Trailerable Coastal Cruisers?

[bmiller]

After considering a larger boat for some time I'm now thinking of a trailerable coastal cruiser. I don't have strong enough feelings for any particular cruising area to purchase a large boat requiring moorage. With a trailerable I could cruise the PNW in the fall and then haul on down to the southeast for some sailing, maybe even Mexico. My boat would not be a limiting factor to possible cruising areas. And I could experience a variety of cruising areas prior to commiting to a larger boat.
I've been lusting over a Pacific Seacraft Orion for the last few months. Full keel, 10,000 lbs displcement, cutter rig and trailerable.
Any other suggestions? My intent is to hone skills doing coastal cruising until retirement, 8 years or so, then move up to a blue water cruiser and get the hell out of here for awhile.

Thanks, Bill

[Da BigBamboo]

Bill,

I remember the first time I saw one, a stout looking 25' or so, glossy navy blue hull rolling down the boat ramp. She was substantial, classic, pretty even....and I noticed a 2 blade prop protruding from her keel aperature.

At the time I was living aboard my Mason 21 on a mooring in Mala Wharf, Maui. Countless nights of being tossed about on my small cruiser (she was built in San Pedro, Ca and had made one round trip to Hawai'i and back, plus one more passage back to Hawai'i)...had made me appreciate the regular sight I would see at the ramp. I ogled her and admired her stout seaworthy design, her inboard diesel and her TRAILER!

The brand scrawled on her quarters was clear: Seaward

Beyond that, I don't have much information on them. I do know they are beautiful, have an inboard diesel, are cruisable and trailerable.

Share with us what you learn in your search.

Aloha,

Mike

[Da BigBamboo]

P.S. www.seawardyachts.com

Aloha,

Mike

[Pura Vida]

A similar thread is going on under "trailerable boats" but it seems to focus on launching technique and CD vs Mac. The Orion is a 27 foot boat with over 9 foot beam and may not be trailerable without a permit. it is a nice boat though.

[bmiller]

Mike, Seawards are on my list of considerations. However they are much lighter, a 25' boat is 3,600 with 1,200 in ballast. I like the thought of a heavier boat, but that trailer weight is also attractive.

I did not know there was a trailerable boats area here.

[Lynx]

Bill, There is not really a Trailer Sailor forum here, just several threads. There are a lot of coastal cruisers. It depends on what you want in the boat. I like the MacGregor 26M as I bought one. Does not mean that the other 26 footer's or less are not coastal cruisers.

Questions that I asked myself -
How much did I want to spend?
What type of tow machine did I have or want to buy? (i keep mine at a boat storage, on it's trailer, next to the water, with the mast up and pay the storage to splash it)
How much space do I need or can afford or want to move around?

How much $$$$$ did I have to make that happen? (boat + repairs + outfitting + money needed to cruise ($$$ per month))

How badly do I want to go now!??

You could get a Compac 16 and go cruising in it or a West Wright Potter. People have.

I do like the Seawards, there just a little more money than the Mac's.

I looked seriously at Pacific Seacraft Orion, Dana or Flicka. These are Water boats">Blue Water boats and GREAT coastal cruisers. I could not make enough money in the time period that I wanted to go cruising. (work is just to much of a drag compaired to the little time i have on the water now, soon, in about 1 1/4 year i should slip the dock lines)

Suggestions, Go small and used, with a cabin, some place to cook and a head. This will teach you a lot and you will learn how BIG (or small) of a boat that you really need.

[bmiller]

Lynx, I'm in line with those suggestions. It will be used, seperate head, galley and as small as I think is doable. The one thing I'm really after is standing head room. After always stooping in my little Hunter head room is a priority for any extended cruise. Note: For me extended is not the same as for most of the rest of this board, just a couple weeks or so.

[roverhi]

Consider the weight of the boat. You don't tow a 10,000# boat with the family sedan. Even 5,000# would require a beefy pick-up to tow. There is something to be said for light displacement when you have to haul the boat down the highway.

Since you won't be sailing off across the ocean, you don't necessarily need the virtues of the Pacific Seacraft. It sounds like you are talking about only spending a week or two aboard coastal cruising. The killer for you is headroom. Unfortunately, for a boat to look decent, it's near impossible to have 6'6" headroom in 25'. I was going to reccomend the Yankee Dolphin, a 24' S&S center board design. They are a well built boat, good sailors, tralerable behind a pick-up and more than one has made the big jump across the puddle to here.

