[gerolamo]

Hi guys,
I need some advice regarding sailing in or around Montreal / Lake Champlain area.
I took sailing lessons I can single hand a 22 footer or a little bigger, did some navigation, radio the basics.

I need some recommendation on how / where to actually start sailing now.

I would like to join a club that has boats to rent for non boat owners, or a club with a decent more advanced learn to sail program.

Or I'm thinking of buying a used boat (25-26 foot range) and keep it at a club.

Or buy a trailerable boat and keep it at home... meaning I have to also buy a car able to tow it - it might be cheaper in the long run, but I expect I'll want to move to a bigger boat in the long run so probably not worth it.

Any recommendations / ideas? What expense am I looking at as a NBO vs BO in the area?

I am leaning towards Lake Champlain - seems more interesting, and cheaper when it comes to charts but I'll take any advice

Thanks in advance

 

[Donna_F]

...
I am leaning towards Lake Champlain - seems more interesting, and cheaper when it comes to charts but I'll take any advice

Thanks in advance

I don't know anything about your area. Someone will chime in sooner or later, but, I hope you aren't even partially basing your sailing location on how inexpensive the charts may be.

 

[zedboy]

Dunno about QC sailing clubs etc, but if you decide to buy a trailer-sailer there are a number of good options built in ON and the area that are still plentiful. Siren 17, Edel 540 and Sandpiper 565 are the classic options - bigger than that and you'll want a truck to tow.

We could rig our Siren pretty darn fast. From experience, stepping a mast for a 22-23 footer can start to be work, and that can take away from "get out, set up, go" fun of it.

 

[CharlzO]

Champlain is definitely a great place to sail! You might think about a trailerable that you can borrow or rent a truck to pull, and then slip it for the season. You're only stepping the mast twice, but if you DO want to take it elsewhere, you're able to. Plenty of trailer options for the 25 and under length. I remember my dad took his Mac 25 up when we were kids, was a great time. Towed it behind a U-haul for the trip. My brother's O'Day 23 he got cheap, in excellent condition, and is perfect for day and weekend trips.

 

[Zarathu]

I have a nice West Wight Potter 19. Easily trailerable and launch-able anywhere with its 8 inch draft and the 8 foot Extend-A-Hitch on the trailer. Very hard to run aground with a draft like that, but also very hard to capsize with a 3.6 foot 400 lb daggerboard and a 7'10" beam.

I actually moor HER for the season, but trailering to another place is a piece of cake. And in the winter, She lives in my yard. No need for bottom paint either since the mooring has a good tide current and she comes out now and then for hurricanes and the like.

Sleeps 4 really good friends, has portapotty, sink, stove, 400 lb dagger board, and very high freeboard. Regularly sails in 20-30 kts(I don't usually, but the boat can without danger, reefed), and can easily handle up to 5 foot swells.

Not fast, but very safe and stable, and enjoyable. And the 5HP Honda OB easily moves her to hull speed while still getting about 27 mpg.

 

[Minnesail]

I second the U-Haul option instead of buying a tow vehicle.

It cost me $40 to rent a U-Haul truck for a day, it was a F-150 rated for towing up to 5,000 lbs. Renting that twice a year is a lot cheaper than buying and insuring a vehicle you don't need the rest of the time.

A couple people offered to lend me a truck, but it had been so long since I had towed anything (and I had never backed down a boat ramp before) that I kind of expected a lot of trouble. And if I broke anything I'd rather break an insured rental than a friend's or cousin's truck. Also, jeez, forty bucks? If I borrowed someone's truck I'd feel compelled to return it with a bottle of good whiskey, that's about forty bucks right there. Might as well get the U-Haul.

(Oh, btw, trailering and boat ramping went great. Mast raising was a piece of cake. This whole owning a boat thing is mostly going a lot easier than expected.)

 

[travellerw]

I own an Edel 540 here in Alberta.. Even though it has a fixed keel, I still trailer it. I can launch in most lakes around here even though I need about 3 ft to get it off the trailer.

Its a great boat to learn on. Very wide in the beam so it super forgiving. Its easy to single hand, but still big enough to feel like a real boat. Heck we even spend weekends on it (coleman stove for cooking).

If you look around I'm sure you will find one for a good deal. Especially in QC (the were built there).

 

[gerolamo]

Thanks guys, Those are some interesting boats.
I never considered a boar under 22 ft but they are definitely worth a look.

The U-Haul is not a bad option either, but just in case, any of those boats can be towed with a car rated for 1500lb, like a CRV?

 

[rgscpat]

Many of the boats mentioned (Edel, Sandpiper, WW Potter 19) displace around 1200 lbs., which with adding trailer and gear would be too heavy, but the Siren I believe is described as being under 800 lbs.

 

[Minnesail]

Thanks guys, Those are some interesting boats.
I never considered a boar under 22 ft but they are definitely worth a look.

The U-Haul is not a bad option either, but just in case, any of those boats can be towed with a car rated for 1500lb, like a CRV?

My Catalina 22 is listed at 2250 lbs, but add in a couple batteries, the trolling motor, whatever else is on there, it's probably 2400 lbs. I'm just taking a wild guess, but with the trailer I'd bet I was towing 3500 lbs.

 

[ftldiver]

Waterballast boats were made for you!

the 1988-95 macgregor 26' is a nice sailor when rigged right, and has huge cabin space, and is fast to launch. - I have one so Im bias. check one out. a mini van can pull it out, if you go slow and drop the water as you pull up the ramp. under 3500#

nice little big boat.

catalina, hunter and few others make midsize waterballast boats.

 

[rgscpat]

The "Classic" MacGregor 26 boats were made for medium-sized passenger cars of their era and help folks have more a comfortable cruising experience without a big towing vehicle. But even dry and unloaded they're around 2200 lbs, plus say another 600 for trailer, and at least a few hundred pounds for fuel, gear, beer, and other provisions, so we're likely over 3,000 lbs tow weight and beyond what smaller front-wheel drives could handle.

 

[creelclmsn]

Look at the Venture 21 or 22-2... The 21 with the trailer weighs less than 1500 lbs. it is the previous model to the Macgregor 26 and usually you can pick them up sail ready for under 2000. I bought mine for 1200 bucks and have only had to replace some cam cleats and bearings on the trailer. Good luck and happy hunting