Looking to get first boat

[Don C L]

Welcome aboard davidb7! I am not familiar with the Kells 28 or its build quality, but its fin keel and transom hung rudder will make it a more nimble in its turns in close quarters. The Tartan is a well-known design and well regarded and is a good choice for shallower water. Are those the only two you are considering? I know many folks will recommend a trailer sailer but I think it is nicer, if you can afford it, to have the boat in the water ready to go whenever you have the time to sail. Having to move the boat and rig it each time may end up relegating the boat to occupying driveway space more than sailing. Personally I'd stick with a tiller too. There are many fine small boats available these days for very little $ that you'll likely find a good choice soon. Don't spend too much, just be sure the basics are there and the structure is all sound.... poor cosmetics can really bring a price down on a boat but don't affect how well the boat sails or how seaworthy she is, and aren't too hard to deal with for a DIY.

[rbk]

There’s no reason you can’t slip or moor a trailerable boat. It just means you don’t have to pay for said slip 12 months of the year, or pay a yard to haul it, block and store it in the off season (you generally pay by the ft2). They are also easier to sell when the time comes, as you don’t require a semi to haul it, so in turn you expand your market. We slipped ours for 8 years with the occasional lake sails, but lakes get rather boring quickly, and it afforded me the ability to do all my maintenance from the comfort of my backyard (I do miss that) I knew when I sold it I wouldn’t be going lake sailing in anything more than a dingy ever again and have no regrets.

[Captain Bucknut]

As a Catalina 25 owner, I'd have to say that this is a great way to start out. Being one of the largest fleets of production boats between the 22' and 25', you have many options available to you. They are trailerable. The 22's are all swing keel and the 25's are mostly swing or wing keel. Great for gunkholing around and also good for sailing in the different waters that are within a 1-2 hour drive from your location. Parts are easy to find. They are very easy to work on. Some even have inboards. If you are looking for something a bit larger, the 27' Catalina is a great option as well. Take a look at a few of the reviews online.

This is a great time of year to purchase a boat. Remember that folks will not want to have to pay for winter storage and all the fees that will pop up for them in the spring just to try and sell again.

Good luck in your search and happy sailing.

[alansmith]

David, I would like you to watch s YouTube gentleman out of Brisbane Australia. His name is Simon Carter. He is a wonderful video blogger and his niche is the trailer boat sailor.

I want you to watch it because I want you to fully understand how efficient and how cost effective it is to use a trailerable boat platform. You have no idea yet how much it costs to maintain a boat that resides in the water all the year. Berthing fees, paint, defouling, and moist conditions all lead up to money pouring out of your pocket. Put your boat on a trailer and there are no limits to where you can sail. That is impossible in a mono hull unless you are retired or hit the mother of all jackpots.

I can sail the Bahamas in the winter and the San Juan’s that same summer. Show me one non trailerable boat that can do that! You will tire of Radius sailing in a short time. What is radius sailing? Constrained to a radius of X amount of days from your home harbor. It sucks. With a trailerable boat.... drive down to the Florida Keyes in December. Sail her for a couple of weeks and store her for a couple of months. Fly back down and go out to the Bahamas for a couple more weeks. Drive her back north and store her again. Explore the Chesapeake... on and on.

[Captain Bucknut]

Originally Posted by alansmith

David, I would like you to watch s YouTube gentleman out of Brisbane Australia. His name is Simon Carter. He is a wonderful video blogger and his niche is the trailer boat sailor.

I want you to watch it because I want you to fully understand how efficient and how cost effective it is to use a trailerable boat platform. You have no idea yet how much it costs to maintain a boat that resides in the water all the year. Berthing fees, paint, defouling, and moist conditions all lead up to money pouring out of your pocket. Put your boat on a trailer and there are no limits to where you can sail. That is impossible in a mono hull unless you are retired or hit the mother of all jackpots.

I can sail the Bahamas in the winter and the San Juan’s that same summer. Show me one non trailerable boat that can do that! You will tire of Radius sailing in a short time. What is radius sailing? Constrained to a radius of X amount of days from your home harbor. It sucks. With a trailerable boat.... drive down to the Florida Keyes in December. Sail her for a couple of weeks and store her for a couple of months. Fly back down and go out to the Bahamas for a couple more weeks. Drive her back north and store her again. Explore the Chesapeake... on and on.

That is the beauty of a trailerable boat, options. We have ours at a slip on a small reservoir a few minutes from home and can set out for an evening sail during the week and take her out on the weekends. As well we can pull her out and take her anywhere on the road and take her for an extended cruise.

[davidb7]

Thank you for the amazingly thorough responses that just pummeled me with wisdom!

The man selling the Kells claims it was built by a famous boat maker in Bristol. It’s 4000 compared to the Tartan at 6500. Being able to spend a weekend on the boat is also very important to me. If you all say the Tartan maybe I should cough up the extra money!

Thank you again!!!

[davidb7]

Woops there was a 2nd page haha. Wow that trailerable post was convincing. I guess I should go back to skimming all of craigslist

[Secondshift]

Welcome,

Here's a link I use to compare sailboat info.

SailBoatdata.com

May it help with your research.


Regards,

Ed W

[Captain Bucknut]

Originally Posted by davidb7

Woops there was a 2nd page haha. Wow that trailerable post was convincing. I guess I should go back to skimming all of craigslist

https://www.sailboatlistings.com/

This was a great resource for listings when we purchased Haven.