?bigger boat

[Loualfr]

I'm wondering if anyone has any input on my dilemma. We have a Cal 22, nice daysailer but really not big enough for me, my wife and two small children to spend a day cruising on or overnite. We're thinking about going up to 30' in an older catalina/pearson/? until I came across sailtime. A nice alternative but still seems to be alot more expensive than buying an older boat that's in good shape. We didn't get out alot last year but as our kids get older are hoping to get out at least once a week. thoughts?

[camaraderie]

Pearsons and Catalinas are excellent family cruisers that will really let you enjoy and use your boat a lot more with the family. If you can afford the slip fees and maintenance of a larger boat...it is the way to go. Lots to choose from on the market...hunt for a good one!

[JohnRPollard]

Loualfr,

I have to be honest with you, I don't know for sure what "sailtime" is. But if it's one of those timeshare boat club arrangements, I have to say I'm not particularly keen on them for family sailing. At one point we considered similar offerings in our area, but after reflecting how we use our boat we realized it wouldn't be a good fit for us.

As you know, when sailing with kids there are a lot of concessions that have to be made with respect to safety and comfort. We concluded that we needed to be able to set-up our boat in whatever way we deemed fit to accommodate our kids, including safety features and gear (toys, games, dinghies, kayaks, etc). We wouldn't have been able to do that in a time-share arrangement, or if we could have it would have meant schlepping heaps of stuff back and forth for each sail. Equals= not much sailing.

Just something to think about.

[tonic]

I recently had an older Hunter 25.5 which I loved and moved up to a 321 Beneteau Oceanis. I also am married with 2 small children. For me and my family it the perfect sized boat. It allows me to take the family and still sail alone with out being to big, docking that is. She's 9700 lbs. If you plan on sailing solo at all I wouldn't go much larger. I find this to be at the end of my comfort level when docking in most conditions alone. You may think different.
Catalina Pearson Morgan all good choices. I also like a diesel your Cal 22 had a kicker I'm sure one more thing to consider. PEACE good Luck

[Dunlookn]

I had a 23' boat trailerable until I retired from the Army. Almost every brand of boat has fans and hecklers. I own a Hunter because I have always liked the product Hunter offers.

Slip fees seem to be an issue almost everywhere. Here in New Jersey the local yacht clubs are less than one seventh of the cost of the marinas. They offer wonderful people who use the boats they own and willingly help launch, recover, teach and assist members of the club.

I have found you can reduce the cost of boat ownership significantly by doing your own work, learning new skills (diesel maint. course for example) and trading your skills for the services you need (woodwork for welding, ect.)

That said...there is no substitute for having your significant other, and your children, together and away from all the other distractions of home. When I compare the costs against the memories...I have money to spare.

[wolfmt]

Loualfr - I'm married with three children ages 10 and under. We've considered Sailtime in the past but note that, in addition to the concerns identified by JohnRPollard, synching up appropriate sailing weather for my wife and kids with scheduled time on the boat is often a challenge. If there is a nice day with 15 kts of breeze, we want to get out there (with kids). That may not be a scheduled day with Sailtime. The flip side is that you may find that on your scheduled day with Sailtime it is blowing 30 kts with 8 to 10' seas. Less than ideal for three kids.

We sail a Beneteau First 265. We bought it used 3 years ago and have been happy with it for its intended purpose. It has a diesel and modest accomodations. We've done weekends aboard without complaints as to size and space. I don't think you need too large of boat to accomplish your goals and, as such, believe you're on the right track thinking about a well-maintained but used catalina/pearson in the 30' range. I suspect that with the right boat, your full year's cost of ownership will be less than the $5,000/season they get around my area for a Sailtime share.

[artbyjody]

You might want to look at Cat 27's as well especially if you can find one of the ones with a larger beam...I was kinda amazed at the amount of room a 1990 Cat 27 has versus my 1980 one....and may give you a break versus going 30 and accomplish everything you want....Don't to the timeshare thing...it is like leasing a car versus purchasing but without the tax incentives / breaks (in some scenarios)....there will be so many restrictions and naturally any damage is out of your pocket in most cases at higher than norm rates....

[djodenda]

Cruising with your family can be a wonderful experience for you all. Our family of four upgraded to a Catalina 30 from a Catalina 22, and that really opened the possibilities for us.

We had a hard time spending weekends on the C22, but we're good for over a week on the C30.

One way I justified the added expense was that we consider sailing our vacation, instead of taking a big trip somewhere. We spent a total of almost three weeks on the boat last year, which more than justifies the expense, I keep telling myself.

This month's Practical Sailor has an article on the sort of boat you are looking for, featuring the Catalina 30, Pearson 30, and Tartan 30. You can get a lot of boat for the money.

One thing also to keep in mind is that an older boat won't depreciate much more...

Your family will grow up fast! Get the boat if you can!

[djodenda]

Hey, we're all agreeing on something! Can't last.....

[artbyjody]

Originally Posted by djodenda

Hey, we're all agreeing on something! Can't last.....

This is bizzarre has SD piped in on this yet though?