Seek advice and opinions on pocket cruisers

[VFacchiano]

I am a beginner sailor and investigating pocket cruisers. I seek opinions on the many options out there for cruisers around 20 feet. Based on what I have learned and aligned with my interest so far re construction , stability, trailer ability, min draft ,mast raising, ease of set up & launch , current production for access to support and supplies--- I think on my list I would want to consider :- West Wright Potter 19, Montgomery Sage 17, Precision 19 and Capri Catalina 22 but I am very open to opinions and guidance from those who have more experience in ownership in a pocket cruiser around 20 feet . I plan to sail in medium to large fresh water lakes and the craft would have a home in north central MN. Thanks in advance for your feedback !

[UNCIVILIZED]

You've already named some good ones. And there are a lot to choose from actually. Like the Pacific Seacraft Flica. About which there are some notes & candidates in several of Steady Hand's excellent threads. Like the "finds in under $30k" one, & one featuring "shoal draft cruisers. You'd also likely be well served by looking at the boat list at The Atom Voyages.

Question. Is the limitation on boat size based on your vehicle's towing capability, the boat's cost, or something else? Since there are a lot of boats in the upper half of the range between 20' & 30' that are great cruiser.

[VFacchiano]

Thank you - size considered was a combination of practicality re freshwater lakes I would typically day sail on , re winter storage practicality within a std garage as well as ease of trailering & launching. The over 20 crafts can also cost more to dry dock them if I would chose that option at some point - but I will keep options open and thank you for your insight.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Want some great suggestions on the Best Trailer Sailors and Best Pocket Cruisers?

I encourage you to subscribe to the following thread.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-175115.html

How to Subscribe to a CF Topic or Thread Discussion
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This thread discussion or topic is relatively new. BUT, I posted several important links in the Opening Post (OP) or top post. I suggest you follow those links and spend a few hours reading the stuff you will find via them. It will be a great education, and is likely to save from making costly mistakes. It will also probably inspire you as it did me.

Also, I suggest any CF member or visitor post your MAXIMUM ASKING PRICE (MAP) whenever asking for boat suggestions. It helps to focus the answers you get.

Good luck and have fun sailing and on CF!

P.S. There are MANY "trailer sailor or pocket cruiser" boats I will be adding to that thread above as I have time to do so. I expect to add new boats each week, sometimes each day. So, subscribe and stay tuned!

__________

In the meantime, there is a wealth of information, advice, tips, suggestions, and opinions found in the CF Forum Archives. You could spend many hours reading and researching.

Here are links to previous discussions about "Pocket Cruisers" on CF:
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...ser&gsc.page=1

Here are links to previous discussions about "Trailer Sailors" on CF:
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...lor&gsc.page=1

[Tayana42]

In north central Minnesota you might want one like this...

[alansmith]

Tayana, that is "cold"....smile

[Tayana42]

I lived in Mendota Heights near St. Paul for 10 years in the 1970-80s when my kids were young. I have the greatest respect for the people who live there. Most are hardy, friendly, community involved and genuinely nice. But, they have to be nuts to live there.[emoji6] I used to keep a sailboard on the roof of my car in case I found any water that wasn't frozen solid.

[hamburking]

You might consider adding the TANZER 22 to your list. Although old, they are considered bulletproof. They are ugly, and totally functional. You can pick one up for a few hundred dollars these days, and expect to get a complete boat with no defects. If trailer-ability is important, there is a swing keel model that will satisfy you, although I consider the fin keel version a great sailing boat with exceptional sailing characteristics. For support, the T22 association is very active with a large membership. The T22 is a lot of boat for the money.

[wsstrange]

Flicka is the only real choice.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by wsstrange

Flicka is the only real choice.

If he were sailing in the ocean, and not planning to trailer much, I might agree with you. The Flicka is a lovely, seaworthy boat. But remember he's going to be on freshwater lakes. Something with a swing keel, rather than the Flicka's full keel, will be much better for him in terms of minimum draft, and also much easier to trailer.

Trailer-sailers of that size have one tremendous advantage over any other kind of boat -- they can go upwind at 70 mph Which vastly expands your potential cruising grounds.

[Boatbum540]

Compac 23 is another candidate

[Jarel Design]

Thank you for starting this thread! =D

Couldn't be complete without including the Chrysler 26. (Just posted on the link you included here):

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-175115.html

We bought ours with the trailer for $5,000 as a fresh water boat =D

My wife and I live in ORegon over 200 miles from shore, but plan to cruise the ICW, Sea of Cortez and the San Juan Islands. A trailer sailor will make this possible. We BOTH have a lot of experience on larger blue water boats and were looking for something that was designed to be trailered while still having the stability (at least closer), of the larger boats we've sailed off shore.

Although the C-26 was never designed for blue water work, she's really stable, pretty fast, easily motored (6kts+) using a 9.9 4S mercury. With and electric start and controls in the cockpit, she comes close to having an inboard diesel. (kind of).

She has TONS of room inside with 6' standing headroom, a separate, enclosed head and a big double berth aft, under the cockpit (with ports!). There's a Chrysler sailor website with lots of info and a classified section.

Anyway, just wanted to share.

Thanks again for starting this thread. Coming from larger boats, I never dreamed trailerable sailboats could open up a whole new world!

[thomm225]

20' is really a bit small for a cruiser, even a pocket cruiser.

This list though has boats from 20' to 32' many in a lower price range. The guy has gone into great detail also about small boat cruising.

The Flicka 20 as mentioned before is on the list.

Atom Voyages - Good Old Boats List

You can also compare your small boat choice on the Mahina Site

Mahina Expeditions - Selecting A Boat for Offshore Cruising

[Cheechako]

If you are going to have a pocket cruiser, why not go fast! I considered getting a Mega 30 a few years back. Easy to sail , fast with a 27+ waterline, very lightweight, motorized retractable keel. Finding a good one with trailer may be a challenge though. A guy in the PNW completely rebuilt one a few years back, I warned him not to, but he did everything including paint. It was for sale cheap last I saw but don't see it now. Probably faster than most 36 ft + cruising boats....
MEGA 30 OD (C&C) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Jarel Design

Thank you for starting this thread! =D

Couldn't be complete without including the Chrysler 26. (Just posted on the link you included here):

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-175115.html

We bought ours with the trailer for $5,000 as a fresh water boat =D

My wife and I live in ORegon over 200 miles from shore, but plan to cruise the ICW, Sea of Cortez and the San Juan Islands. A trailer sailor will make this possible. We BOTH have a lot of experience on larger blue water boats and were looking for something that was designed to be trailered while still having the stability (at least closer), of the larger boats we've sailed off shore.

Although the C-26 was never designed for blue water work, she's really stable, pretty fast, easily motored (6kts+) using a 9.9 4S mercury. With and electric start and controls in the cockpit, she comes close to having an inboard diesel. (kind of).

She has TONS of room inside with 6' standing headroom, a separate, enclosed head and a big double berth aft, under the cockpit (with ports!). There's a Chrysler sailor website with lots of info and a classified section.

Anyway, just wanted to share.

Thanks again for starting this thread. Coming from larger boats, I never dreamed trailerable sailboats could open up a whole new world!

Yes, I've mentioned the Chrysler 26 a few times on this forum. An acquaintance had one, he raved about it. I've seen them below $3k with trailer.