Quote:
Originally Posted by LynnandBob
As you can probably tell from the question, I am a relative newcomer to sailing (though I sailed a lot of Sunfish as a teen-ager) and to this website. Is there anyone on here who has had experience sailing the Vagabond 17, also known as the Holder 17? From my (inexperienced) perspective, it seems to have many of the features we are looking for--trailerable, lightweight, option to stay on board for a night or two. Any other similar size/weight boats you would recommend over this one? Thanks, Lynn
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I sail a 24 foot trailer sailer. In deciding what boat you want I would consider the
hull design, weight, and ballast relative to where you are planning to sail. Other than the
keel my boat has more of a planing type
hull (it is flat on the bottom). It has a stationary
shallow draft (not full)
keel that contains a swing keel inside - about 12 inches deep. Her
draft with keel up is less than 2 feet, with keel down, 4 feet. I love the boat. She is solid and sound, lots of
thick fiberglass, comfortable
interior, and easy to sail in
light air. The key here are the words light air. I have put her in the
Gulf of Mexico or its bays many times only to return early because the
wind and or waves got to be too much. Her hull shape makes her super light on the
water - she doesn't dig in at all. She will sail in
wind so light that you can hardly feel it on your skin (everyone else is in port or motoring), but she can be very hard to handle under any amount of sail in wind as light as 15mph. She sits on top of the
water so much that she is more easily pushed around by the wind, and loves a good heel. When waves or chop hit her she rides up and slams down the back side of them (more than a light chop or 1 foot waves is too much). If she had more of a "V" under her hull, she would cut through the waves and chop more and slam less. She weighs 2400lbs of which 1000lbs are ballast. She can be a blast to sail in light air or in the fickle winds on the lake where she now resides, but if I am planning to stay out on the gulf or bay for more than 2 days, I want a heavier boat with more of a "v" shape to the hull minimum.
Just
food for thought.