Boat options

[AiniA]

Hello
My wife and I are in the market for a new (to us) boat. We are looking for something relatively new (after 1995 or so) to be used initially for winters in the Western Caribbean and later for use on the Great Lakes. We are quite experienced sailors and fit but not kids. We hate to motor so want good sailing performance (large main, small jib, and asymmetric). I am using PHRF as a rough guide with around 100 or better as a guide. Windward performance is not particularly important to me - gentlemen don't go to windward of course. Really want good performance off the wind. Another constraint is shallow draft for use in some harbours on Lake Ontario (would like to keep draft to 6 feet or less. At this point a J/42 seems to check all the boxes although some of them are pretty expensive. What boats other than J/42 and possibly a really good J/40 would people suggest.

[MarkJ]

With a PHRF of 100 it will certainly go upwind!

[MarkJ]

What would the use be on the Great Lakes? Cruising only; racing; or cruiser/racer?

How many years in the Caribbean, do u think
Confirm Western Carib Central America? Or do you mean the Caribbean Islands?

[AiniA]

Gee Mark, senior moment, I meant Eastern Caribbean. We would stage in Grenada and make an annual trip probably as far north as St Martin so we can have a beer (or two) with you. Once we get back to Lake Ontario - hard to predict when, but likely 3 to 5 years, the boat would be used for cruising and perhaps the odd double-handed race - not around the cans, longer races, perhaps 25 to 100 miles.

I think the J/42 shoal draft PHRF is around 70, I just wonder what else is out there that would do the trick.

[MarkJ]

A J42 would get from Grenada to St Martin in about a day

Great boats. Do remember that those and similar designs, like First, have fewer hatches so ventilation and a view out maybe considerations.

I'll leave it for a few others to give you suggestions as I don't know many good boats similar, nowadays.

A quick squiz on YachtWorld shows very few J42's for sale.

[AiniA]

Not too many, although there is one in Trinidad which is interesting. We would wait for the right boat. It seems you can get high performance or shallow draft, but not too many boats have both.