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A List of ALL sailboats made with layouts?

11K views 8 replies 9 participants last post by  sailingdog 
#1 ·
Unlike cars and thier makers, you can''t find even the most general info on so many makes and makers of sailboats. (im'' not talking about the biggest makers like Hunter, Beneteau, Catalina so on and so forth. But all those not seen often and rarely sea trialed in any magazine. I see some wonderfully beautiful sailboats out there and I''m in the market so I really don''t want to just settle for the a mass produced and - see - 50 - of - em - in -every - marina( maybe I will in the end, but hey...I wanna know what I may be missing). I''m surprised too, as a boat purchase is got to be the second most expensive thing a person will buy( a home being #1). I was surprised at the shear volume of boats for sale and how little info on most there is to read about and study up on! There should be some general registry where all makers of boats by manufactures or even one-off specialty makers list the specs with layout diagrams at the bare minumum(like in the book Boatwatch).

BOATWATCH(out of print I think) list many many makes of sailboats and layouts and profiles. Must be hundreds(1600 sailboats) listed yet not nearly all the boats made and sold out there. Only from the late 70''s thru early early 90''s are in the book, with so many models not listed in the same class. I called the author to inquire if he would be publishing another volume from where he left off(early ninties). He said he would, but it would be the last edition! OK, that will be great but in the meantime, anyone know if such a volume of info, and as complete a body of specs on boat makers and thier boats exist?

And again, I am not talking about HUNTER, CATALINA OR any of the makers of kazillion''s sold and counting. We can all find info on those. Here''s an example and perhaps some homework for you folks who think its easy to find anything you want on the internet or thru some broker who he himslf doesn''t seem to know, cause the internet is the end all answer to everything(maybe someday...but not yet).

Try to find information on the following "brands" like actual manufacturer(not the end user like so many Charter companies renaming the boats they purchase in volume).

Sometimes I see, or am told who desiged the boat...but not who actually built her and a contact I can email or talk to. I want where she was built and what thier reputation is, as well as spec sheets.

Info like hull layup type and inner glass framing or are bulk heads glassed in etc. Electrical specs, hardware suppliers, plumming parcatices, is the hull cored and how many layups...?

Here are some brands:

Apollo 57(as found in some Greek charter fleets)
Creekmore
Skipper( as in some greek charter fleets)
Siai
Alpha 53
Amazon(the bigger yachts - perhaps by metalcraft...but where are they?)
kirie
J&J Design( who are these guys and where?)
S&S (NOT SPARKMAN AND STEVENS)
 
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#2 ·
I would look for a really good broker who would be willing and able to look for boats you are interested in and recommend similar ones you may not know about.

I think one reason boats are listed by their designers is that boatyards tend to come and go. Two examples are the Valiant 40 by Perry which was built at the Uniflite factory in Arlington Washington for awhile and is now built in Texas, and The Gulf 32 by Garden which was built by Gulf Marine in the 60''s and later built by Capital in the 80''s and 90''s.
Another thing is that hardware the builder uses tends to change literally from boat to boat in some yards because of availabilty or price or some other reasons.

I looked on Yachtworld and ony saw one Siai 52 listed and 2 Creekmore 46''s. While it is probably the best internet site for boats for sale it doesn''t help much with any of the questions you had about specs and hardware.

Ken
 
#4 ·
Alpha might actually be Alpa.

We looked at an "Alpha 42(?)" that turned out to be an "Alpa 42(?)". Alpa''s were made in Italy in the 70''s and 80''s. The one we looked at was a Sparkman and Stephens design (I spoke with S&S about it and got specs), center cockpit cruising ketch. It was a ncely designed and built boat with some of those odd Italian design features.

Can''t help with any of the others, sorry!

Stacey
www.sailnamaste.com
 
#5 ·
The Sailor's Book of Small Crusing Sailboats, by Steve Henkel, covers 360 boats up to 26 feet. He estimates he reviewed about 90% of the boats that were built. He gives the history of each boat and some information and strength and weaknesses with line drawings of interior and exterior. He also compares similar boats. Henkel says he is working on another book for larger boats. The book would be a great help for anyone thinking of purchasing a sailboat.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The small numbers of boats built..at equally small and world diverse yards is the reason...there is no formal international or for that mater individual governmental body like in the Auto industry mandating safety in which the information you desire is required to be kept.

Sail Boat construction up to the late 60 was all one off art so to speak...not until mass production from the larger producers of fiberglass boats did any semblance of consistency develop in regards to construction specifications being kept for the general public to access...And even into the early 90's it wasn't like it is today with manufactures opening up there information like they do today over the Internet.

It takes hard work and a personal investment of time and money to root out and publish the info you seek...Books like that are the least lucrative endeavor a writer can under take....Go for it..:D....we will all... if not buy your book at least thank you for it at the library...:)


I see this is a very old thread...maybe the OP is in the trenches working on that book...LOL..:)
 
#9 ·
Practical Sailor's Boat Buying Guide covers a pretty wide variety of boats.
 
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