SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

bluewater pocket cruiser

23K views 52 replies 27 participants last post by  amwbox 
#1 ·
I'd like to buy a sailboat that I can tow with my Suburban 2500 and launch from the trailer in Ft. Lauderdale and sail to the Bahamas safely. I'd be going SCUBA diving so easy access to the water would be ideal. Any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
First off, be aware that crossing the Gulf Stream in the wrong kind of conditions can be serious business. People have died doing this.

Second, there isn't any towable sailboat that is going to be safe crossing the Stream in the wrong kind of conditions. You are going to have to learn to recognize the right conditions, and you are going to have to be willing to wait for those conditions, both going and returning. This means that you CANNOT make a firm plan to cross over on thus-and-such a date, and return X number of days later. You may have to wait up to two weeks for the right conditions to go across, and the same for the return. Can you set aside 6-8 weeks for waiting, crossing over, doing your diving, waiting, and then crossing back? If not, this is not going to work for you.

That said, in the right conditions, most any ballasted sailboat will work. I used to own a San Juan 23 and sailed it across once. You can see the specs for it here: SAN JUAN 23 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com Pretty much any similar boat will work, though once again, let me emphasize ONLY IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS!

(I'll leave what constitutes the "right conditions" for another thread.)
 
#4 ·
I think that there are quite a few boats that would qualify, in particular if you launch and retrieve with a crane rather than a ramp. As was stated, you need the right conditions to cross, but once those conditions exist any reasonable boat would do.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the responses, keep 'em coming.
I have a flexible schedule, so waiting for the right conditions is not a problem (a necessity I'm sure).
Any details, thresholds for a safe or not-safe crossing?
Who else has done this? Any more tips?
I WILL be doing this eventually, with the right gear and preparation, of course.
Thanks!
 
#8 ·
Lots of people make the crossing every year in small boats, such as Catalina 22s and similar boats. They usually leave at night and plan to arrive in daylight. At night, they can see the light from Miami until they're halfway across, and then pick up the light on Bimini. The key is to wait for a weather window, when the wind and sea conditions will be benign for the time it takes to make the crossing, and then get across as quickly as you can. Sail, if you can make good speed under sail. If not, then motor or motor/sail across. IMO, the best small, trailerable, bluewater sailboat is the Flicka, a 20 footer designed to accommodate two adults.

You can probably get good information from other small boat sailors who have made the trip on the trailer sailor forum at this link. The Trailer Sailor
 
#9 ·
A) I don't like responding to threads like this as they are stupid.
B) threads that could be troll with a poster with a name of 'dangerous' a tempting to do something stupid usually are a troll.
C) the immediate responses are about a boat, Flika, that can't be towed (and is a stupidly overly inflated in price. About the same price as a well found 40 footer)
D) bathtubs have gotten to the Bahamas from Florida.
E) I am outta here...
 
#12 · (Edited)
Way to go to treat a new sailor or wannabe new sailor into the world of sailing! ;)

Many ways to get to the Bahamas on trailerable boats and some have suggested many sized boats capable of transiting the Gulfstream...

There are countless windows of sailing 'trains' you could follow to the Bahamas in safety due to the number of vessels crossing. Might look for sailing clubs along the East Coast for details and windows.

Here is some good reading to get an idea of the trip and what you'll need...

Taking A Boat To The Bahamas - BoatUS Magazine

Good luck and have fun.

Some sailing clubs you may want to contact in the Ft. Lauderdale area, there are many others in close proximity to Ft. Lauderdale but this is a good start for info on the crossings.

http://www.gulfstreamsailingclub.org/

http://www.hisc.org/

https://sailingsinglesofsouthflorida.wildapricot.org/
 
#15 ·
We have seen both Flicka 20's and Nor'Sea 27's hauled and launched by trailer. Either could easily (albeit slowly) make a passage to Bimini and beyond in the Bahamas when sailed by a competent sailor or (close) couple. Neither are particularly inexpensive but, at least in this case, you get what you pay for. Moreover, we have seen a Flicka in Hawaii that made the trip from SoCal, sailed by an older single lady, and a Nor'Sea 27 with a Connecticut hailing port in Le Marin, Martinique.

FWIW...
 
#17 · (Edited)
Thanks Sailorman for the specific information and BigEasy for the Flicka suggestion, guitarguy and everyone else. This is very helpful.
There is a Cape Dory 22 for sale in my area, does anyone have experience with these?
BTW Pauly Dangerous is my DJ name, I do a reggae show on WFCF every other Sunday. What's a troll? I assure you I am a human.
My budget is cheap, I am a humble carpenter.
 
#18 ·
Look outside the "Classic Plastic" realm a bit. Lots of newish boats out there that would probably fit the bill too. Speed is not a bad thing, don't necessarily need a "tank". Hell from what some are saying in here, my 235 could do that run.
 
