Your 27 - 32 ft story...

[Lexi22]

This will be my last thread here - until I'm back in the market for a sailboat. I'll still post replies and join the fun, but appears to be summer of 22 will hopefully be my time. In the meantime, sailing-wise, I'll be reading, taking classes, and renting boats as much as I can; Covid 19 likes to change plans. So this thread is NOT about which boat to buy...

Most folks here have owned a 27 - 32 ft monohull at some point in their sailing careers. I wanna learn about their experiences with those boats. Good, bad, or what ever they wanna share. I think this thread will help many newbie sailors out there. Real life experiences of yacht owners tell much more than photos, specs, 'ratios' and that kind of stuff.

[Red Sky]

My first was a mid 80’s Catalina 30 with a tiller & Universal M-25. Simple, tons of support, lots of opportunity to race in the class. Systems that aren’t to complex to learn for someone starting out. Your bio says West Coast, there’s always good boats to choose from & lots of C-30’s on this coast. Easy to sail solo & learn on. My wife went from novice to doing a passage from Hawaii in the 4 years we owned ours (not on ours/a Catalina). In fact, she just rebuilt the fresh water pump. We did do SF to the Monterey Bay a couple times & of course Half Moon Bay yearly.

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by Lexi22

This will be my last thread here - until I'm back in the market for a sailboat. I'll still post replies and join the fun, but appears to be summer of 22 will hopefully be my time. In the meantime, sailing-wise, I'll be reading, taking classes, and renting boats as much as I can; Covid 19 likes to change plans. So this thread is NOT about which boat to buy...

Most folks here have owned a 27 - 32 ft monohull at some point in their sailing careers. I wanna learn about their experiences with those boats. Good, bad, or what ever they wanna share. I think this thread will help many newbie sailors out there. Real life experiences of yacht owners tell much more than photos, specs, 'ratios' and that kind of stuff.

Enjoy your classes and sail as much as your budget allows. The step to ownership will come when it does.

[Cheechako]

My first cruiser was a Rawson 30 which we took to San Diego then Mexico. We were green but the boat took care of us. We had a ton of fun in Mexico. We cruised in the PNW with that boat also. It was a dry ride and it was very easy to sail. 30 feet is nice for staying in control. A couple of pulls and the mainsail is up etc. Yes.... slower than a 40+ footer, but still, you get there. Sailing friends had a Dana 24 and others a Bristol Bay Cutter 22. The 22 was nearly as fast as our old school 30 and the Dana was as fast. Once you have a large boat, it's very difficult to go back to a small one due to speed.

[mjscottinnc]

My first was a Watkins 27, sailed up and down the Chesapeake from the C&D canal to Oxford for 12 years. Each fall I’d take 2 weeks and cruise always stopping at St Michaels and ending my trip so I could attend the Annapolis sailboat show. One summer sailed from middle river to Atlantic City with dinner each way in Cape May at the Lobster House, my favorite fish house in South Jersey. Good memories. Thanks for the request

[psk125]

We had a Hereshoff H-28 when I was growing up. Very simple wooden boat, built in 1949. Head and a wood stove (for heat) forward, a curtain for privacy, two bunks, galley and icebox aft, and stowage under the cockpit. It had an Atomic 4 engine pushing an offset prop. My father took it on overnight races with my brothers and me, and we added my mom to cruise up the Connecticut River and to daysail. My mom made the a 2-burner alcohol stove work for us by using a pressure cooker. I got to take her out myself (with friends) when I was about 14. Each spring we'd pull over to a nearby abandoned pier where she'd ground out at low tide so we could scrape the bottom, paint the antifouling, and redo the varnished cabin trunk and cockpit coamings. Every few years we revarnished the spars too. The boat was sold a long time ago and has been re-engined and re-sparred, but is still ready to go out pretty much any time. Before we had her, the owners used to cruise from Connecticut to Maine and back each summer. (That's the reason for the wood stove.) Seakindly, steady, and simple.

[Lexi22]

A great list up to now, Catalina 30, Rawson 30, Watkins 27, Herreshoff H-28... Thanks a lot folks!

[lk240]

I live in Geneva, NY at the north end of Seneca Lake and 6 years ago I bought a 20 ft power boat to explore the lakes with the kids and found that I really enjoyed being out on the water and at the same time became interested in sailing as well. I had zero boating experience before this.

