shoal draft or pocket cruiser

[southwesterly]

I will be putting a sailboat on a mooring in a harbor with a fair amount of current. Priorities are self bailing, self righting, low maintenance. Want to avoid anything with a diesel. Comfort would be nice, like pocket cruiser, but not first priority. Thinking range 22-25 feet. Shoal draft has advantages given local waters. Would appreciate recommendations for purchase.

[souljour2000]

What are you looking to spend? You looking for something less than a grand..less than 5 grand..or less than 10 grand ...that should narrow the list a bit...there aren't many diesels on the size range you are looking for anyways..probably just a 5-9.9 hp outboard will get it done...

If you have alot of current then whatever boat you get..I would recommend about 20-30 feet of chain...depending on whether its a 2500 lb 22-footer...or a 5000 lb 25-footer and then that chain should be attached to a 15-25 lb anchor...again depending on weight/size of the boat and then maybe 100 feet of 1/2 inch 3-strand nylon rope with chocks or something right near the cleat to prevent abrasion and chafing on the nylon rope where it tends to rub the toe rail as it pays out from the cleat toward the anchor...Some will say that all that ground tackle or anchoring gear is too much but we dont know what size boat you are getting...bigger heavier anchor/chain is better than too small or not enough...trust me on this...later on you can always downsize......5/16 " or 3/8 " chain should be okay...I got 35 feet of chain on my 4,000 lb 24-footer....20 feet of 3/8 " and the remaining 15 feet is 1/4 " or 5/16"..cant remeber....When your boat is swinging around with the tides in your area...mostly just the chain will be rubbing across the bottom...not the nylon...good luck

[southwesterly]

My budget for this is 5K to 10K. The mooring itself is solid. My thought is to go with an outboard for ease of maintenance.

[souljour2000]

I would look at catalina 22's or 25's...Cherubini -designed Hunter 25 if you can find one...Oday's , the old Columbia 24's if you can find a good one...same with the old irwin 23's...or Pearsons...Cape Dory's are decent but not highly prized really...better finishing inside though ...bigger price tag on the for sale sign outside though...A good westerly Centaur 25 if you can find one, or a Seafarer 23 or 24...Most of these boats are fairly shallow draft...if it has a swing keel then I would get one that has a worm gear or piston to control the swing keel as it is deployed...otherwise a swing keeler cannot really be a really good cruiser in my book. Those swing keel types may be hard to find though...

I would avoid boats that had bolted on keels but look for ones that were poured instead...with lead preferably ...or had iron covered with many layers of glass...the older boats mid-70's and earlier boats had alot to offer in terms of overall durability but their ages will require them to have alot of cosmetic work done..but at least you know the thing is likely to be solid...check for soft decks but it is hard to avoid core rot in most boats.....older boats had such thick lay-up with glass that even if they had rotted balsa in the cores of the decks...you wouldn't know it without a moisture meter or drilling a small core sample...
Even if they are core rotted the older thicker hulls are fine until as long as you don't mind and no new rainwater or other water is coming into them......5-10 grand can buy alot of boat in that size range..take your time and learn as much as you can so you dont lose big buying someone's piece of crap...I'd highly recommend you get a reputable surveyor if you are spending that kind of dough...Good luck...!

[southwesterly]

thanks for the leads, and I hear you regarding the operation of the swing keel.

[JordanH]

I have a good book that may interest you and give you some ideas.
"Sailing Small: Inspiration and Instruction for the Pocket Cruiser" by Stan Grayson.

[thehardaground]

What type of boat are you looking for? Something racy? Something cruisy? Bit of both? Looking for something to singlehand, or will you have crew regularly?

[southwesterly]

By way of reply, I won't be racing so that is not a concern. I also foresee advantages to single handed operation. Best case is a shoal draft with some comfort features. Boat will also be sitting on a mooring at a distant location so self bailing is critical. I also note alot of concerns with failing mechanics to drop down centerboards - see the above comment for preference for piston or hand crank.

[MarkCK]

Compac makes a nice 23 foot boat. Its well built. The designer had comfort in mind more than speed but it's no slouch either. They also made/make a 25 footer but the 23's are much more common. Both boats are shoal draft with no swing keels so there will be no maintence issues there.

[southwesterly]

I have actually found a compac 23 and will look at it as you suggest, however, the boat is apparently owned by boat club so I am concerned about above average wear and tear. will continue to look for compac 23s however they seem uncommon here in the northeast.