"Weathered Rose" wrote...

My husband and I live where there are a lot of water ways, rivers and
lakes that are open to sail boats. Does anyone have any good advice on what
is a good sized boat for a two person crew from your experiance? I used to
live on the Pacific and we took out a 15 foot boat, which was wonderful for
two, but my husband who's never sailed and me who is limited want something
we can enjoy with little difficulty.

It depends on what your limitations are...

In general, picking one of the boats that is popular among sailing clubs in your
area, and which has an active racing fleet, is a good idea. That way you will
have the support of your peers, friends, and friendly rivals.

If you are worried about boat weight, you will have to realize that lighter
boats will tend to be less stable. A good compromise may be something like a
Snipe, that at 15 1/2' and 380# or so is a good performer for 2 people, and
relatively stable and easy to handle. The Flying Scott, Highlander, and
Lightning are larger, heavier, and more stable. There are also newer
day-sailing designs from Hunter and a few other companies.

If you can handle a "small" 21-footer, a SeaPearl 21 may be an option. At 700#
it is light for 21', and is a lively, though stable performer with water
ballast. It is also easily rigged and launched by 2 people in 5-10 minutes) and
handled on the water by 1 person.