Choice for single handed?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Mike1956

Thanks all,

I am the OP.

I must appologise for not replying sooner. I do not have internet connection at home and rely on libraries.

I have given the whole thread a good read.

My budget is probably up to £15,000.

I sail out of Whitby, N Yorks.

The reason I found the Sigma 33 unsuitable was for 2 reasons. We sailed out a few miles and then decided to fish. The main sail was difficult and time consuming to lower in order to fish. Once it was stowed reasonably tidily the boat just kept on sailing. WE were trying to fish on the bottom in 180 feet of water but this was difficult in about 10 kn of wind. In order to fish from the Sigma the winds would have to be very light < 5kn. Perhaps the sail handling would be much easier if the vessel had lazy jacks?.

I guess a heavier boat would not catch the wind as much. The Sigma seems to have a lot of boat sticking out of the water.

Thomm225 interpreted my situation very accurately. Having regular short trips I do not want any more time than necessary spent raising, lowering and stowing sails. I sometimes lower and raise sails at sea several times in my few hours afloat.

I assume for single handing a cutter rig would not be a wise choice?.

I have been looking through a few magazines and have come up with a longish short list.

Halcyon 27
Vertue ?
Contessa 26
Cutlass 27
Vancouver 27
Sadler 25
Nicholson 26

I am just going to have a google to see if there are any available locally.

Thanks again for your advice.

Mike



I

I owned a Vertue for a bit over 10 years , lovely boat, not sure what one in good order would cost in the UK... fished from her quite a bit, trolling drifting and at anchor.
Heavy displacement she was very steady and would sit like a duck.
Also very easy to handle by myself....if wanting to take in or shake out a reef I would just ease the main sheet and walk away from the helm to go to the mast or go up the front to change a headsail.

I still own a Drascombe Lugger and know what you mean about finding other boats a handful to take sail off.... the Lugger being beyond simplicity itself.
Good luck..

[boatman61]

Hurley 22/24/27
Achilles 24
Selection of Westerly's from 22 to 26ft
Virgo Voyager..
If you want to stay simple look at junk rigs

[Mike1956]

Thanks again for replies. I am the OP.

When I made clear that fishing was important to me I anticipated someone would suggest I purchased a power boat. I have owned power boats for the last 30 years. I am an ex commercial fisherman and Charter skipper. However I now very much enjoy combining the sailing and the fishing.

"hamburking" pointed out we are talking about boats not cars and I should not expect to park a boat. This is a subject I do have some experience of. My commercial fishing boat was only a little larger than a Sigma 33 but weighed 5x more. The way these 2 boats drift along in a tide with no wind would be probably identical but it is when the wind starts to blow the differences become apparent. I have skippered a very small fast catamaran 28 foot and 32 knots. It had a forward wheelhouse and in anything but the lightest breeze it used to run before the wind, it was useless for the job. I have also skippered a 24m 135 ton angling vessel (ex naval training vessel) which was a joy to fish from in all sorts of weather. Different boats do vary considerably in how they behave in a range of conditions and I hope to be able to choose one to suit my purposes and my budget.

There are a number of people who admire my little Drascombe Lugger who are of the opinion I already have the perfect boat for what I do and I have to say they may well be correct.

A couple of days ago I sailed a 24 foot triple keel yacht by a well known designer (so well known I cannot think of his name) but when I sat down in the cockpit I could not see over the coach roof! I had to stand the whole time to ensure I could spot other vessels and avoid running over crab pot enders. OK, I am only 5 foot 6 inches but I would have needed to be to be 7 feet tall.

Mike

[Scout 30]

I was looking at an Offshore 31 ketch many years ago. The seller had removed the mizzen mast because he like to fish. It left the cockpit completely unobstructed so there was tons of room. You could do this with any ketch.

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by Mike1956

Thanks again for replies. I am the OP.

When I made clear that fishing was important to me I anticipated someone would suggest I purchased a power boat. I have owned power boats for the last 30 years. I am an ex commercial fisherman and Charter skipper. However I now very much enjoy combining the sailing and the fishing.

"hamburking" pointed out we are talking about boats not cars and I should not expect to park a boat. This is a subject I do have some experience of. My commercial fishing boat was only a little larger than a Sigma 33 but weighed 5x more. The way these 2 boats drift along in a tide with no wind would be probably identical but it is when the wind starts to blow the differences become apparent. I have skippered a very small fast catamaran 28 foot and 32 knots. It had a forward wheelhouse and in anything but the lightest breeze it used to run before the wind, it was useless for the job. I have also skippered a 24m 135 ton angling vessel (ex naval training vessel) which was a joy to fish from in all sorts of weather. Different boats do vary considerably in how they behave in a range of conditions and I hope to be able to choose one to suit my purposes and my budget.

There are a number of people who admire my little Drascombe Lugger who are of the opinion I already have the perfect boat for what I do and I have to say they may well be correct.

A couple of days ago I sailed a 24 foot triple keel yacht by a well known designer (so well known I cannot think of his name) but when I sat down in the cockpit I could not see over the coach roof! I had to stand the whole time to ensure I could spot other vessels and avoid running over crab pot enders. OK, I am only 5 foot 6 inches but I would have needed to be to be 7 feet tall.

Mike

Hi Mike - personally I see nothing wrong with 'parking' the vessel. Many years ago a pretty famous sailor said to me that cats do not have heads - they have bathrooms. I understood immediately what he was alluding to.
In a similar vein I also recall a Brit guy arguing with a customs officer who asked why he had a suit hanging up in his cabin. The Brit stated he did not have a suit hanging up - and when it was pointed out he grinned and said nope, that suit is not hanging up its hanging down.