Sailboats up to 32' with vberth + aft cabin?

[afelgate]

Hi, does anyone have any recommendations, suggestions, or ideas?

I'm located in coastal Connecticut, and experienced on an Ericson 32' (sailing class), Dufour 2800 (27' - buddy's boat), O'Day Daysailer (16'9" - mine for the last 3 years), and a Hobie Wave (14' rotomolded catamaran - tons on fun this summer!)

Moving up to a bigger boat because I want to get my wife, 4 year old son, and baby more involved. Would like the ability to sleep all of us comfortably on overnights and coastal trips plus even bring another couple and a kid or two. Plus daysailing with family & friends of course.

Freedom 32' looks great - sleeps 7 in two private cabins, a double bed dinette conversion plus starboard berth. But I'd like to see if I could find anything smaller to save on docking fees.

Other key points to consider are seaworthiness, ease of handling (the Freedom is a "cat sloop" w/self-tending jib), and overall build quality.

Thanks in advance for any & all feedback!

Alan

[sandy stone]

You don't mention your budget, but you might look at the Beneteau 305. I was going to say the 285 also, but that would be mighty small with another couple. It's not just the number of berths, but also elbow room and places to stow everybody's stuff.

[Blue Crab]

Welcome sir. Good post. The Freedom might be all the boat you'll ever want.

[jeepbluetj]

Catalina 30 sleeps 6 easy. 320 has a private aft cabin

[afelgate]

I *did* forget to mention budget. We could stretch to about $20k.

Also I would like two true cabins, not an open-plan berth.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

[roverhi]

You are asking a lot of a little boat. Would cross out the idea of bringing another couple along for an overnighter unless they camp out on the beach. Center cockpit boats under 35' seem to look like an abortion designed by a committee who never met.

I'd look for a boat with two quarter berths for the kids and forepeak for you. Kids are small enough that they can play with a friend in a quarter berth and you can close the berths off with a curtain. Met a couple of families cruising long distances on boats with that type of interior and they seemed to work well.

[afelgate]

Not really interested in a center cockpit. I like being in the stern so I can see what's going on

The Europeans seem to do a good job combining private fore & aft cabins w/elegant interiors. Beneteau, Jeanneau, Bavaria, Elan, Gib'Sea, Maxi...

But most of these boats are hard to find here in New England!

Will need to check out Hunters & Catalinas. Are there any other great American boats out there that meet my spec? Design & build quality are really important to me. I know I'm picky, but this is a major purchase.

btw I'm also looking mainly at shoal draft of less than 5', less than 4' even better.

Thanks again for the help everyone...

[bensolomon]

I think the hunters will be a good cross between sailing ability and space down below. I own a hunter legend 37.5 and get my wife, three kids, two kid's friends and two dogs on board for a week. I have grown up sailing a hunter 32 from Chesapeake all the way up to Maine and she kept us safe. You can see my boat in action from the kite cam, with everyone on board.

http://youtu.be/Gg2pH4D0pRI




Ben Solomon
S/V Dawn 1989 37.5 hunter legend

[Captrhino]

afelgate I'm in the same boat you are. ( Pun intended) We're looking for a boat with a shallow draft 3ft of less in the 25-30ft range with enough room for us two kids and couple others. I think a Hunter is the route we're going to go. You have come to the right place as there is many knowledgeable people on this forum. Good luck in your boat hunting!

[afelgate]

Ben & Captrhino, do you have any specific Hunters you'd recommend?

I've never actually been on a Hunter so appreciate the help.

Nice pun Cap!

[Captrhino]

I'm personally leaning towards a 1996 Hunter 26. I'm going to be sailing on shallow lakes and close to shore in the Gulf of Mexico so this would be ideal with it's 3.5 draft

[Wireless1]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Welcome sir. Good post. The Freedom might be all the boat you'll ever want.

+1 on that which I can personally attest to!

[bensolomon]

Which model is a tough question to answer. Let me explain why I bought the boat I did. I bought the 37.5 because I wanted a queen sized berth for my wife and I, as well as a vberth up front. I also wanted a queen sized berth in the salon, and a full length couch so I could have a spot for 7 people. I also picked the 37.5 over the 40.5 or 45 legend because the 37.5 had the most usable interior space. The larger versions added an extra head up front which only really serves to crunch the vberth and give a closet as a head. Very uncomfortable. Also, the draft on the 37.5 is 4.5 feet instead of 5.5 or 6 feet unlike the other models so I can get into most anchorages in my area. The mast height is just the right height to get under the fixed bridges for the shortcuts in my area, too.

As for sailing characteristics, the legend series vs the others, the legends sail really, really well. Also, the 37.5 is light by comparison to similar vessels. I picked the 37.5 because she sails even in light wind. When others are at the dock, I have had great sailing days. The flip side is she is a bit tender. I tend to reef at about 20 knots for comfort admiral, crew and dogs, not because she can't handle it.

The legend is also well balanced. Tankage is all centerline with water in the vberth, and the fuel in the aft cabin. The waste tank is starboard and the stove and fridge is port. All tanks are polyethylene and easy to access.

As for other things: My boat has tremendous storage. I can put months of stores on board, no joking. I also wanted a Yanmar engine, and my boat has one. She also has a full, L shaped galley that faces into the salon, so if you are cooking, you're not with your face into the cabinets. She also has a folding prop, which has added to sailing performance.

Also, don't get wrapped up in the electronics. My boat did not have 12 volt refrigeration, autopilot, or a helm stationed GPS/chartplotter. I added the fridge, and a CPT autopilot as I enjoy course plotting and just need the boat to stay on course. I love the CPT! Also I use an IPAD with a ram mount at the helm running iSailor as my chartplotter.

I have been on 32 footers, and they are too small for what I think you want to do. 40 plus foot boats are slightly too big, IMHO. I grew up sailing my uncle's 32 Hunter. She was truly a mighty boat, but we were crammed in there.

I apologize for the verbosity of my response. If you are in my area, you are welcome to see my legend 37.5.

Ben

[bmz]

For $20,000, it is very difficult for us to make abstract recommendations. Find a boat that is as close to your desires as possible, for as close to your budget as possible (that is going to be very, very difficult), then ask for opinions. I would recommend that you relax your keel desires. Deep keels offer better performance. 99% of shoal draft sailors obey six-foot channel markers or GPS depth lines anyway. Hence, your best performance and practicality would be with a keel just under 6 feet.

[leecollum]

I sailed a Bombay clipper 31 for about 15 years. Strong, and seaworthy for a boat with 3'6" draft. I had to add sail because she is a little slow but with the help of Northsail, I placed a 150 which stayed close to the deck and added some traveling stays to hold the sail luff tighter. She sailed very nice with those modifications. The nice part is the room inside. She is pretty stiff and will take a beating. Lots of room very little draft no race winner though.