After 1 season of power boating I starting becoming obsessed with sailing. Spent 2 years researching sailboats, bought a ton of books, visited about 20 sailboats (ranging from 20 to 35 ft), had 2 of them surveyed (C&C30mkII and a Pearson 28) and finally landed on a Caliber 28 that was for sale in the local marina listed on Craigslist.

Bought her 3 seasons ago and have learned how to sail and dock single-handed and deal with all the associated tasks (engine maintenance, sanding and updating bottom paint, servicing winches, replacing running rigging, replacing electronics, replacing thru-hulls, etc). Seneca lake is a great place to learn and it's been a lot of fun. Looking back my only regret is not going for a slightly larger boat, I think 30' would have been ideal but at the time it felt like too big of a boat.

Was able to crew for the return leg of the Marion-Bermuda race in 2019, thinking that would help me expand my sailing knowledge, another story...

Now I have my sights set on ASA classes somewhere down south either end of this year/early next year pending COVID developments and eventually would like to charter in the Caribbean with friends and family. We'll see....

LK240

[bigdogandy]

My first boat in that range is my current boat - 1981 Endeavour 32 - and I’ve had her for almost 13 years now. Have done a lot of sailing along the Florida east coast and the Keys, been to the Ábacos, about to head back toward the keys in a few days. Perfect size boat in my opinion for single-handing and living aboard solo or as a couple. Have 400 watts of solar for staying away from crowds for long periods of time, comfy V berth bed, propane stove and oven, 65 gallons fresh water, 22 gallons diesel, autopilot, VHF. Not fancy at all but fairly rugged and reliable for the kind of cruising and sailing I do. Shallow draft, which is great for the Keys and Bahamas, but might not be ideal for West Coast sailing.

Best of luck to you in your journey to boat life!

[EricJ]

I bought a 25' Nordic Folkboat way back in my teens - it was an absolutely beautiful boat, the hull was a work of art....but I'll never own a wooden boat again because I prefer to spend my time more on sailing and less on maintenance. Later on owned a Nicholson 32 for several years, which I sailed all over the SF Bay area, mostly singlehanded. Now, after 15+ boatless years I've acquired a Bodega 30 and she and I are still getting acquainted, but I think it's gonna be a long-term relationship.

[Rblakenyc]

Thanks for starting the thread. Not a newbie sailor but a wannabie owner busy armchair shopping in about this range (might go as small as 24 but 28-30 sounds ideal). Will follow with interest from the other coast.

[Orion Jim]

I can attest that you can have a whole lot of fun and adventures in a 31’ boat. I’m a widower and retired so I singlehand 100% of the time. I’ve singlehanded to Bermuda four times and I spend the remainder of the season cruising New England’s waters.

[Lexi22]

New additions to the list, Caliber 28, Endeavour 32, Nicholson 32, Bodega 30, Cape Dory 31. Thanx much!

[Fore and Aft]

Lexi 22 that size for us is the sweet point in boat ownership. We have owned five yachts in that size range and never have a desire to go bigger. The Whitby 25 folk boat is the only north american yacht we have owned, and she was one sweet sailing vessel. A bit small down below, but when you are young and in love it can work for a couple.
The thing you will find is that yachts this size are not to expensive to maintain and sail by yourself.
Cheers

[Jim Cate]

Lexi, I think I've made a similar post in one of your earlier threads...

But I owned a Yankee 30 for seven years. During those years I did one design racing in SF Bay, open fleet racing, single hand ocean racing in the Gulf of the Farallones, local in-bay day sailing, several cruises to So Cal and back and finally a round trip to Hawaii in 1983.

The S&S designed Y-30 is a great boat for all the above in terms of suitability. The long passages in the Hawaii trip convinced Ann and I that a boat that sailed at lesser heel angles would be far better for long term cruising and passage making, and so we sold her on. But truly a delight to sail, and for the racers, easy to sail to her rating... even single handed. And that is not a common trait!

Build quality easily better than Cat-30 but not as good as the premium builds of her day. The Atomic 4 was adequate, but I'm not a fan. A small (~20 hp) diesel would be a good upgrade, and many have had such.

I've sailed a fair number of boats, and none had better all-round manners that the Yankee.

Jim