Any sailors here?

[eec564]

As long as you're willing to forgo the 'classic' old boat look, you should be able to do very well. Fiberglass is the way I'd go with a boat. Wood requires a TON of maintenance, mostly in labor. Fiberglass is sturdy, light, easy/cheap to repair and quite strong. My 36' is fiberglass, and the feel/flex of the hull is nicely predictable making for sailing you can feel, without the weight of wood or expense of carbon fiber. Keep them clean, and they look quite sharp.

 

That 22' looks quite nice. With the 7'9" beam, it should be very nice to sail. Not a speed demon, but lots of fun on the water. I've always figured sailing should be fun first, relaxing second, and work third, but only if you're racing.

 

The swing keel will let you trailer it very nicely, and including an outboard motor seriously sweetens the deal, a new outboard could easily cost what they're asking for the entire package. Check local laws to see if the outboard they have is allowed on the lake. Some places do not allow older 2-stroke motors or motors that haven't passed a certain EPA standard on the water.

 

You'd want to examine the sails they listed as 'new' pretty closely, they should be extremely smooth and have plenty of rigidity left in them. A clean and sturdy set of sail bags are a must as well. Note that after sailing, if the sails got even the slightest bit wet, you will need to wash them and let them completely dry spread out in the sun. Lawn works great, if you house has any.

 

Even at a bit over $3,000, I'd seriously consider getting a survey done. Just for safety. Call a local surveyor, see what they'd charge to have it looked at, on the trailer, if you brought it to them. In lew of that, have someone who REALLY knows boats, boat repair, does ALL their own stuff, and that you trust poke into ALL the littlest holes. You don't want anything breaking while you're out on the water. And it WILL break at the EXACT worst possible time. That's not just Murphy's law, but actually predicable. When that sudden storm comes up, the boat will be stressed the most, and any weaknesses will show themselves. I've been in some crappy situations, and knowing for a fact that I could rely on my equipment, and I was prepared for the worst made it so it wasn't luck that got me through.

 

Sorry to be a bit of a downer, but the water can be dangerous, and get that way VERY quickly, long before you can make it back to shore, even with a motor.

 

Go take a good look at that boat. Take a flashlight, and look under all the cushions, in the bilge, everywhere. Spin the winches to see if they're smooth, check for corrosion anywhere on the mast, look for worn lines, check the trailer for rust. Be prepared to spend another 500$ on safety gear once you buy a boat. Figure on 8-10% of the brand new replacement cost of that boat per year to maintain it. You can do nearly all the work yourself with a boat that size, especially since you can get it out of the water without going to a boat yard, but even then, stainless steel parts are expensive. And these are hunks of the stuff, nothing like the little pieces we use in our exhausts. Once again, don't mean to get you down, but a properly taken care of boat takes a lot. Be fully prepared for the worst, and then go out and enjoy the best. Now go take a look at that 22'.

 

-Eric

[SHO-Z]

Owned and raced Hobie 16, 18 and two 17s for years in Colorado and sailed a whole lot for the 2 years I worked on Johnston Island. Love to sail cats and always will. Have not sailed in 20 years now, is it really that long?

[DCZ]

Used to sail a Hobie 16 with my brothers when I was young. Sail # 1069 tells you how long ago that was. Loved it, although it was pretty cold in March on the LI Sound in cutoff shorts and a t-shirt!

 

True story, one time we beached the boat, and turned it around at the shoreline preparing to go back out. Rudders up, sheet loose in the block with the block just laying on the trampoline. Light breeze. We're dikking around not paying attention and the tide is coming in. Brother yells "Hey!" and we turn around to see the boat zooming off with noone aboard, straight for Long Island. Looked beautiful skimming atop the waves. We ran in three directions looking for a motorboat, finally caught it about six miles out!

 

God we were stupid!

[StrongBad009]

I sail on the USS Nimitz . Fun time until you almost get blown over by a F-18.

[kiwi303]

Haven't seen this thread before,

I have capsized a number of optimists bumming around Kawhia Harbour in my early 20's, and sailed on the Spirit of New Zealand for a voyage. But I prefer power boats, so long as there's plenty of gas in them

[ZR8ED]

All these threads being brought back up. ie your occupation, other cars, hobbies, 2+2 owners, pilots,etc so I thought I would bring this one back. I sold the Grampian 26, and got a good deal on a Grampian 30. Much more comfortable, smoother sailing, lots more waxing and antifouling though

 

Edited March 3, 2010 by ZR8ED

[iBang]

I'm glad someone brought it back up! I never saw it since I'm a relatively new member.

 

I love to sail although I'm strictly an amateur at it. I owned a 16' American fiberglass day sailor. Yes, I owned a boat made by a company that makes toilet seats. The performance was about what you would expect from a toilet seat as well. The keel vibrated, the hull plan was horrible, but with the jib up and a stiff wind you could heel it over till the first couple inches of deck at the widest points had water going over them. Had some good times with that boat when I was younger. Broke the front mast stay one and the side stay another time... landed the time with the front stay since the dock was close and straight downwind, the sidestay was in the middle of the lake. Had to get a tow for that one.

 

One day I'll get another boat but I want either a bigger keel boat or a cat this time. I have a real love for cats thanks to some time rented in a couple hobies.

[Tony D]

Gigidy gigidy! Why did I think this was going to be a Village People themed post?