Seek advice and opinions on pocket cruisers

[UNCIVILIZED]

Many of the Chryslers are good trailerables. We had both a 22', & a 26' ages ago. And the smaller one had excellent sailing & seakeeping abilites. With & without large crews onboard.

On the 26' there were a couple of versions made. With one having a foredeck that was part of the coach house, & had a lot of crown to it. Enough so that working on the foredeck could be quite tricky, as there was no flat place to stand. So try before you buy.

Also, with such boats, to some degree you get what you pay for. Like such features as hull to deck joints held together with pop rivets. Which, given such boats ages, toe rails can & do leak. Still, were I in the market, I'd not hesitate much to buy one. Well, after a good inspection that is.

PS: Also inspect the trailer well. And a tongue extension is nice to have. It assists a lot with launching & retrieving on shallow launch ramps. Plus, a double axle trailer is worth it if you can find one. Check the wheel bearings... long & funny story, but check them

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jarel Design

Thank you for starting this thread! =D

Couldn't be complete without including the Chrysler 26. (Just posted on the link you included here):

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-175115.html

We bought ours with the trailer for $5,000 as a fresh water boat =D

My wife and I live in ORegon over 200 miles from shore, but plan to cruise the ICW, Sea of Cortez and the San Juan Islands. A trailer sailor will make this possible. We BOTH have a lot of experience on larger Water boats">blue water boats and were looking for something that was designed to be trailered while still having the stability (at least closer), of the larger boats we've sailed off shore.

Although the C-26 was never designed for blue water work, she's really stable, pretty fast, easily motored (6kts+) using a 9.9 4S mercury. With and electric start and controls in the cockpit, she comes close to having an inboard diesel. (kind of).

She has TONS of room inside with 6' standing headroom, a separate, enclosed head and a big double berth aft, under the cockpit (with ports!). There's a Chrysler sailor website with lots of info and a classified section.

Anyway, just wanted to share.

Thanks again for starting this thread. Coming from larger boats, I never dreamed trailerable sailboats could open up a whole new world!

I don't know the Chrysler 26 specifically, but my very first boat (excluding club boats I learned to sail and race in), was a Chrysler Man O War sailing dinghy, which I bought when I was a college student and hauled it all over 5 or 6 states behind an old BMW 2002, in order to sail it in any number of bodies of water including the Atlantic Ocean. Those were the days!!!!

[uncle stinkybob]

Whats your budget? as seen here in examples like the 20 flick, very nice, very pricey!
What you have to spend out of pocket and upgrades make's a huge difference.

[Jarel Design]

Yes, I've seen them for sale at that price too!

Ours, was the first boat I ever considered buying that did NOT need any work (With exception of re-finishing the exterior teak)!
When I saw her for the first time, I was almost depressed (LOL!) "But what's left for me to do?"
Everything the previous owner did/modify was up to the standards I would have done!
He designed and built a teak cockpit table (Wouldn't change a thing), etc...

Right before he sold it to us, he had NEW brakes put on, a new brake surge hitch, new bearings, new tires (That he kept covered)...

It was a a fresh waster boat, brand new (NICE), interior (thicker), foam cushions with super tastefully done (professionally), cushion covers and set up for racing Saturn compass, knot, wind speed, wind direction, depth, new VHF... (LOTS of deck gear: rigid vang,upgraded back stay adjuster, larger winches, new lines & sheets, NEW sails (7 head sails AND a spinnaker and an asymmetrical! We didn't even go through the storage compartments as we didn't want him to discover anything he hadn't thought about and change his mind! LOL! She was also stored for 13 years, covered and inside a large shop due to the PO being ill.

When we got her home, we started exploring... We found an autopilot, tons of extra lines, spare parts for EVERYTHING! On our first launch, we broke the keel cable and thought it was the end of our trip. I opened up the area where the winch was (thinking I might be able to fix it), and right where I would have kept one, was a brand new keel cable (spiced with thimble), oiled and sealed in a vacuum bag with dimensions and contact info for the shop that created it!

