Pocket Racer

[Wega24]

ok here we go..... the racing bug has bitten. And at least I am looking.

I want a fast boat, which can be sailed with 2 persons.
Sleeping for 2 , little cookstove, porta potty.
Max Draft 4.5 foot.. I prefer a real keel.
Trailer is a must.
preferably a little older, because money is tight. Lets say max 10000 us bucks. Less the better.

I have found several boats, which would fit the bill. Tell me if I am wrong, or I should leave any particular boat alone, due to known problems.

Dehler Sprinta Sport
Ranger 22
Bombadier 25
Kiwi 25
S2 7.9

Are there any cool older boats with character but still going strong out there ??

Thanks Thorsten

[mogul11]

Look into a Santana 20. Fits your bill as far a performance and enough room to weekend on for two all be it a bit tight with cook stove and cooler. Boat is real fast. I use mine just for racing and cruise a bigger boat to keep the misses happy.

[ndsailor]

Beneteau First 235, good interior for weekending , can be found on the market outfitted for racing in your price range.

[paulk]

IMHO that a J/24 might be the most boat for the money. Only draws 4''. Great racing fleets. They''ve got a big cockpit & deck for cruising, plenty of room below for a camping couple (or two couples, if they''re friendly). There are a lot of them around, and the resale is also decent, if & when you decide to move up. Less than 10K should get a pretty nice one and still leave enough for a new suit of sails.

[BenDaniels]

I don''t know where you are located, but this may affect your decision. On the west coast, I would also look at the Santana 20 or Wavelength 24, both built by W.D. Schock Company. Both of these are available for under 10k and the WL 24 has a real "big boat" feel for its size. The Santana 20 has a very well developed one-design class in California, but not so much here in the Pacific Northwest. A few years ago, we had a Sprinta Sport that did very well in PHRF, but I haven''t seen it listed lately. Other boats common here that are available for under 5k are the Thunderbird (26'') and the San Juan 24. Both have class associations.

[Jeff_H]

My first suggestion would be to investigate the local racing scene to see whether there are any one-design classes that are popular within your price range. I spent a lot of time racing one design this summer, (J-22''s, Cal 25''s and few J-105 races). In my book, if there''s a healthy fleet, there is no better racing than one design racing.

In terms of budget, almost any race boat that you can buy for less than $10K is likely to need some new sails to be competitive so budget a sail replacement program over the next few years.

Depending on the boat, most pocket racers take at least 3 people to race with four or more being required for 24 and 25 footers under spinacker. I would scratch the Ranger 22 from your list unless there is a one design fleet. These were designed around the IOR-2 rule and are very hard boats to consistently sail to their rating. The Santana 20''s share a similar problem with the Ranger 22 but are fine in an area where you can race them one-design.

In a general sense I would try to find boats designed around the MORC rule as the MORC tends to produce more well rounded designs.

As someone has mentioned, J-24''s are very plentiful. I personally hate sailing J-24''s but they are good race boats that hold their value and are easy to find used.

If you are going to race PHRF then I second the recommendation of a Wavelength 24. These are really wonderful little boats to sail, but I am not sure that you can find one within your budget.

Some other options:

Capri 25:
These are real sleepers. They are fast boats that have a reasonably nice interior. They are quite easy to sail to thier rating in most regions. They are not all that well built and so most that have been raced hard are beefed up around the main bulkhead. maststep and some around the keel area.

Farr 727 (Northstar 727)
These are really neat little boats with a gift rating in most areas. They were quite an advanced design when the first showed up in the early 1970''s. Like the J-24 and Kirby 25, they take a little time and skill to figure out but are great platforms to highly develop skills and are highly capable of winning races.

J-22:
These are pretty cramped down below but are a lot of fun to sail and are spectacular light air boats. Raced one this summer and it was the most fun that I have had racing in years.

Kirby 25:
Think of these as slightly a slightly more sophisticated Canadian J-24''s with a better deck layout and more durable construction. I owned one for years and really liked the boat.

Santana 525:
These Shad Turner designed Fractional riggers are reasonably competitive and should be a good PHRF boat.

I''m out of time here. More later.

Good luck,

Jeff

[sail1dzn]

I couldn''t agree more with Jeff_H regarding One-design. If there''s a decent fleet, its totally the way to go. The alternative is racing "P(erfectly) H(appy) to R(ace) and F(inish)!", which I''ve done, but if you really want to track your own progress tactically in addition to boat-handling, you gotta go One-design.

I raced a San Juan 24 one-design for 5+ yrs, and HIGHLY recommend them as a very sturdy, easy to sail, fun, and comfortable (I''m a little guy) boats. Designed by Bruce Kirby, and built in the 70''s/80''s, there are quite a few of them around. The J-24 has overrun them in many places as the 24''er to race, but the SJ crowd are great people (I''ve done the NA''s a couple times) if you''re near any of the fleets. If you''re interested, email me for more info.

Regards,
Sail1dzn

[Wiebke]

Dear Thorsten,

I am sailing a Sprinta Sport and I am exhausted. The boat is very fast (about 11 knots with Spinnaker) and therefore good for regatta sailing. But also perfect for holidays. The boat is not very expensive and could be transported by trailer very easy. The best choice I would say. It can be sailed with 2 persons easily but for regatta sailing three persons are necessary. For sailing with 2 persons you can put the backstays near the shrouds, so that you don´t have to use them.
Where do you want to sail?
Perhaps I know someone who wants to sell his Sprinta Sport for less money. If you want to have more informations about the boat please contact me.

Greetings from Germany
Wiebke

[Wega24]

Hi Wiebke
in den USA will ich die Sprinta segeln. Ich hab im Augenblick ne wega ( biga 24 ) und muss einfach ein wenig schneller werden ..haha

[gaha_1]

still looking $?000/Best offer
Brand: WD_Schock
Model: Santana_20
Year: 1977
Length: 20
Beam: 8
Draft: 4

Engine/Drive Info Equipment & Description
Engine(s): Mercury
Engine HP: 4.5
# Engines: 1
Engine Hrs: N/A
Fuel: Gas
Drive Type: Outboard
Drive:

Fresh water. 150,130,working jib, Main, rigging. Sleeps
4,Cushions, new depth sounder, safety
gear, Shore power,, Navigation and Anchor lights, Fast and Dry,
Rigged for single handed, 4 winches 2 winch handles, Boom vang,Tiller
extension, Teak Hand rails and Rosewood Companionway doors, two smoked
lucite opening Port Hatches,Easy to Sail,Great daysailor and club racer.
Very Good Condition, blue matching tiller,main,bimmin,new porta-potty.
?