Looking for Present and Former Owners of Small (Under 30') Boats

[s/v 'Faith']

I find my Pearson Ariel to be just about perfect for my wife, dog and I. She has just enough space, handles seas well, does not draw too much, has standing head room, and I love the outboard in a well. You can read more about s/v Faith here, or more about the Pearson Ariel Here.

[CastOff]

Thanks I'll take a look.

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by CastOff

What's a 'screen number' that you refer to in your last sentence Larry?

Sorry for the slow response...

See: http://yachtdesignsoftware.com/formulas.htm

Screen Number:
The Screen Number is computed by dividing the maximum beam by the cube root of displacement (lbs.) divided by 64 (weight cubic ft sea water) or beam/((weight/64))^1/3. The Screen Number was devised by The United States Yacht Racing Union and The Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers Joint Committee on Safety From Capsizing, June 1985.It is an indicator of a vessels ability to resist capsizing. Less then 2.0 is good coefficient for cruising yachts.

[CastOff]

Thank you Larry, some of the terminology has escaped me since I left sailing years ago. Remedial reading is done when I'm on the way to look at boats in yards these days,LOL. I did manage to come to the conclusion that I 'm going to have spend some chunk of change to get a decent boat to start with, without undergoing a refit for my purposes.

[CastOff]

Originally Posted by gardnsailor

Interestingly, 5 of the 6 were manufactured in SW Florida. And yes, the first three are quite different than the remainder. The Nimbles, both 20 and 24, have sharpie hulls and thus do a bit of slapping and pounding but I really admire their shallow draft for coastal cruising. However, I can't image them being liveaboards. I've always admired the Flicka and might have purchased one had they been a bit more shoal draft. The Flicka is big enough for extended stays but at 20' one would have to be pretty durable to live aboard one.
I own a SeaPearl 21 and seriously considered a 28. However, very few were produced and I have not seen one for sale in 4 or 5 years. I ended up in a Nimble 30.

Yes, the Nimbles appeal to me is their shoal draft in the 20/24; same with the Rob Roy 23. I decideed after boarding a few examples they were not for someone wanting to liveaboard, but rather 'camp aboard'. The nimble 30 is a tottally different bird, and a beautiful boat at that There is a Sea Pearl28 for sale, but I am too concerned about having to replace the carbon fiber masts to have a go at it It appears to have low 'numbers' as in displacement, sail, etc for loaded cruising, so I am passing it up.

I did come across a neat reference page while going through the research, as Larry pointed out, here>janice142.com - home of Seaweed for the rest of you folks who come after me asking the same question. Nothing like giving back to folks who have been generous with their time and PMs to me

I learned by actually going on some boats this past week why I need a heavier built boat to cruise. Loaded boats take a pounding at sea, and if not built heavy enough they puke their guts out leaving you 'Adrift' (Steven Callahan)

[Curmudgeon]

Bristol 29.9, IP 27 MkII. Both centerboarders.

[MikeTurner]

Castoff, I owned and cruised a Rob Roy 23 for four years in San Diego and Mobile Bay. She was a great boat; the modified sharpie hull has rounder bilges than the Nimble boats and didn't pound all that much in rougher waters. She also has a tad more interior room than the Nimble 20 (which is pretty much the same boat; Ted Brewer designed both, the RR first and then the Nimble after he parted ways with the RR's builder) due to the RR's centerboard trunk being below the cabin sole.

As much as I loved the RR, though, I couldn't recommend her as a live-aboard or longer term cruiser, the storage space was too limited. We once packed her for a 10-day cruise from Mobile to Lake Pontchartrain and she was full beyond the limit, it was like a Chinese puzzle every night, moving stuff off the bunks and into the cockpit to be able to sleep. And the "sitting room only" of the RR cabin got old after a few days, although that can be a personal preference (as Uffa Fox said, "If you want to stand up, go on deck").

After the Pontchartrain experience (and we never got there; the rudder stock parted our first night out, a weak point of the RR design; we sailed the boat over 30 miles home steering with just the sails, a strong point of the RR design) we decided to move up to a larger boat and bought our current 32' Lazyjack schooner.

The Rob Roy was terrific for daysailing and weekending but as you say, was more "camping in" particularly as compared to our current boat which we've spent upwards of a month at a time on with no problems.

There's at least one Rob Roy currently for sale, listed on the sailingtexas.com website, if you are still interested (although I gather from your postings above that you've also concluded the RR and Nimbles are too confined for live-aboard purposes. I've no connection to the sailingtexas boat, just happened to see the listing).

[thomm225]

Here's a nice looking Contessa 26 with monitor self steering if you cannot find the other boats you are looking for. It's located in Harve De Grace, MD. I have the guy's e-mail address if you want it.

Tom

[boatman61]

Very nice....

[GordMay]

C&C 29
➥ C&C 29 (Mk II) - Used Sailboat Market in Canada

[Geoduck]

I have a 1986 Nimble 20 that I bought about 5 years back for 6k. I've owned a few boats over the years and I don't think any of them have given me as much joy as the Nimble!
I have sailed the damn thing in all kinds of weather - 30knts + on lake Meade, Columbia river, Puget Sound, Desolation Sound, many different lakes, etc.
It's not fast but Im sailing when others are tied up. I park the thing on the beach if I want to. It pounds going to weather but it can take it - it's one tough little boat and I got it so cheap that I can wreck it and walk away with a smile on my face!
I've spent many 10 day trips on her and have learned to live well on the boat - I love the cockpit as much as I do on the 48footer that I have and it's a hell of alot easier to sail too!
I put a bowsprit on the Nimble and turned it into a cutter rig so I have more sail to play with. I get over 10 miles to the gallon with the 9.9 Honda and poop along about 5knts.
I'd really like to get rid of both the 48 and the Nimble and get a 36' Nimble 20 if such a thing existed!

[Wishinforwind]

I have a Catalina 22 poptop a well done boat often over looked.. got mine on a trailer for $1500(us)., and have since added many many upgrades. a most excellent 0-5 day sailer

[windswept too]

No mention of the S&S designed Yankee Dolphin 24?

[nwdiver]

I sail C&C 30 Mark II and have been to Alaska and back by way of the outside of Vancouver Island. It is fast and comfortable for a 30 foot boat. Long distance storage would be a bit of a problem, but tripping in the Caribbean would be very easy. The C&C boats are all well built and sail very well.