So as we continued to explore her contents we'd jokingly say" Hmmm... Wouldn't it be nice if he had automatic inflatable PDFs... And there they were! Still in their original packaging! This kept on and on and it felt like Christmas!

This is how we came up with her name: "Dayenu"... Although we're not Jewish, many of our friends are and there's a song they sing called "Dayenu". It's kind of like passing the "what are you thankful for" speech around the Thanksgiving table"... Everyone adds what they are grateful for and the chorus is "Dayenu"... (The meaning: This... would have been enough!)

Photos: Name of our boat on the rear quarters and Tresa's face the moment our graphics friend, pulled back the final layer of vinyl transfer paper and she got to see it for the first time. (That's one of my favorite "capture the moment" photos of her!) BTW: She BUILT her own 20' touring canoe and paddled it for 4 months/3,500 miles from Montana to the east coast! Photos of her sanding aren't just posed. She busted her butt working on our teak and is great at masking and painting!

Can you tell that I can't say enough about her? LOL!

PS: 10 points (don't know what that's worth though...LOL!), for the first person that can explain our "port of call" under our name! LOL!

Taking a break and just having fun here...

But definitely yes! These boats can be had for a song! (We got an incredible deal for how she was equipped and her condition.)

[alansmith]

JD, thanks for the great post. The zest of life in it.

[Sea Dreaming]

JD, that is a great story! Nice moral to the tale too!

[Jarel Design]

uncivilized:
you're right about the toe rails on older, less expensive boats!
my first Chrysler had loose rails and leaking joints... I was looking at having to re do the toe rails with SS screws WITHOUT damaging the "irreplaceable" aluminum, fitted toe rails! YIKES!

Glad i sold it to buy the house and SO glad we got our second C-26 that was in "mint" condition! We really did luck out with this one! I've seen much newer boats that were in less pristine condition than ours.

We've launched on different ramps at different locations and although our rear tires were just touching the water, we haven't needed a tongue extension... yet! (I've seen photos of several and they look fairly easy to create.)

When we go for ocean sailing (two week minimum cruises and on the ICW, several months), we plan to pay for a hoist to wet her. Our trailer has no rust and with our axles, bearings, brakes etc being like new, we want to keep it like that! LOL!

[T_Cat]

Willoughby TZ. (Twilight Zone)
A "peaceful, restful place, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure."

[wegman]

I second what Uncivilized said about trailer bearings. You should have them repacked before bringing your new trailer home. And for about $60 you can buy a new (spare) hub, with pre-installed and lubricated bearings and races, that will make side-of-the-road replacement of a burned out bearing easy and fast. Just get some instruction on adjusting the tension nut that allows the trailer wheel to roll easily, but without play. Youtube has many good instructional videos.

Good luck in your new adventure. New worlds will open for you.

Jerry

[Jarel Design]

T-Cat:
I was just about to shut down for the night and have dinner with my wife and saw your post in my email notice.

Totally laughing my head off!

You even knew the quote!!!!!!

Fantastic... Kind of fits?

So may people come up to us at the docks asking if we're from "Tazmania"!!!
LOL!

Good Job!

Thanks for the laugh!

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by VFacchiano

I am a beginner sailor and investigating pocket cruisers. I seek opinions on the many options out there for cruisers around 20 feet. Based on what I have learned and aligned with my interest so far re construction , stability, trailer ability, min draft ,mast raising, ease of set up & launch , current production for access to support and supplies--- I think on my list I would want to consider :- West Wright Potter 19, Montgomery Sage 17, Precision 19 and Capri Catalina 22 but I am very open to opinions and guidance from those who have more experience in ownership in a pocket cruiser around 20 feet . I plan to sail in medium to large fresh water lakes and the craft would have a home in north central MN. Thanks in advance for your feedback !

So where in north central MN, Bemidji? Or futher north? Given the locale I presume you have plenty of space to park the trailer.
What do you have to tow the boat with?
Why do you want 20'?

CAL 20 is my suggestion.