I've been looking for a "heavy" but easily-trailerable ~26 ft
boat for the
Great Lakes and the
Caribbean. I've been most impressed by the Chrysler 26 because it's got both internal ballast (basically a shoal keel) and a swing
keel which add up to 2000 lbs, though the
Catalina 25,
San Juan,
Balboa,
Ericson 25, etc... also seem like viable options.
However, whenever I talk about this on
forums, someone invariably says that I should get a
Seaward (e.g. 26RK) instead.
Here's what I see when I compare them:
- Seawards have less ballast (1200 lbs) and so are probably less seakindly.
- Looking at PHRFs, they're about the same speed.
- Owners of both boats claim to love them, though C26 owners are more likely to be interested in selling to upgrade to a larger boat.
- C26es are sometimes called "entry level boats" while Seawards aren't. Not sure why.
So... are Seawards actually better? If so, why? And does the difference warrant 10-30k difference in
price?
Thanks!