[NYCEnsign]

I am in the market for a long term, ideally full keel trailer sailer. I have had a long love affair with the Herreshoff Designs. Bullseyes seem to pop up every now and a gun at relatively reasonable prices. The very expensive Bullseyes that i've seen seem worth it considering the level at which most people appear to restore these vessels.

I'm wondering if there is anything I should know or look out for for the bullseye, or the 12 1/2. The 12 1/2 seems much less practical for me.

Alternatively can anyone recommend similar boats to research? Full Keel day sailers preferably under 20ft. I would like to be able to step the mast alone (thats a huge plus for the bullseye) and it needs to be able to be easily singlehanded. I tend to sail in some relatively rough bays and sounds but nothing too crazy.

People familiar with the bullseye will know exactly what I'm looking for since that's the perfect boat for me. The 12 1/2 is much prettier but ultimate between the wood spars and the price not so much.

The 20 foot or less desire comes from the marina I plan on keeping my boat in. It's on a small creek and has plenty of depth but there are a line of small docks that I would prefer to be at because they are half the cost of the other docks and well protected and right next to where my car would be parked. It's the best space in the marina if you can fit. Teh other reason is I measured out the space at my lake cottage, its old and basically on the road so there is not much of off road parking and no access to the backyard. However when measuring the overall length of a bullseye on a trailer it would fit with a bit of room to spare. So that's another plus - having the boat at home for the winter to work on, keep an eye, etc.

So any advice on those models or some direction on other models to research would be appreciated.

I am a curren Pearson Ensign owner and just looking to downsize to something a bit more manageable for one person.

for the sake of research price is not a huge factor but I'd much prefer if it landed under 20k. Under 10k would be a dream but unnecessary. I want something I can sail not something to work on. I did price out a new bullseye from Capecod but it's hard to justify when I can find them for 5k all day long, put 10-15k in at a yard and have exactly what I want.

 

[jackinnnc]

What about Cape Dory Typhoons. They seem to be plentiful right now (at least here in eastern NC)
and seem right up your alley.

 

[NYCEnsign]

What about Cape Dory Typhoons. They seem to be plentiful right now (at least here in eastern NC)
and seem right up your alley.

I love the boats and the look of the boats. What I worry about (and I don’t know them well) is having the same headaches I have with my ensign. The cabin rotting. I know every boat of age will have its issues. I’ve looked at close to a dozen ensigns and found the same problem with all of them. Since the cockpit is not self bailing they seem to fill up with water from time to time either form storage or neglect and it’s like a rotten onion. Sometimes you can pull off a couple layers and it’s fine underneath, however sometimes it’s just rotten all the way to the core.

I do agree though. They are in a huge abundance in the northeast where I am.

 

[nolatom]

The Corinthian?

photos corinthian sailboat for sale - Google Search

 

[mstern]

The Doughdish is the fiberglass version of the 12 1/2. Have you looked into that?

https://doughdish.com/

 

[NYCEnsign]

The Doughdish is the fiberglass version of the 12 1/2. Have you looked into that?

https://doughdish.com/

I’ve seen and looked at them. But damn that price is hard to justify. Now I haven’t really extensively researched them but don’t they have wood spars? One of my major concerns is the ability to relatively easily step the mast alone.

my wife loves to sit on a a boat and drink but other than that my entire family gets seasick looking at water. My friends have zero interest in sailing so sadly I’m often alone. I travel throughout New England for work so my thought is something I can easily rig and sail alone and trailer a couple times a year when I’m working in new port for a couple weeks, or on the cape etc. eve already been doing this with a sunfish but I’d love to do it with something more sunstantial.

 

[mstern]

Ah. If you are not stuck on the traditional full keel looking options like the 12, Doughdish or the Typhoon, there are other options that are cheap, easy to trailer and rig.

1. Rhodes 19. Not as traditionally styled as the Typhoon, but still a Classic. if you are going to trailer it, you need the centerboard model. Probably the best, most forgiving and still fun old-school day sailer out there.

2. Oday 192. Not quite as classic as the Rhodes, but a great value. And I'm not sure, but I think Oday built the Rhodes 19 for awhile and marketed it as the Oday Day sailer as well as the Oday 19. Maybe an Oday historian can help out here.

