Trailerable?

[JonV]

I''m currently in the market for a trailerable weekender. I''d like to gain some more experience sailing and have alot of options, camping to racing. I used to sail a 14'' Oday but a tree fell on it a few years a go. I''d love a newer Hunter 24, but a early to mid 80''s 22 footer is more in the price range. I''ve also just come across a 1973 SanJuan 21 in good shape. I will be sailing on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Tampa but would like to explore as much as possible from the Gulf to rivers or even big lakes. Any suggestions on boat types or warnings would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
JonV

[Jeff_H]

I lived in Sarasota in the mid 1970''s. At that time the San Juan 21 was a very popular one design class in Sarasota Bay. I sailed on one a couple times and thought they sailed quite well and were reasonably well built for a trailerable of that era. There still seemed to be a pretty big fleet at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron last spring. The nice thing about having a local one design class is that you can get advice on how to sail them well.

Another nice little trailerable boat that should be common in your area is the Morgan 22.

Now then, all of these boats are 20-30 years old and were lightly built to begin with. No matter how cheap the boat is and no matter what anyone tells you, if you are not extremely experienced in boat construction get the boat surveyed. Problems in older boats can often cost far in excess of the value of the boat to repair and without care you could end up with a worthless pile of fiberglass.

Good luck
Jeff