My wife and I are relatively new to sailing, but we have been around
water as far back as we can remember, and we want to
purchase our own
boat this year.
I've been sailing on/off with friends (and who ever else might need a crew) for ~5 years, getting more seriously in to it the past 2 years. I am getting comfortable on a
sail boat, and feel that I am just a little ways away of being very comfortable on my own
boat.
My wife is quite green, but took beginner
sailing lessons last year, and she is feeling very comfortable now.
I love where we live in NE IL/SE WI, but the sailing season here is just too short. I don't want to stick a ton of
money in to something that I can only use for 6 months out of the year (if we're lucky), but I have no problem in spending the
money to get something reliable and in good shape.
We have sailed everything from 20' boats to 36' boats, and a few boats in between, and we had fun on all size boats.
We will be sailing 100% on Lake Michigan, which as most of you probably now, can kick up very quickly. It's not like sailing off-shore in the ocean, but it can get hairy very quick, so we need something that tracks great and is stable even in rough
weather.
I'm writing this post so that I can hear from you experienced folks two things...1) what is the best size range of boat for our criteria below, 2) please list your top 5 to 10 proven boats for
reliability (hull and general equipment) --- brands and models would be appreciated.
Criteria for our boat will be:
*Up to 6 adults on board at one time
*We will be using the boat primarily for
day sailing, but 25% of the use will be for overnight trips of 1 to 3 nights, and 10% of the use will be for overnight trips to 4 nights or more with 4 adults
*Relatively comfortable accomodations in
cabin
*Decent
racer to participate in club races --- nothing major, but something that will keep up with the rest of the boats out there
*We would like to stay <$20k to leave room in our
budget for upgrades, but if we can get a boat for $10k we would be thrilled
If I need to post any other desired details, please let me know.