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

Which of these boats

1406 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by BarryL, Jan 30, 2009

TSOJOURNER

Discussion Starter · Jan 29, 2009

Hi all,

I have a few more boats lined up to look at.

Which of these boats would you say would fit the bill as a part time live aboard/ extended weekender. I am not into racing, but more sailing ability. I do not plan to go out into the ocean too far. Kind of hard not to go into the atlantic where I live. But I am not looking for a bluewater boat, nor am I looking for storage(water, fuel) capacity of that kind. Would be doing alot of single handling.

It would mostly be sailed around the new york area.

These are the boats that I have narrowed it down too.

1972 pearson 26'
1976 perason 26'
1977 s2 26'
1976 pearson 30'
1977 Morgan 24'
1969 columbia 36'
1968 islander 37' (was told it might be going into negotiations by another party) so it might be off the list.

They all have modern equipment, and roller systems. some have autohelms.

Whats everyones opinion on these boats?

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

Faster

· #2 · Jan 29, 2009

That's a pretty wide range in terms of boat size - particularly when you start looking at moorage and maintenance costs... seems to me you need to narrow down your ability to keep up with whichever boat you ultimately go for.

Pearsons have a pretty good rep and a strong support base here on Sailnet, the S2 is likely to give you better performance, and may be the better choice for predominantly shorthanded daysailing. The Morgan, older, smaller, will likely be more manageable esp when docking.

The larger Columbia and Islander are putting you into a different sphere altogether, and they don't jive with the rest of your list, really. If you're looking at boats that size, then your list of options will be bigger too.

If your list is based on price point, then the larger boats at lower values tend to mean more problems.

Save

Jeff_H

· #3 · Jan 29, 2009

I can only assume that the glue that holds this list together is your price range. Of the list, the Pearson 30 probably offers the best combination of accomodations and sailing ability. The S2 26 is probably an 8.0 which was a miserable little boat on all counts. The Pearson 26's are very nice boats in a lot of ways but they are known for keelbolt and keel connection problems and so if they have not had the remedial work done, I would take them off your list. I think that the Morgan 24 was out of production by 1977 so I am not sure what boat this is but the older 1960's era Morgan 24 is one of my favorites from that era. While not as roomy or offering as the same performance as many later designs, these boats sailed quite well.

Jeff

Save

TSOJOURNER

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 29, 2009

oops..that was supposed to be a morgan 33'. i don't think the year is right either, but that was what I was told.

I know the 36 and 37 are quite large, but I am over 6'0" so for the extra headroom, I am willing to pay extra for moorage. Although I understand it may be harder to single hand

Save

Jeff_H

· #5 · Jan 29, 2009

The Morgan OI 33 while very roomy, would not be a good choice if you are concerned with build quality or how well they sail.

Jeff

Save

STTnBama

· #6 · Jan 29, 2009

I can vouch for the build quality and stability of a Pearson. I have grown up on various Pearson boats and would trust each one just about anywhere. They are generally not the fastest boat on the water, but very seaworthy.

Save

SecondWindNC

· #7 · Jan 29, 2009

I thoroughly enjoyed my Pearson 30 during three years of ownership and had no real problems to speak of with the boat. Could use a little more clarification of what you mean by part-time liveaboard, as the head accommodations are probably the limiting factor there. If you're talking about extended weekend trips, maybe even a week or two aboard, it'll do the trick. But actually setting up residence on the boat for an extended period of time (as the term liveaboard usually indicates to me) would not have been particularly comfortable, at least for me.

But as far as sailing, the P30 ranks very highly. She definitely can be singlehanded, especially with roller furling; mine had hank-on headsails which made that a little bit more of a challenge. She was fitted with a diesel instead of the Atomic 4, which I view as a plus, though plenty of people will defend the Atomic as well.

I don't have firsthand experience with the other models on your list, so I can't offer a direct comparison. But I would not hesitate to endorse the P30 for the type of sailing it sounds like you have in mind, given of course that the boat has been maintained appropriately. You don't want a 30-year-old boat that's been neglected unless you want to work instead of sail.

See less See more

Save

camaraderie

· #8 · Jan 30, 2009

Pearson 30.

Save

BarryL

· #9 · Jan 30, 2009

Hello,

How many people are going to be on the boat, and for how long? If it's just you, then I would suggest the Pearson 30 would about the best of the lot. I spent a long weekend on one this past summer and I was very impressed with how that boat sailed. However, it's pretty small for a 30' and would be OK for 2 people, but I think it would great right for even two people after an extended time.

You didn't write what you are really looking for, but I would guess there are lots more boats for you to consider, like Catalina 27 and 30, O'day 28, 30, Newport 27, 28, 30, etc.

Good luck,
Barry

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

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 Contributors this Month