My wife and I have been sailing for a little over a year on other people's
boats, mostly as crew with a few stints at the helm. We took the basic
keelboat course and feel like we have the beginnings of a foundation to build
a sailing hooby on. Both of us enjoy sailing for different reasons, and share
a love of the outdoors. We are looking at buying a boat this fall and getting
a slip ofour own next season.

We have mostly sailed on Tanzer 22's, Cat 27's and HR28's, but did our
keelboat course on a Northern 25. We haven't experienced loads of boats but
know some things that we do and don't want. We don't want to step into
sailing with a huge investment and a big boat, but want a PHRF that is
competitive with the rest of our fleet at the club (most are a 240 PHRF) so
we can see our progress in club level racing. In our club there is a Pearson
flyer that screams around the bouys way ahead of the fleet, barely winning on
PHRF week after week. I'd rather play with the other boats out there and
depend on skill at least a little bit. We want a boat that can comfortably
cruise for a week with 2 adults and 2 kids, and that is fun to race.

Right now we are considering Catalina 25's (tall rig, swing keel is ideal),
Catalina 27's, and HR28's as boats that we would own. Honestly with the CAT's
the familiarity, low price, and availability of parts are the big draws. The
HR28 is appealing because they are so solid, and the beautiful to look at
(although they do require a lot of sanding).

Could anyone chime in with their thoughts on these boats, and others with
PHRF's around 240 (Lake Ontario), draft of 4ft or less, and purchase price
around or under $10,000 as an entry boat?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Prospector

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