New Sailor - Thoughts on a Pocket Cruiser?

[DanRyan]

I live in Minneapolis and I am anxious to start sailing after getting certified last year. Lots of lakes in Minnesota of course but I aim to get on the water as much as possible at one of the city's ~400 acre lakes. Many other sailboats up to 22ft or so make their home on these lakes. Trying to decide between a daysailer or pocket cruiser and would be interested in any suggestions on that choice for making the most of sailing, getting experience and enjoying some time entertaining on our beautiful city lakes.

Scott


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[Jim Cate]

Can't say what you will enjoy, but looking back quite a few years, here's qhat I remember:

With our first boat, an O'Day Osprey (15'8" LOA daysailor) we enjoyed many small lakes around Northern California, but also ventured into the SF Bay (not too wise, but exciting!) After a year of that we bought a Catalina 22 trailer sailor. After only a couple of ventures on the lakes, we found them way too small for the bigger, faster boat, and thereafter sailed in the Bay, and later in the ocean. Some of the lakes were quite a lot bigger than yoiur 400 acres, too, so my opinion is for your proposed scene, the daysailor makes much more sense. Also lots less expensive, fewer running costs, and a great learning platform.

What's not to like???

Enjoy!

Jim

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Dan.

[Time2Go]

Check out an O'Day Mariner2+2
Good daysailer with a cuddy cabin big enough to
Camp out in. Big owners association for help.
Trailerable to increase your sailing choices
Swing keel, good for beaching
If you look around you should be able to find one
For about 2500-3500 all in
Boat, trailer,outboard
Over 4,000 produced

[a64pilot]

Definitely something on a trailer, that you can pull with whatever vehicle you now have.
Don't buy something that requires you to buy a vehicle to pull it with

[zboss]

Dan,

There is a couple on the next boat over from us - "Take Wing" - that has a trimaran pocket cruiser that they trailer down from that lake I believe. It has folding amas so they trailer it down to the sea of cortez, up to the lakes, and down here to florida. They were saying that the can easily hit 20 knots if they are pushing it.

The speed is important if you have a very short time for your cruise and want to cover a lot of ground.

I think this is the one they have:

F-32 Profile

- z

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Scott! Welcome to posting in the forum.

You mentioned a few key desires in your original post. You want something that would work on some of the many smaller lakes in your area and you want to "entertain" and you want the boat to be small enough to enjoy etc.

Reading that, I consider "guest comfort" to be an important thing, IF you wish to take friends sailing with you (if that is what you mean by "entertain").

Comfort for Guests on a Small Boat?
For many people who are not yet "sailors" the act of getting stuck for hours on a sailboat that leans, with hard seats, cramped conditions, and no toilet, can be less than desirable way to spend their leisure time. Many people I have talked with might enjoy an hour daysail on a big boat, but smaller boats are not so "inviting." Some complain about the lack of comfort and amenities, even for a day sail. This is compared to the typical power boat (of similar or a bit larger length) experience that has nice soft seating, mostly upright movement, goes faster, and usually has some kind of head/toilet aboard.

The brand of boats that have caught my eye are made by Compac Yachts and their catboats especially. They do make a range of boats, but the 20 foot LOA catboats most appeal to me, and look like they would be very nice for a couple or small family (or with friends) for daysails and/or for "pocket cruising."

Com-Pac Yachts: Trailerable Cat Boats, Trailerable Cruisers, and Cruising Sailboats

I think the catboats they make look great. By "catboat" I don't mean a catamaran. The catboats have a mast located near the bow of the boat. It is a distinctive design, and known as one that is easy to sail (one larger sail).

They make some catboat models for day sailing (big open cockpits that can hold a lot of people) and some with a small cabin that allows one to use it for cruising (a few berths, portapotty, small galley, etc.).

If you want to do some "pocket cruising" and overnight on the boat.
My favorite model, the Horizon Cat has a small but surprisingly roomy and very comfortable looking cabin. The Horizon Cat Week-end Cruiser from Com-Pac Yachts

If you only want to do daysailing with friends.
Check out their "Horizon Day Cat" (20' LOA) as it looks like a lot of fun to me. It has the simple to learn and use "catboat" rig, and it has a very roomy cockpit for a small boat (the cockpit is 10 feet long on a 20 foot long boat), has swing (lifting) keel, shallow draft, and is trailerable. Look at the photos below and see the one the shows that large cockpit. To me, THAT is the feature that will matter for "entertaining" on a day-sailor. The roomy cockpit also has a built-in ice chest/cooler. In addition, it has a small cabin where a porta-potty can be kept private, another thing that is important if you are taking out guests.

For Trailerable Boats: How will you raise the mast?
One of the most appealing things to me about the Compac boats is their method of raising (stepping) the mast when you arrive at your sailing destination by trailer. You can read about their method on their site. It appears that anyone could do it and looks very easy. That is something to consider as one gets older like me, especially those who must single hand or don't use a big crew. In my opinion, having a mast that is easy to step (raise or install for sailing) is a MUST for a trailer sailor (for me) and as I would want to be able to "single hand" the boat whenever I want, I would really want a mast that is easy for ONE person to raise safely. I was impressed by thee photos at the following link: The Mastendr Quick-Rig Sailing System from Com-Pac Yachts
__________

Note: I have no connection to this brand or sellers. I am simply posting information about a boat I admire and would consider as a nice day sailor or pocket cruiser.

[Suijin]

Rhodes 22. Great pocket cruiser, very good day sailer. Super fun to sail and very quick for what it is. My ex-BIL has one and it's just about the perfect boat for your expected use.

The design is all about ease of use. In-mast main and roller furling jib means it takes exactly 10 seconds to set sail. Draws almost nothing with the centerboard up. Cavernous cockpit, Usable double bunk, sink, enclosable head, and even an insert for the cockpit that turns the entire thing into a sleeping platform. Oh, and get the swivel chairs for the stern, they are a hoot.

It's also the only boat I've been on where the head has a 360 degree view -- when you stand up to pee and have your head and shoulders out of the overhead hatch. A very unusual experience.

http://www.usedrhodes.com

[ohdrinkboy]

I have a Seaward 22 and really like it. Sure, I would love standing headroom and a bigger centerboard to stop leeway, but overall it suits my needs. Easy to spend 4 nights on if it is just me. After that, the standing headroom issue starts wearing on my back.