Tritons are cramped & slow & don't handle well. On the plus
side, they're very seakindly and they have the definitive
"look" evocative of their era.


Mic wrote:
The plus side outweighs the other aspects from a crusing point of view
as decided by the many budget cruisers that choose them.


Not really... if you look at the numbers, you'll find
Hunters & Catalinas in the same price bracket are more popular.



....Of all the sailboats of
that particular era the Triton is the top of the list for being
refurb.

Not surprising. There were a lot (comparatively) of them
built & sold, so they're plentiful on the market.


Possibly so, but what other boat of today is comparable?

Comparable in what way?

It's certainly a good looking boat, but I like the looks of
the Dufour Arpege and the Aphrodite 101 and most Doug
Peterson designs. It's a subjective matter.




... Who comes close
to building a similar boat today like the Triton?

Who comes close to building a fighter plane like the Sopwith
Camel? Or a car like the Model T?


Thats not really a fair comparison per say when it come to
practicality or useage.


Sure it is. An air force equipped with Sopwith Camels would
not be as formidable as one equipped with F-16s, but it's
better than nothing. And I happen to know a guy who drives
to work most days in a Model T... original engine too. I
think it helps him get motivated to actually go to work at all.




It's easy to get carried away with romantic idealization.
And far be it from me to say it's a bad thing. But don't
mistake other people romantic fantasies for reality, it will
bite you where it hurts.


The practical reality, paticularly the time and cost of restoration of
any boat is usually the determining factor.

Now there, I disagree. Restoring a boat is usually a losing
proposition in time & cost. It's a very impractical thing to
to do, when there are boats already in sailable condition on
the market for less money.

But clearly, they're not as attractive to the restorer.


... If you see the value in
the design and seek to enjoy such, in a practical manner what are the
current options to a boat like this?


There are a couple of worthwhile boats of the same era, and
usually more than one Triton on the market. If that's the
course you're determined to go, then the practical thing is
to meet somebody who's already done it, sail with them,
inspect their boat carefully while they tell you what they
did... maybe bum a few tools from them... then shop around
as carefully as possible as well as hunting thru boatyard
back-lots.

It's amazing how many people sieze on the first boat that
comes along, and convince themselves that it's by far the
best alternative, and of course they have no idea what the
alternatives are or would cost so it's an easy sell.




Modern boats are faster, better handling, more
comfortable... many of them are better built, some of them
are more seaworthy no matter how you define the term. If you
want to glorify the good old days, above all other
considerations, you end up sailing a square rigger.


Given the cost of reproducing a Trition today and the likely lack of
mass market for such it reason why there is no comparable.

Yep. If there was a market, somebody would probably be
making Tritons.


.... Sure there
are faster, better handling and more creature comforts but as you said
only "some of them are more seaworthy".


Sturgeon's Law: "At least 90% of everything is crap." Just
because it is old-fashioned, doesn't make it automatically
more seaworthy. Seakindly, yes, that's a different thing.

Seaworthiness is an illusive thing to define, and it tends
to mean different things to different people. Frankly I tend
to regard offshore racers as the most seaworthy, since they
tend to sail for fun in worst conditions than most cruisers
venture out in. And I have yet to see a cruising vessel
equipped to ORC Cat 0.




From the Trition owners association there is an undoubted passion in
maintaining that design probably more than any other than I have seen
or know of.


You should get out more, then. Every single one-design
commands slavish devotion in it's owners.


Probably the largest sailboat market is in used boats by far and of a
particular size, price and age.

Not probably, definitely. Although this is a recent
happening, the NMMA says that the total value of used boats
sold is greater than new, I believe this happened in 2004
and has been true since.


It isnt easy to determine the value of an older used boat other than
what the average of the market says and in this instance every boat is
special.


That's very true.

When you figure all of the above the true market value ought to be
less than what it is?

I think so, but then I'm a cynic. I've also only bought one
boat new in my life, and felt that it wasn't worth the price
either. Enought things wrong with it to get PO'd at, and no
moron previous owner to blame.


... Thats not to say there isnt many preceived
reasonable points of view based subjectively or objectively. But any
foreray into pleasure sailing can be viewed as "romantic" and or
challenging and the very reasons why people do it. And if not, what
could the possible reasons be?


Agreed 110%. And well said.

I think it is interesting that those who are offering the free triton
choose a cape dory, at a cost and expense, that needs work instead.
How much of that was economic based vs other considerations?


Don't know. From what I read of the web site you gave link
to, it was largely economic as they found so much needed
replacing on the "free" Triton and less on the Cape Dory. It
may also be a matter of time, that they saw themselves
getting out on the water much sooner in the Cape Dory.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King