Need help on choice of daysailor cruiser/racer

[Jamiecdnboy]

I need some help/tips from members on making a sailboat purchase for racing and cruising which ideally i would like to buy before end of this April.

I have a young family (8 and 5 year old who love sailing) I am looking to puchase (under 10k) a boat that can compete very well on performance rating with a fleet of SJ 21's. I would not be here asking as there are some SJ21's for sale here execpt for the fact that I really do not like the interior of the SJ21 for those days when we are simply cruising as a family, but I really enjoy the thrill of racing so want to be in a position to go head to head with the sj21 in our local summer races when I need too.

I have looked at a number of boats i.e. J24 Capri 22 Santana 23 etc. but just don't know which one of these or any others I should really focus on to purchase.

Any help is really appreciated.

Thanks.

[paulk]

The SJ21 has a PHRF rating of about 269, based on what I could find. A J/24 rates about 174. This means that for each mile that they sail, according to the rating, a well-sailed and prepared J/24 should be about 95 seconds ahead of a similarly well-sailed SJ21. A J/24 should blow a SJ21 right off the race course.