#19 ·
I'm partial to Westerly's boats, having sailed my father's in the North Sea (UK). He had a Westerly 22, which handled heavy weather well (force 8). It was quite slow, but extremely well built (Lloyds 100A1 certifiable IIRC). They're somewhat old now though. One advantage is their use of bilge keels, which makes trailering and launching easier IMO. They have many ocean crossings, although that does require serious experience and ability to reasonably attempt in any boat, IMO.
 
#28 · (Edited)
NO... Dr. Demento (Barry Hansen) was the DJ that recorded shows and aired nationally... I ran the syndicated shows which we received CD's and played on air... great show but I believe he is still recording the silliness everyone loves and we listen to it and still receive the shows in MPG format by email.

Here was our station view in it's principal startup view but we have upgraded the soundboard and other equipment since this photo many years ago:

This was a non-commercial station so funded by the community and mostly out of my pocket.
 

Attachments

#29 ·
If you are planning on ramp launching the boat (as opposed to having a travel-lift pick it up off the trailer and set it in the water) then you probably need to forget about the Flicka, the Cape Dory, or the Nor'Sea. Not many ramps go deep enough to launch a boat with a draft of more than two feet or so. When I had the San Juan (board-up draft of less than 2') I found there were a lot of ramps around Florida that I could not use. And that was with a 4WD pickup with a large V8 in it. With a smaller engine, or 2WD there would have been even more that would not have worked.

Beyond that, yeah, pretty much any boat can make it with the right conditions. Read a while back about a couple of guys who took a Hobie 16 across from Florida to Bimini. So "seaworthy" is really not a necessity when the conditions are right, and when the conditions are wrong (like I said) there isn't any trailerable boat that I would try it in.
 
#31 ·
If you are planning on ramp launching the boat (as opposed to having a travel-lift pick it up off the trailer and set it in the water) then you probably need to forget about the Flicka, the Cape Dory, or the Nor'Sea. Not many ramps go deep enough to launch a boat with a draft of more than two feet or so.
Good point. I wouldn't ramp launch my Nor'sea. Travel lift is the way to go on it. Even if a ramp is deep enough, the one's I've seen are a bit steep and it would be a lot of trouble to drive up with a fully loaded boat.
 
#30 ·
We have a swing keel pop top Catalina 25 in our fleet that has done the inland passage to Alaska a couple times. It's trailerable, but probable more than twice as heavy as the Mac26 in the cl ad. Personally the only negative thing I've seen on MacGregors and Ventures are the thin chainplates, upgrade the standing rigging by 1/16th and they're decent boats. I'm not sure about the ones that use water ballast, but they're not the only boats to use that system. Just remember, the bigger the boat the more difficult it is to launch and rig by yourself. San Juan 21, 23, 24, Santana 23, Cal 20, 22, 24, Catalina 22,25, all good boats as long as you prepare properly.
 
#32 ·
"trailer-able bluewater pocket cruiser" - just the phase cracks me up :laugher

And then to just go from Fl to the Bahamas. And then they want to be able to scuba dive from it. :laugher

Someone needs to just go do some sailing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cb32863
#37 · (Edited)
don
Why does this crack you up? Many do it!

OP

you can find many bluewater cruisers that can be trailered.

Check out an Alberg 30.

Yves Gelinas of Capehorn windvanes finds the Alberg 30 the perfect boat for what you asked for a Bluewater pocket cruiser. He has more mils at sea than most all the arm chair sailors and dock queens on this site COMBINED on his Alberg 30. He states one of the reasons is because it will go 55mph to windward being towed by a Suburban.

heres a link:
30 Years with an Alberg 30
 
#33 ·
I purchased a Parker Dawson 26 for basically the same use you are talking about. Like many designs from a bygone era, they are all getting a little old these days but they are VERY solidly built little boats. Board up draft of 18 inches makes them a snap to launch and while like the Westerly's they are not fast, they are quite secure with their deep center cockpits. There were not a bazillion of them made, but they are generally out there if you look. Mine was a fairly well fitted out "deluxe" boat with a nice inboard diesel that set me back about $5K my buddy bought his Midships 25 (same boat, different name) fairly bare bones with a gas engine instead of the diesel on a trailer for $800. I plan to cruise the Bahamas in mine once I pile up enough vacation weeks to make it worth my time. (I want 7-8 weeks)


Mine


My buddy Staggs Midships behind my car (stopped for emergency alternator replacement)
 
#35 ·
The problem with these types of threads is we all recommend what we know (cause we either own one or did). In that vein, I'll represent the Seawards. We have a Seaward 25, but the 26 RK's fit the bill as well. They are nice, comfortable coastal cruisers, sail reasonably well, and are made in Fl. for the shallow water there. Several, I know of, have sailed to the Bahamas. Trailer weight of ours with gear and trailer is probably about 5500 lbs. Ours has the inboard diesel (yanmar 1gm10). Easy to launch from most ramps. Usually an hour and a half to get the mast up. We don't usually trailer sailor it, as we keep it slipped. We do trailer it to other cruising grounds, if we have at least a week's vacation, or more to play with. The effort just isn't worth it to me for any less than a week. As with any boat, there are tradeoffs, but it's a pretty ideal tailerable cruising boat.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top