what brand is the best sailing boat?

[bowman316]

I'm thinking about buying a 20-30 ft sailboat, and I am looking for a project boat.
I found a 25 ft hunter, for 750 bucks.

There was also a macgregor 25, with a trailer for 1400 bucks. Is the macgregor a sturdy boat? will it capsize easy with a heavy wind?

what is a good beginner boat?

 

[saildan]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

I'm thinking about buying a 20-30 ft sailboat, and I am looking for a project boat.
I found a 25 ft hunter, for 750 bucks.

There was also a macgregor 25, with a trailer for 1400 bucks. Is the macgregor a sturdy boat? will it capsize easy with a heavy wind?

what is a good beginner boat?

Um - how much have you sailed - hands on that is, not just sitting aboard a sailboat sucking on a beer?

Had any instruction? That usually introduces you to some different boats and shows pros & cons of different features for different types of sailing.

Shopping by brand is less significant that shopping by attribute. Boat companies build for sailing applications.

What LOA / LWL to Beam ratio will suit the sort of sailing you'll be doing? Blue water or inshore, race or cruise.

Small cockpit - close at hand controls - geared toward singlehanding, large cockpit - crew oriented?

Swing keel pocket cruiser, full keel, partial keel, fin & bulb?

Capsizing has more to do with skipper competence than boat design, though narrow round chine hulls will knock-down more easily than beamy-er and/or hard chine profiles if a gross error in judgement occurs.

What books about sailboats and sailing have you read?

The prices you mention indicate major fixer-uppers either way. Not a suggested starting point for most sailing novice.

You might be better off putting that sort of money into a good sailing Sunfish to start out with.

 

[bowman316]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

i have been out sailing maybe 5 times. i have helped raise sails with the hand winch, but that is about all i did.
it doesn't seem too hard to learn.
my ultimate plan is to use it to sail down the atlantic coast, either n the ocean, or icw.

i want something that can handle a storm at sea

 

[saildan]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

i have been out sailing maybe 5 times.
...my ultimate plan is to use it to sail down the atlantic coast, either n the ocean, or icw.
..i want something that can handle a storm at sea

Definitely a worthy goal.

In all seriousness, Start with a dinghy aprox 14'. What you learn there will make you better prepared than if you go for a 25 footer right off. Every good yacht racer I know and every international sailing skipper I read about all sail dinghy class boats to improve their skills driving the big boats.

Get a couple of books about sailing methods for times you can't get out and practice.

One of these to begin with. You are sure to pick up a couple of more as you progress.

Sail the dinghy every chance you get. That's another good thing about a dinghy, you can get out way more often.

Enroll in a good sailing class, Chesapeake Sailing School, Off-Shore Sailing School, Annapolis Sailing School, something like one of those in your vicinity.

Once you have the beginnings of doing things the correct and safe way under your belt, start renting bare boats for weekend jaunts. This will give you the opportunity to see just what sort of boat you want to own.

With knowledge and experience you can enjoy sailing and stay alive while you are at it.

 

[ghamby]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

Keep in mind what you don't spend on the purchase of a project boat, you will
spend on fixing it up. Have a look at all those sailboats on E Bay and craig's
list. Do a real honest assessment of the time and materials needed to fix up
a dirt cheap boat.

 

[bowman316]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

yea, I might get a 3,000 dollar boat, If it needs less work than the other boats.
But one of the boat's I'm looking at has a trailer with it, which would be nice so I don't have to pay to pull it out of the water.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

Trailer is always nice in that you don't pay slip fees and you can work on it in the driveway. And yes like anything it comes down to how much work you need to put in to get it working.

Unlike others I wouldn't discourage you from starting on a slightly bigger boat, but you really do need experience to start handling something over 20 feet, just a little more consequence when things go south.

You really do have somewhat contradictory goals. Your first boat should not be be the one you sail in the atlantic, and neither of those boats is suitable for that. The Macgregor is not a true sailboat, it's made to be a hybrid with a powerboat, not real stable, water ballast. The Hunter is better but still a swing keel which has it's points but not a great first choice.

If you really want a boat that will do all of those things up front you need to look bigger 28-30 feet and at that point you need to spend some more money up front, it will still need work of some sort, and you REALLY should take lessons. Handling a big sailboat ends up being a lesson in planning ahead and knowing your next steps.

So either start smallish 20-22 feet or go big for what you are talking about doing.

 

[bowman316]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

i like my boat.
a 26 ft grampain.
would you classify that as a costal cruiser?
i think it could handle the ocean fine.

it handled 5 ft seas ok, in the bay.
everything is self bailing.

 

[saildan]

Re: what brand is the best sailing boat?

i like my boat. a 26 ft grampain. would you classify that as a costal cruiser?
i think it could handle the ocean fine. it handled 5 ft seas ok, in the bay. everything is self bailing.

You might ask some of these folks. They'd know the boat better than anyone.

http://www.grampianowners.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grampiansailboats

http://forums.delphiforums.com/Grampian/start