Some boats have answered the headroom issue with a pop top. Cal's come to mind but they are keel boats so not the best for trailering. Sure someone else has had the idea only with a drop keel or shallow draft.

The Seaward looks like a nice boat and seems to be well designed. The specs for the drop keel look plenty stout with carbon fiber in the layup as reinforcement. One thing I question from the pictures is the sight line from the cockpit. The helmsman is almost always standing in the pictures. Does that mean you can't see over the cabin top while seated?? BTDT, and it's a PITA that I would never willingly inflict on myself again.

I looked seriously at what you're planning but gave up the idea. By the time I figured in the cost of the trailer, installing an inboard, the truck to tow it and the size limit on the boat, decided to go with a larger non-tralerable boat. I'm no longer looking for short term get aways necessitated by keeping a job, however.

Aloha
Peter O.

[bmiller]

Peter, thanks for the thoughts. At this time in my life and career a trailerable seems to make the most sense. If I lived in HI the decision would be different. But for now we want to see a variety of places. The reason for doing this now is we will, hopefully, sell a second home and free up some cash. And the tow vehicle is not an issue, up 15,000 is doable.
Tell me more about the Yankee Dolphin.

[Charlie]

A couple other things to consider are how difficult it is to raise and lower the rig. I have a Capri 22 (not recomended for costal cruisng) but it is very easy to move the mast with two people. When you start getting to a bluwater cruiser you have to be more inventive or pay to have your mast put up.

I had thought about doing what you are talking about but when I added in the transport time to get the boat from place to place it made it impractical (read expensive). Lets say that you want to sail the PNW Lets guess that it is 20 hours or so drive with no break from CO. If you have two weeks vacation then you lose two days in transport one day in setup on each side. Thats six says out of a two week vacation. Plus the costs of boat ownership. I'd bet you could charter a pretty nice boat in the PNW or Mexico or Florida cheaper than you could move and own the boat.

[Catamount]

As a kid, we (a family of five) cruised a Paceship PY23 all along the New England coast from down east Maine to Long Island, as well as sailed on inland lakes. We also made an offshore passage to Nova Scotia. You could also consider her bigger sister, the PY26, still trailerable.

[Sailboatrigger]

How about a Balboa 26, but you'll need a big truck to pull it. my buddy ended up buying a 30000 dollar truck to pull a 5000 dollar boat. go figure.

[roverhi]

Replied to you direct but the message bounced so am posting it here.

Yankee Dolphin

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/boa/199572567.html Here is one for
sale in the SF Bay Area.

Designed by S&S so you couldn't ask for a better
pedigree. They were built by a couple of MFG on the East and West
coast. Believe Yankee Yachts out of SoCal was the last manufacturer.

They are really nice looking boats with long keels and a center board. Hull layup is strong and certainly should take most anything that you can
throw at it. Interiors are basic with exposed hull layup. That's a
positive for me as I hate dealing with liners when making changes/additions. Some were built with inboard power but think most are outboard
powered.

As I said, there have been a couple sailed to Hawaii. Don't know
if any have taken more ambitious cruises. Check the chainplates
closely by removing and visually inspecting them, though before you head offshore.

Below are a couple of sites I picked up on a google search.

http://www.mauriprosailing.com/techinfo/boatspecs/Rig%20Y.htm
Dimensions of the rig
http://www.ladytrap.org/supernova/boat.html Owner website with digital
pic's.

Aloha
Peter O.

[bmiller]

Great info and insight, thank you all. As soon as that damn house sells....
In the mean time I'll keep learning from you fine folks. Never thought of the Yankee, they look solid.
The $30000 truck to pull a $5000 boat is not far off from where I'm at. Or the $5000 boat with $15000 of re-fits is more like it.

[bobola]

How about a trailerable blue waterboat?

A few months ago I looked at a Chris Craft Capri 30' and considered buying it.
Centerboard up it has a shallow draft and is over-built as it dates to the early 60's.
I hopped around on the deck looking for soft sots and it was solid everywhere.
Mast is hinged on deck.
Not sure if it fits the definition of a trailerable boat.
Sweet boat.