FJ sailboat - sail to Catalina island?

[john745]

Trying to get into Sailing.
Did have a small catamaran as a teenager which I took out a couple times and extremely enjoyed.

I'm looking at a 14 ft FJ vs. McGregor25 or Catalina22.
We live in El Paso Texas so anywhere I would want to go I would pretty much have to haul it.
It's about 9 hours to the coast of Texas and similar distance to California.

I'm looking for something I can practice on but would like to use also to make some adventurous trips such as to Catalina Island.

I saw some FJs sailing in San Francisco Bay.

If you weren't doing anything overnight could you sail an FJ safely to Catalina Island or is it too much open water?

I just don't want to over purchase right now. I don't mind spending the money but if I'm honest with myself my time is pretty limited and I'd rather have something smaller sitting in the driveway.

[nuku34]

Re sailing to Catalina Island:
You could do it in a 14ft FJ, if the weather was right and you and your crew are experienced sailors. Unless the boat has flotation and you could self-right it if you capsize, I wouldn’t even think about it. Also, once you get to the island, where are you going to sleep and could you carry bedding, food, etc for camping out (because you can’t do a round trip in a day).


As a teenager, I did that trip in an extremely fast, planing, 16ft dinghy, a 505. We left on a raging Santa Anna (hot easterly wind off the desert), did the 26 miles in 3 hours with me hanging on the trapeze the whole time. Spent 2 nights there and the wnd changed to the usual N.W. and we had another fast ride back to L.A. It was a hoot, but both the skipper and I were very experienced sailors.


I suggest you get a 20-25ft trailer sailor, and learn to sail it in protected waters (lakes?) before you attempt the trip to Catalina.


Good luck!

[john745]

Thank you much for your excellent response.
Why do you recommend getting a trailerable larger boat versus FJ?

Would an FJ be ok practicing in San Francisco bay? Coast of Texas protected waterways?

[TrentePieds]

If I may chime in :-)

You say: "Why do you recommend getting a trailerable larger boat versus FJ?"

Because the FJ is a 2- man centre-board racing dinghy relying on one crew member to be the ballast. He becomes "ballast" by hiking out and dragging his butt in the water about midships while handling the jib sheets. The other guy handles the helm and the mainsheet . As you are a self-professed novice [which is MUCH MORE respectable than being a "cowboy":-)], I would think that you should NOT take an FJ into open water in anything more than sea state 2! I say that having taught I don't know how many "greenies" to sail Enterprise dinghies which, on a moderately foggy day, you cannot tell apart from the FJs :-)! If you try an LA to Catalina in an FJ you WILL capsize, and when (not if!) you do that, you are likely to go glug-glug!

Skip the McGregors (of any type). If you have the choice, go with the Catalina22 or better still a Cal20. The Catalina22 is a centerboarder but has enuff form stability that you can single-hand her because you don't need human ballast! The Cat20 sails better than the Catalina22 because she has a fin keel, and she is still light enuff to trailer. With a draft of only 3 1/2 feet she doesn't sit very much higher on a trailer than the Catalina22. Given decent vehicle management you won't know the difference.

Good luck to you :-)!

TrentePieds

[cal40john]

FJ in windy conditions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSy3_gluWbI

[TrentePieds]

Can be done, but not by novices :-)!!

TP

[john745]

Thank you all!

We are headed out to California this following week passing through arizona, Southern California and Northern California so I'm looking at all the boats available in those areas. Will be bringing it back with a Honda pilot with a 5000-lb towing capacity.

I see a cal 25 for sale.

TrentePieds- I imagine that would also be a recommended boat in your mind? Imagine it's similar to the cal 20 just bigger?

Cal 25 MK1

It might be a middle ground boat?
Something to grow into but that would also be good for a lot of environments?

Do these things need a crane to put in the water?

[TrentePieds]

You say about the Cal 25, Mark I: "Imagine it's similar to the cal 20 just bigger?"

Just precisely so. The Cal25 Mark I is a wonderful "entry level" boat: Sails well, totally uncomplicated, easy for a novice to handle, can handle a fair bit of wind and wave. I would not hesitate to take a Cal25 Mark I across Georgia Strait in sea state 5. Ditto, LA to Catalina.

At 4K lbs displacement you would, when you add the weight of the trailer, be maxing out you towing capacity, but if you keep the boat's clobber out of her, and loaded properly in your vehicle, you'll be alright. Draft is 6" more than the Cal20, so the Centre of Gravity on the trailer is gonna be that much higher, calling for a little more caution when towing.

