Choosing a boat: What Boat?

What Boat?

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Choosing a boat
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URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11999
Printed Date: 04 Aug 25 at 6:15pm
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Topic: What Boat?

Posted By: YetAnotherUser
Subject: What Boat?
Date Posted: 12 May 15 at 2:39pm

Hi,

I am wanting to get back into sailing after a decade or so. I have sailed a fair few boats in my youth and the largest likely would be the Enterprise or Wayfarer.

I now however have the luxury of money, which as a student I did not - so I am tempted to buy a boat I always wanted. However I have also acquired a wife and three children and an aggressive sporty boat is probably not the best idea.

So please, please can you all steer me in the right direction :)

What I want - I mean what I would like is;

#1 Suitable to sail alone (adult) but able to add a 2nd member of crew when needed, maybe the addition of a Jib and Spinnaker. It would be ace if it had space for another small one too. I'd like something which is not like a brick, but is not too aggressive - we don't want to spend more time in the water than in the boat. It would be ideal to be low maintenance, so ideally no wood.

#2 I am thinking of a second boat, which is insane I know as I don't even have the first yet. Purpose of this is something that 1 person can sail, adult or child and still have some fun. It'd be ideal if it could be slung on roof bars and not a trailer too.

Thank you for any help and advice.

Replies:

Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 12 May 15 at 3:03pm

A Topper might well be a good call for No 2.

Number one is trickier. I suppose what we need to know more than anything else is what sort of sailing you plan to do with this boat. If its going to be used mainly for racing at your local club that's one thing, and if mainly for recreational cruising around that's another.

So where you are planning to sail and what sort of sailing you will do are probably key questions.

The other thing, though is that boats that try and be both singlehanded and multiple crew tend to do neither job well, and, depending on what exactly you are planning to do with the boat, it might be worth turning things around and making Number one a dedicated singlehander, and number two a family boat.

The other thing that's well worth considering is that these days a lot of sailing clubs have boats club members can hire, and that might be a better option than purchase for one boat. My club, for example, has some RS visions, which fit the bill nicely for a boat that will take two people with jib and spinnaker and room for another small one too, but they aren't much fun for sailing alone.

But it all depends on how you see yourself using these boats I think.