Best small seaworthy sailboats on USA second hand market ?

[hafa]

Originally Posted by Legras

...i checked some hunter boats but they are badly cheap made

Originally Posted by joelhemington

While Hunter's do have a fairly bad reputation for build quality, the type of sailing you're describing will not require a world beater - Hunters can successfully handle cruising the Caribbean or Florida.

And here I will defend the honor of my craft: Hunter Legend 40.1; has handled 2 typhoons with winds >280 km/h (Soudelor and Yutu), and does regular trips to the northern islands close hauled in typical 14' seas and 25 knots wind, no problems. ~30 years old and going strong. A solid vessel, but I'll concede the interior wood work was less than steller.

[Phantom Jim]

A logical procedure would be to assess what boats are available in your search area that meet your criterion. Then compile a list if each boat's positives and negatives. This will eliminate many of the available boats. Pick the one you like and trust the best.

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by JJ77

Hello Legras,

You will find these lists helpful,there are also some euro boats on there as well
as taiwanese ones;

https://atomvoyages.com/planning/goo...oats-list.html

https://bluewaterboats.org/

Cheers,
JJ

Catalina 27 caught my attention in the list of bluewater sailboats list. I wonder what brand new designs today are comparable to that one these days.

[psk125]

Almost as intriguing as what's on the Bluewaterboats list are the boats that are not on it. What are the criteria for being listed? Who knows?

[thomm225]

Mahina Offshore Boat List is another good list to use.

Cape Dory's and Bristol's are on all three.

https://www.mahina.com/cruise.html

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Lexi22

Catalina 27 caught my attention in the list of bluewater sailboats list. I wonder what brand new designs today are comparable to that one these days.

that's appalling! How a Cat 27 ever got on a list of recommended "blue water" boats is really beyond my comprehension.

It is true that one did circumnavigate years ago, but it was highly modified with major structural and rig upgrades. Falls into the "stunt voyage" category IMO.

Leads me to wonder about the other recommendations...

Jim

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

How a Cat 27 ever got on a list of recommended "blue water" boats is really beyond my comprehension.

Same here. A Catalina 27 sailed by Evel Knievel, it should've been listed as.

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Leads me to wonder about the other recommendations...

I noticed those recommendations were all old out of production sailboats. I'm interested in brand new sailboats, so those lists don't mean anything to me anyhow. I don't think anybody produces any 27ft 'blue water' capable sailboats lately.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by psk125

Almost as intriguing as what's on the Bluewaterboats list are the boats that are not on it. What are the criteria for being listed? Who knows?

The old site used to have a big section of "boats to vote for." It started with boats that were listed in other places as probably pretty reliably seaworthy and then they invited folks to list their own choices to be voted for. If the boat got enough votes (I don't know how many) it made the cut I guess. That list had a lot of great boats on it too. And once in a while a Catalina 27 would get thrown in. It didn't get many votes, maybe 1; it never made the cut.

There are a lot of candidates. I think mine is a good choice.
Maybe just look around till you find some good ones and ask around here what folks know about them.

[smacksman]

For the ICW, any stock 30ft sailboat will go under the fixed bridges. I bought a Bristol 30 (early 70's) for under $5000 and sailed her (well 90% motoring in the ICW) north to south and loved it. Thank you America! If you can sail Ostend to Harwich then Florida to the Bahamas or Cuba is no big deal and less distance. I've sailed thousands of miles in the Channel/North Sea/Baltic in a Vega 27 and she looked after us well. By the sound of it you plan to coastal hop rather than cross oceans.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by Legras

I open this thread to have your feedback (may be more particularly from american/canadian sailors).
I m planning (as soon as travelling will be possible again) to buy in Florida an old 26 to 29 feet monohull sailboat from end 70's/beginning 80's, SEAWORTHY, and ready to sail...kind of boats you can find usually around 10 000 $.
Here my question :
Im from europe west coast, so i know the good old small classic seaworthy models we can find in France ( ex janneau sangria, fantasia, ecume de mer, aquila, arcadia, dufour etc..), in Belgium ( etap 28i etc...), or in the netherlands (Van de Stad).. But these boats are obviously very rare on US second hand market..
So which old small cruisers with equivalent size and performances (27/29 ft, seaworthy) are popular in USA and could be comparable ?.. i heard Pearson old ones or Contessa have a good reputation in america ..
well any suggestion will be appreciated . thanks.

old 26 to 29 feet monohull sailboat from end 70's/beginning 80's, SEAWORTHY, and ready to sail.
Highly doubt anything within that criteria is fully seaworthy and "ready" to sail.

[Sofa King Fishy]

Originally Posted by Legras

thks for the infos and your warm message !
yes ! you understood perfectly my question : i would like to learn about the best american boatbuilders companies from these days .
actually the boat will stay titled in Florida ( i have relatives with legal adress there) we will use it to sail around florida and bahamas, so no issue with french affairs... i m not french by the way, i m from Belgium ( but yes you right, EU boat import process is a nightmare
I heard of Pearson, C&c and Tanzer , but i didnt know much about Hinckley, Bristol and Morris.. i m going to dig this ...
what about Catalinas ? are they better quality than Hunter ? ...i checked some hunter boats but they are badly cheap made

Catalina builds simple, sturdy boats that are very comfortable inside. Wide side decks, headroom, etc., made for big Americans. They’re pretty basic, but built pretty straightforwardly and sail well. They’re not fancy, but one can add gear fairly easily like Solar, H2O maker, diesel heater, etc. Hunters are hit or miss- they bond the hull to the deck with a glue joint at the stern- granted its bullet proof, 5200 sealant, but you still have a glued joint under water. use a B&R rig- no backstay, coupled with very long, swept back spreaders, so make sure you get those inspected for any potential weak spots. Also, they utilize an overhead traveler, which frees up deck space, but does require a beefy arch over the cockpit- I love this, but some don’t. They built them with GRP on some models ans those are prone to cracking, they changed to Stainless & solved this issue. They’re out of business now, and you can really get a lot of boat for the $ with a Hunter, and my dock mates who have em cruise all over the Carib/Mexico and are quite happy.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by JBsurfin

old 26 to 29 feet monohull sailboat from end 70's/beginning 80's, SEAWORTHY, and ready to sail.
Highly doubt anything within that criteria is fully seaworthy and "ready" to sail.

Well there are always exceptions.

This guy crossed three oceans on his 1973 Bristol 27 he bought for $1,000 then "fixed up!"

https://towndock.net/shippingnews/se...-and-alexandra

Bristol27.com » Hull # – Alexandra

https://svcrystalblues.blogspot.com/...ne-around.html

[Americanrancher]

Originally Posted by Sailorgirl86

Hello,
An older book called "Twenty small sailboats to take you anywhere" by John Vigor may be helpful to you!
Best of luck!

This book is a great place to start to at least get an idea of what you maybe interested in.

My vote would be for a Cape Dory 30.

Good luck!

[Sofa King Fishy]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Well there are always exceptions.

This guy crossed three oceans on his 1973 Bristol 27 he bought for $1,000 then "fixed up!"

https://towndock.net/shippingnews/se...-and-alexandra

Bristol27.com » Hull # – Alexandra

https://svcrystalblues.blogspot.com/...ne-around.html

Damn! His boat looks like my liver! No need for a life raft- he can just float away on his giant balls!😛