501beercanracer
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These "What boat should I get" posts probably get old, but I'm going to throw one more on here because I don't really know enough about my options and I don't want to buy a boat and wish I'd gotten a different one after just a few months. I've searched on this forum for similar questions and there are some, the closest being someone in a very similar situation on the great lakes, but I think my location may impact the boats suggested.
Right now I crew on another boat and enjoy that. I don't know that I'd want to race my own boat but I may in a couple of years. That being said, it's not really important to me to have a race boat because I think I could always be content crewing in our beer can races and not having to worry about all the drama associated with finding consistent race crew.
To give you an idea of where I'd be sailing, I live in the US in the mid-west and my local club has weekly beer can races on the river that runs through our town. The river is about a half mile wide and our course is usually about a mile and a half long, with a current ranging from around a half knot to a little over a knot. In the marina about a 5 1/2' draft would be the max, but 5' or less would be ideal. We go from very light wind (under 5 knots) to maybe 12 with gusts to around 15 on occasion, so I need a boat that sails well in light air.
Budget: I can spend up to about $25k but it'd be ideal to spend more like $10-15k so I don't feel guilty about the cost of upgrades.
Experience: About 5 years of crewing for our local beer can races, some ASA courses and a few years or so of recreational dinghy sailing
Desired Size: 22' to 30'
I have two young kids and a wife who would be sailing with me sometimes, but I'd probably be sailing singlehanded more than 50% of the time. To keep my wife and kids happy, a dedicated head would be nice but they can make due with a bucket behind a curtain if necessary.
Boats I've considered:
-Laser 28: From what I've read these are great boats for racing and for recreational sailing; and they have pretty good headroom; these seem pretty tough to find
-J29: I don't know a lot about these boats but one races in our local club and I just love the look; they seem like more of a racer than a cruiser but I think it'd still work out fine for what I'd be doing
-S2 7.9: I don't know a lot about them but there are several in my club and they seem to have a strong following. It's a plus that they're trailerable.
-Catalina 22: I could trailer it easily, which is a plus. Although, I'm not sure how often I'd really do that (maybe once or twice a year but trailerability isn't important); these seem like they'd be easy to singlehand and could be a good first boat
Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
Right now I crew on another boat and enjoy that. I don't know that I'd want to race my own boat but I may in a couple of years. That being said, it's not really important to me to have a race boat because I think I could always be content crewing in our beer can races and not having to worry about all the drama associated with finding consistent race crew.
To give you an idea of where I'd be sailing, I live in the US in the mid-west and my local club has weekly beer can races on the river that runs through our town. The river is about a half mile wide and our course is usually about a mile and a half long, with a current ranging from around a half knot to a little over a knot. In the marina about a 5 1/2' draft would be the max, but 5' or less would be ideal. We go from very light wind (under 5 knots) to maybe 12 with gusts to around 15 on occasion, so I need a boat that sails well in light air.
Budget: I can spend up to about $25k but it'd be ideal to spend more like $10-15k so I don't feel guilty about the cost of upgrades.
Experience: About 5 years of crewing for our local beer can races, some ASA courses and a few years or so of recreational dinghy sailing
Desired Size: 22' to 30'
I have two young kids and a wife who would be sailing with me sometimes, but I'd probably be sailing singlehanded more than 50% of the time. To keep my wife and kids happy, a dedicated head would be nice but they can make due with a bucket behind a curtain if necessary.
Boats I've considered:
-Laser 28: From what I've read these are great boats for racing and for recreational sailing; and they have pretty good headroom; these seem pretty tough to find
-J29: I don't know a lot about these boats but one races in our local club and I just love the look; they seem like more of a racer than a cruiser but I think it'd still work out fine for what I'd be doing
-S2 7.9: I don't know a lot about them but there are several in my club and they seem to have a strong following. It's a plus that they're trailerable.
-Catalina 22: I could trailer it easily, which is a plus. Although, I'm not sure how often I'd really do that (maybe once or twice a year but trailerability isn't important); these seem like they'd be easy to singlehand and could be a good first boat
Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
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