3. American 14.6 or 18: a more modern take on the open day sailing dinghy. I sailed a 14.6 a number of years back, and had a blast. I was impressed with the design and build quality.

 

[jackinnnc]

Ah. If you are not stuck on the traditional full keel looking options like the 12, Doughdish or the Typhoon, there are other options that are cheap, easy to trailer and rig.

1. Rhodes 19. Not as traditionally styled as the Typhoon, but still a Classic. if you are going to trailer it, you need the centerboard model. Probably the best, most forgiving and still fun old-school day sailer out there.

2. Oday 192. Not quite as classic as the Rhodes, but a great value. And I'm not sure, but I think Oday built the Rhodes 19 for awhile and marketed it as the Oday Day sailer as well as the Oday 19. Maybe an Oday historian can help out here.

3. American 14.6 or 18: a more modern take on the open day sailing dinghy. I sailed a 14.6 a number of years back, and had a blast. I was impressed with the design and build quality.

Pseudo ODay historian here. The ODay Daysailer is 17 feet and was designed by Uffa Fox. The Rhodes 19 and the mariner were (I think) the same hull. I almost suggested a mariner as a possible boat earlier. It is way easier to launch than a full keel boat and has a decent sized cabin (particularly the 2+2 version.)

 

[Jeff_H]

Pseudo ODay historian here. The ODay Daysailer is 17 feet and was designed by Uffa Fox. The Rhodes 19 and the mariner were (I think) the same hull. I almost suggested a mariner as a possible boat earlier. It is way easier to launch than a full keel boat and has a decent sized cabin (particularly the 2+2 version.)

Yes the Mariner and the Rhodes 19 are both the same hull. The Rhodes 19 was a hot one design class in its day. The Mariner was introduced shortly after. Initially both were only offered with bulb keels. The centerboard versions were added later.

The bulb keel versions would be a much better choice for someone looking for an affordable alternative to a Herreshoff 12 1/2 variant since both offer greater stability and similar ease of handling as compared to the Herreshoff 12 1/2 variants.

I will note that the full keel on the Herreshoff 12 1/2 does nothing good for the boats. It does not make them track better, or give them more stability. Nor does it improve their motion. It only adds wetted surface requiring proportionately more sail area relative to displacement to allow them to sail at the lower end of the wind range.

Jeff

 

[mstern]

The Mariner is the version of the Rhodes 19 with a cuddy cabin. I did not suggest it because it is generally more expensive and the cabin didn't seem to be in tune with the OP's needs. Did Oday build the Mariner too? I thought that was a more modern Stuart Marine innovation.

 

[Jeff_H]

The Mariner is the version of the Rhodes 19 with a cuddy cabin. I did not suggest it because it is generally more expensive and the cabin didn't seem to be in tune with the OP's needs. Did Oday build the Mariner too? I thought that was a more modern Stuart Marine innovation.

Yes, O'Day built the Mariner as well as the Rhodes 19. I think Stuart came out with the 2+2 version. I do agree with you that the Mariner would make less sense than the Rhodes 19 if the OP is looking for a similar design concept to the Herreshoff 12 1/2.

Jeff

 

[North Channel Sailor]

A very similar design is the Nordica and Halman. They are 16 and 20 if that’s not too big for you. Both are full keel designs.

 

[Jeff_H]

I am not sure that the original poster is still following this, but as others have suggested, there are a lot of options. In my mind they fall in three groups: Catboats, Full and long keel daysailers, and traditional looking fin keel daysailers. Some samples might be:
Catboats:

Hermann Cat 17 (Wittholz)​

Cape Cod Catboat 18 (Wittholz)​

Mystic Catboat 20​

Horizon Cat 20 (Halsey Herrshoff​

Compac Suncat 17 (tabernacle mast)​

Menger Cat 18​

Marshall Sanderling 18​

Full and long keel daysailers,

Buzzards Bay 14 (L.F. Herreshoff) (Briefly built in f.g. in the 1960's)​

Goldeneye 18 (Sydney D. Herreshoff)​

Bristol 19 (Corinthian)​

SailStar Orion 18​

Traditional looking fin keel or Keel centerboard daysailers

Montgomery 17​

Seafarer Kestrel 23 (Tabernacle mast)​

Sailmaster 22 (Tabernacle Mast)​

Nutmeg 24 (Bill Shaw)​

Grampian Classis 22​