The bugaboo when trailering any boat like this is, of course, to ship and unship the mast effortlessly, so if you want to go this route we can talk about that :-)

I have no idea what launching ramps are like where you are. You'll need a ramp that is long enough (at high-ish tides at least) to give you a five foot depth of water at the water end of the ramp. If you have that, you won't need a crane. But since you'll be up to you towing limit with the Honda, you must be careful about the steepness of the ramp. If the ramp is long and the gradient is gentle, you will NOT get five feet of water under the keel by the time the water on the ramp is up to you rear suspension on the car. There are ways to modify a garden variety trailer to compensate for that.

Note please, that the Cal25 Mark II, is an entirely different boat, one I don't like as much as a teaching boat due to some design characteristics that IMO make the boat inferior as a sailer to the Mark I. The Mark II was, I venture to say, brought to market sporting the "Cal 25" badge in order to capitalize on the good reputation of the Mark I.

TP

[BMD21]

The Cal 20 sails well and people have done an overnighter to Catalina in it. However, at our yacht club, the ones on trailers are crane launched. I imagine you could ramp launch one, but you'd have to have a long extension on the trailer. Cal 25s are great boats, but not trailerable. Well, any boat is trailerable, but the 36 was pulled by a semi. All Cals have a fixed keel, by the way.


The leaves Catalina 22s. I beg to differ from the statement made above, but they sit a lot lower on the trailer and are easy to launch. It makes the trip to Catalina well and offers a cabin to cook and sleep in. It's also a nice boat in which to learn to sail. In fact we've not only taken a Cat 22 to Catalina, but to Santa Cruz island. Smallest boat there but we were there.


We also had a Cat 25, which is lighter than a Cal 25 and used a 3/4 ton truck to pull it. It also had a swing keel.


I would not take a 14' boat to Catalina under any conditions. It's a 5 hr sail and if the wind comes up you're screwed.


Boris

[john745]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I'm blown away with the knowledge and wisdom. Seriously.

[john745]

How much does it cost to Crane a boat (25ft) off of a trailer into the water? $100?

[cal40john]

Why did someone say not to look at the Macgregor 25. It is a standard swing keel boat, it is not water ballasted.

[TrentePieds]

Hm.. The problem is not so much the cost, but the availability of a crane. If you can get a crane, you are probably near a marina with a travel lift, and then the point is moot, methinks. Around here a simple in and out at a reputable marina would cost about Can$300 for a Cal25.

If you do hire any old crane, you need to ensure that the crane has webbing slings and spreader bars as part of its equipment. You also need to be there when setting up for the hoist so you can tell the operator just exactly where the slings have to go in order to ensure that no damage is done to the hull.

I have nothing at all against the Catalina22, I merely stated my own, personal preference for the Cal 20, and by extension for the Cal25, as TEACHING boats, having had considerable experience teaching novices on the Cal20. In many ways it is as nimble as a dinghy and of course (as is the Catalina22) un-capsizable.

Quaintly, in a good half century of sailing, the only time I've ever doubted that I would reach shore again was in a Cal20. The fault that led to the "difficulty" was mine. NOT the boat's. The sailing qualities of the boat and its handiness saved my butt :-)!

TP

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by john745

How much does it cost to Crane a boat (25ft) off of a trailer into the water? $100?

We joined a San Diego YC in part for the crane.

You would need to call the marinas in the areas to want to sail. Even the ones without cranes probably know where one is that could put your boat in.

I’ve been sailing for 35y and would take an FJ to Catalina but I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody with less than about 3 or so years experience.

Cat 22 would be a good starter. Cal 25 would be better if you can leave it in the water.

Mac26 has a lot of creature comforts but but is kind of a hybrid power sailor whose sailing characteristics leave a lot to be desired. If you are unsure whether you want to go power or sail it would be a good starter to help you figure outs.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Adelie

We joined a San Diego YC in part for the crane.

You would need to call the marinas in the areas to want to sail. Even the ones without cranes probably know where one is that could put your boat in.

I’ve been sailing for 35y and would take an FJ to Catalina but I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody with less than about 3 or so years experience.

Cat 22 would be a good starter. Cal 25 would be better if you can leave it in the water.

Mac26 has a lot of creature comforts but but is kind of a hybrid power sailor whose sailing characteristics leave a lot to be desired. If you are unsure whether you want to go power or sail it would be a good starter to help you figure outs.

The OP specified a MacGregor 25 unless it was a typo. The 25 is a standard non water ballasted swing keel.

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/macgregor-25