Quote:
Originally Posted by tpm
I'd like to find a stiff cruiser under 31' with the traveller back by the helm. I'd like to be able to solo sail. Sail 4 and sleep 2 is enough. Cruising only, no racing. Most often used for day sailing around Cleveland. Hopefully within a few years, sailing to islands around western end of lake, or 70 miles across the lake to Rhondea Bay Canada.
Budget around 40. Wish list is: Uncluttered deck, all lines led aft. Main sheet and powerful self tailing winches within easy reach of helm. Well designed, easy to use, reefing system. Boom high enough for bimini. Good visibility to leeward under head sail, and all around visibility from the cockpit. High enough freeboard aft that it's not a wet sail to windward. Not much use of interior hull liners, good access to plumbing runs, electrical systems, and all areas of hull.
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I would look at a Tartan or
C&C. A couple at our club bought a Tartan 31 this year and it is a beautiful boat. Both brands are local to the area and are plentiful. Stay clear of Tartan 10s as they are flogged on the
race course. A
Pearson 30ish is another nice stable boat. A S2 9.2 is a nice boat too and were built in Michigan. (biased!).
The V shaped hulls will probably want to heel more that the flatter champagne glass type hull. My DH doesn't care for heeling so we went for the flatter bottom. Our S2 is happy with 10-15 degrees vs our old boat which needed a solid 20+ for the waterline.
Thoughts knowing more details- on
draft I would stay at or below 5'6" fixed
keel or a
centerboard. ( I am not a fan after watching friends of our ground and take on obscene amounts of water. We got them into the
lift before anything happened but finding shallows on Erie is not hard especially around freighter traffic and decent sized rivers. The islands are getting shallow and west it gets very shallow. Harbors get squeamish at 6'. I prefer an encapsulated
keel over bolted on and lead vs iron. Personal preferences of mine. You probably want a
displacement in the 10k-12k+/-. I'd also recommend a jib/genoa
furler. I just went through a similar search just a little larger. I'd try to avoid
boats that are/were raced hard.
I would suggest looking around Huron and
Ontario in addition to Erie. Both easily brought down with a good
delivery skipper. (I know a couple.). Or into Lake Michigan if you don't mind trucking it down. Ubid.com shows old bids if you search for a similar boat.
A
survey is a must! My first thought reading your wish list is a Tartan 31. The interior hull liners are largely a personal preference. They do help on
condensation but can also breed
mold. I run a dehumidifier when away from the boat just to keep the stickiness down.
Let me know if you need any help. We just bought our boat a few weeks ago. Also put Port Stanley on your list of places to visit. :-)
Fair winds, SC