Rank the different boat brands

[ElVikingo]

It totally depends what type of sailing you are planning on doing. Coastal cruising or blue water. How many crew will you have or are you singlehanded? Weekender or long duration sailing? Once you know this your search will narrow significantly and people will be able to answer that question a bit easier. I spent four years pondering this question and researching until I found the perfect boat for me and the family.

[SMBSF]

All the boats made in the last 30 years are just fine if they are well maintained and MOST important used for what they were designed for...You must decide what is most important to you and then purchase the model that's most closely matches your priorities... Don't buy a racer and expect it to be a comfortable cruiser. Don't buy a blue water heavy cruiser if you have desire to spend time locally sailing and hanging in your slip...The first boat you purchase will most likely not be the right boat,but from that experience you will learn what you really need. Good luck and enjoy the learning curve!!

[Cheechako]

Boy, it's a wide open thing. Need to zero in a bit to even attempt it. Size? Companies change hands too and quality suffers or gets better....

[sailorboy1]

maybe it has been lost here, but the question as I recall from pages ago is:

what's the best 20-30 year old boat for $5k

in the end the "best" boat brand is "the one you own" and all the rest are just fantasies

[RELENTLESS 1]

Sorry I couldn't take the time to read all the posts, but if someone referred you to this then good on them.

Look up Mahina.com John and Amanda Neal - They are both highly experienced been around the world umpteen times - she was on The Maiden - the original all women Whitbread entry that is now a movie. They have compiled from experience and cruisers/yards/etc. a list here:

Mahina Expeditions - Offshore Cruising Instruction

We sailed on one of their legs 5 years ago - great trip made friends for life w/other crew members. We just ordered and Outremer Cat (spent 10 days at Outremer School and Regatta in June) - friends bought a Catana, and another friend an FP and their experiences/takeaways from their boats are in line with John's succinct comments.

Good luck

[KiminAK]

I, also, haven't read the whole thread since it's wandered so far off topic. My advice is to just start looking at boats. You'll see the difference in how they are made and most importantly how they were maintained. For a boat that old, it's the maintenance that's going to be the key. If it was a Hyundai in it's day, if it's well maintained, it's better than a Mercedes that's been beat to heck.

And get a survey. It's tempting to not survey a boat in that price range, but you really need a survey. There will be many, many things that can be wrong that will have a huge price tag. I have surveyed boats and walked from the sale and have happily paid the survey fee to avoid the problems that the surveyor found. Good Luck!

[jleeglenn]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

I’m hoping this doesn’t come across as too dumb of a question, but I’m looking for some help in understanding boat brands/manufacturers.

I understand there are too many to cover them all. I understand it will be very subjective. I understand everyone has different sailing goals and experience. Ok - with the disclaimer out of the way - who wants to sort the different boat manufacturers into categories?

Maybe relating to cars would be helpful.

The Kia/Hyundai tier: boats that are super cheap, good for beginners, and you won’t lose too much sleep if it sinks due to the cost (no offense to Kia owners, I’m sure they’re great cars).

Honda Accord/Toyota Camry tier: solid boats, no bells or whistles, won’t turn any heads in the marina, but will get the job done and probably hold their resale value - based on my 3 months of hanging out around this forum, I’d guess Catalina’s would go here.

Lexus tier: higher end of boats that average people can afford

Feel free to add higher tiers if you’re bored, but they’re out of my range. I want to start looking at boats and would love a cheat sheet to help me quickly sort the brands.

Edit: looking at monohulls, but not opposed to multis

Actually a really good exercise with an answer is in the same simple vein as the question. I used this approach a long time ago when looking for my first boat to build a construct of the market. So:
Toyota: (strictly production, lots of models, cheapest build techniques, lots in the charter market, lots in brokerage, worst at holding value)
Hunter (the bottom), Beneteau, Jeanneau, Bavaria, Dufour, Dehler, C&C, Westsail, Westerly, Catalina, Hanse, Caliber
Lexus: (higher build quality, frequently built to order, better value, wide variety, frequently very well equipped)
Amel, J Boats, Island Packet, Passport, Wauquiez, Hans Christian, Taswell, Hylas, Cabo Rico, Bowman, Allure, Garcia, Bristol, X-Yachts, Tartan, Hallberg Rasse, Sceptre, Tayana, Outbound, Baba
Mercedes (high build quality, better equipment, semi-custom, long shelf-life)
Hinckley, Morris, Little Harbor, Discovery, Able Marine, Oyster, Shannon, Trintella, Van de Stadt, Sweden Yachts, Swan, Contest, Kanter, Baltic, Cambria
Some notes:
1. First define your personal goals, budget, preferences, etc.
2. The Lexus category has a wide variety of choices, ages, types, styles, prices, capabilities, condition, equipment etc.
3. There is little reason to buy from the Toyota category if you're willing to do the research into the Lexus category in order to find a good fit (see #1).

[Megerin]

I understand your question & even the comparison to cars. We have owned 2 Beneteaus, both used. I compare Beneteau to Chevy, for instance. We used the criteria:
What could we afford
How/where would we use it
We wanted to cruise in the Caribbean, so we decided that a Beneteau made a lot is sense. They have lots of ventilation, parts are easy to obtain, and since there are so many in charter in the BVI, we knew that we could find people who had experience working on it. However, if we were going to sail in New England, a different boat would be better. Also, we knew we were not racing or crossing the Atlantic - therefore, a comfortable cockpit, main salon, and galley was very important.
My advice : read blogs, go to YouTube for bloggers, and read books. There is a good book titled “ How NOT to buy a cruising boat” available on Amazon, it has very practical advice.
We are still cruising after 13 years and love our boat.
Good luck.

