwuffles]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Just remember, Southern Cross boats were made in 28, 31, 35, and IIRC, 37 foot LOA sizes. The Elizabethans are made in 29, 31, 35 and 37 IIRC.

the largest sc was a 39 not 37

[badsanta]

I'll add the Island Packet 31 or 32 with the swing keel or with out.