Most Homey feeling 26' to 28' Monohull Sailboats

[Eoghan_Roe]

I know this is highly subjective, and a matter of personal taste. However I have yet to see a list of Sailboats based on this criteria.

From my research many of the smaller Sailboats are decidedly spartan or functional. Which is great for just sailing, but not so much if you want to make the sailboat your permanent home in addition to sailing.

So the question is; which small sailboats feel the most like a home. Bonus points if they can go beyond coastal cruising, and dont cost the GDP of a small country.

[brownoarsman]

I recently saw a seaward 26, looked very lovely and homey too. Didn't get a chance to sail her though, and I understand they are a bit pricey for the size, but very lovely and easily trailered, so you may make up a little of the price on saved slip/mooring fees.
I'm on a Pearson 28-1, it's comfortable and sails well, and was inexpensive, but its narrow beam (9'3") sort of detracts from its homeyness. On the plus side some of the berths were converted to storage and counterspace, and that's a fairly easy bit of carpentry if you wanted to do it to add a touch of home.
Of course if you get a wider beam, you won't sail upwind as well, so as always with boats, it comes down to trade offs.
It may be worth looking at some of the smaller English cats. There was a heavenly twins 26 that had knocked out the wall between the two berths to make a king size berth. I imagine that felt like home.


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[Eoghan_Roe]

I know I am going to get lambasted for this, but I have never liked cats (aside from the furry ones). No rational reason, just personal taste.
The Seaward does look nice, but that price tag makes me squirm hehe

The Pearsons are definitly a great value, and leave money in the bank for extra luxurys. I will give those some serious thpught.

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[brownoarsman]

Hopefully given time there will be more on the used market. They are small boats and I imagine many will use them as starter boats and then move up (hopefully!) That may be about the time I get my next one!


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[Eoghan_Roe]

Ah yes, we need to create an app that searches for the keywords "bigger second boat, and seaward" haha
Not to mention Nor'Sea, I am in love with the Nor'Seas just not the price tag, or the work required on a fixer upper.

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[rumiko dan]

A bit bigger than your criteria, but our Bayfield 29 is great for us two. It doesn't have a foreberth, so the cabin is bigger. It is wider beam than a lot of its size.

As it is the only sailboat we have ever had, I can't really claim impartiality, but can attest to it being a very nice homey boat for my wife and I.

Dan

[Vancouver Pete]

If you can find one a Vancouver 27 or 28 would fit the bill, built in the UK to a Robert Harris design. Good headroom the 274 ( 4 berth is good) plenty have circumnavigated.

[Azul]

Budget minded: Westerly Centaur 26', Pearson Triton 28'

Lavish: Nor'Sea 27, Bristol Channel Cutter 28

[Mike OReilly]

Grampian 26.. One of the biggest little boats there is.


Why go fast, when you can go slow

[GILow]

Swanson 28. Huge inside. But I admit to a bit of a bias. Matt


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[Eoghan_Roe]

Thanks for all the great reply's, I now have a lot more boats to drool over.

As far as bias, no worries there, I don't think this question is possible to answer without bias or personal taste intrinsically tied together.

Of all the apartments I've been in (of varying quality), the one that I felt was most homey, was a poorly converted attic. There is absolutely no rational reason for that one being the one I liked the most, but the truth is I did. The only reason I am not still in that apartment, is they tore it down to build a soulless condominium property. Now personally I would say the person who bought that condo has no taste whatsoever, but that is unfair of me, maybe that condo to them is like my little poorly converted attic I loved.

[Joe Brown]

Check out an Ericson 28. Cruised one for a year in Keys and Bahamas. Roomy inside and decent storage. Some would consider this a coastal cruiser, but they're capable. Also check out older Carl Alberg designs if you want full keel tracking stability.

[CJsails]

I thoroughly enjoyed living on my '76 Hunter 27 back in the day. Felt very homey to me, and had standing headroom! Pretty on the outside, cozy yet roomy below, economical, but not a passage maker. Good luck finding one that has it all!

[sainted]

If you can go up just a notch to a 30 footer, the Ericson 30 mark 2 was a great boat. A friend of mine has a Cape Dory 30, which is very homey down below, just a bit small for me (i'm 6'4", he's 5'6"). You can find an older Ericson or CD for under $20k. Catalina 30s offer a ton of room for the length, too.

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by rumiko dan

A bit bigger than your criteria, but our Bayfield 29 is great for us two. It doesn't have a foreberth, so the cabin is bigger. It is wider beam than a lot of its size.

It's hard, if not impossible, to make a boat that small "homey" but we had a 26' Capri that we succeeded in making somewhat homey. They are great little boats.

I do agree with Dan, though. By removing the foreberth the Bayfield is very roomy and seems very "homey". Heads seem to break up spaces normally and moving it forward into the v-berth area really helps. And, a couple of extra feet in boat length should not make much difference. In addition the Bayfields have a lot more "big boat" features than those a bit smaller.