[Dsanduril]

I really don't think this is that odd or difficult of a question for someone new to the game. I think you'll find general consensus that Hunter, Beneteaus, Junneau, Catalina and several others fall into the 'standard' category. Amel, Hallberg-Rassy, Oyster and their ilk are one (or more) step(s) up. The real problem is that there are so many smaller players, and thus far too many to list (and even if you did you forget/miss some).

There's going to be some differences of opinion as to exact positioning on the list, but that's true of the OP's car analogy.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

I’ll probably be looking for a 20-30’ (I know that’s a huge range) used boat for under $10k and maybe even under $5k. I bought a little 12’ boat recently and learned it’s way too small. Gonna upgrade to something bigger next summer but really just at the beginning stages. I didn’t mean for this to turn into a thread to help me decide exactly what I need, as I have too much to learn before getting there.

There are a number of 20-25’ boats in my area for under $10k. I could drive to So Cal for a great deal too (10 hrs to L.A.).

I’m not going to be looking for my dream boat, rather a good learning boat that my family and I can enjoy while beating it up on the lakes around here.

The OP could have done us all a favor by starting out with this post. On the other hand, I have to express no small amount of amazement that he offered this up many dozens of posts ago, and it hardly gave anyone pause in offering some of the most highly varied and unfocused posts I have ever seen on this site. I guess those were just things someone wanted to talk about so they did.

[Hamish_ct]

After reading the whole thread I think I can guess what you are looking for. I am in the market for a bigger boat right now so have been doing some research.
Use of the boat is a very important consideration. Racing, Racer/Cruiser or Cruiser. Day sailor or a boat that is "wife" friendly.

My personal criteria is PHRF and Wife friendly. I look at boats with a decent PHRF, so a 38ft Pearson with a PHRF of 210 is a no go, good boat but too slow. A J109 PHRF 72 too expensive in the used market, fast but very willy downwind. (J's are so overpriced. Every time John Jonstone sees me at a boat show he runs now, who is paying $500k for a J 112e, when I can buy another brand new boat just as comfortable, just as fast with more space and a better build quality for half that price new and even less used, but I digress, I am never going to buy a new boat).

For a small boat to get started a J24 is a great boat, easy to get parts and sails, its a day sailor, not wife friendly, although My wife really enjoys sailing it. There is a very liquid market for J24's. You will learn so much sailing that boat, especially if you do some beer can racing. The other boat in that size range is a Catalina 30. Solid boat, the Chevy Suburban of boats. Very wife friendly, not too slow 208 PHRF, but fast enough to have fun with and do local cruising. They built over 8,000 of them, so there is a very liquid market.


Jboats are too expensive, there is a great secondary market for them on the east coast, but they are known as really fast Toyota Corolla's.

My personal list of boats that I have done research on are:

Tartan 3400
Tartan 3500
Ben 36.7
Dehler 36 or 38
Frers 33 or 36
C&C 33-2 or 99
Hanse 375

Also for consideration are the Elan boats, New to the US market, very popular in the Med.

My list is based on 1) wife friendly, 2) Racer/Cruiser design, 3) cockpit space and 4) ease of use and 5) not a dog. I do only sail locally in LI sound and surrounding areas.

Prices vary widely, and depending on the boat and the market, the price sold is rarely ever the asking price.

Good luck and fair winds - as everyone will tell you, don't struggle too much just go out and sail, that is the only way you will know what you want in the end. Trust me, once you buy a boat and start sailing it you will have a much better idea of what you want. then sell it and buy another boat.

[Salt to Sea]

Thank you for all the new responses. After pages of “its impossible” we’re getting some more specific answers. I think all replies (almost all) have been helpful. I’ve read all the linked articles and noted the books with plans to check them all out.

I’m looking into better understanding the materials, designs, styles, etc so I can better judge for myself if a boat is higher quality or not. Knowing some brands that are generally regarded as better made is helpful as I can compare them to the lower priced boats.

I can totally appreciate the differences in racing vs cruising vs other needs. I saw a hatchback Ferrari yesterday and thought “what an ugly car” but maybe it’s perfect for the soccer mom who needs room for all the gear and never wants to be late .

[Salt to Sea]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

The OP could have done us all a favor by starting out with this post. On the other hand, I have to express no small amount of amazement that he offered this up many dozens of posts ago, and it hardly gave anyone pause in offering some of the most highly varied and unfocused posts I have ever seen on this site. I guess those were just things someone wanted to talk about so they did.

Haha, I’m less worried about the $5k boat brand. I think I’ll be happy if it floats and the boom is high enough to miss my forehead. I am interested at brands and quality in general, and more specifically as I try to narrow down what my family will want in a few years. Even if certain brands/years/makes are out of my budget, it’s fun to see what makes them better and compare.

[The KGB]

try Google <boat manufacture> reviews - might be biased, JPA Cate recommends Marine Survey 101. GREAT idea. MicHughV recommends get a broker, that will help a lot - they have sources you don't. Yacht brokers would be similar to a real estate agents.
hth

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Whosails

And so, I am am offshore sailor intending to cross the Atlantic soon. I own a Waquiez 33”. Built for offshore and faster than heavy displacement boats. Point being that there are many different choices. One buys according to one’s needs.

33"? That would be a new trans atlantic record! [emoji6]