"RJisherw... wrote:
My wife and I are still looking for a 27 foot used boat, for summer
cruising north from Port Townsend, WA, where we live, mainly if not
entirely on the inside of Vancouver Island. Our price range is $8,000
- 12,000


Very nice sailing & cruising grounds.

We want a boat which has
- solid construction
- good stability - not too much heeling
- adequate performance upwind
- moves in light air


You realize of course that your priorities are more or less in direct
conflict. Most ehavily built boats are ... well, heavy... which means
they will not sail well in light air. Also (because they are heavy)
they have a lower ballast-displacement ratio whcih means that they
will have less stability in the lower ranges of heel (although may
have much greater reserve stability).


We're narrowing our search down to boats within a reasonable distance,
and I wonder if anyone has opinions on the relative merits of the
following for this type of use

Catalina 27 - 1987

A nice enough boat. Relatively inexpensive, will be relatively easy to
sell, and guaranteed to have one available nearby. Also you will have
a lot of fellow Cat27 owners to socialize with.

San Juan 28 - 1978

IMHO most of the mass-produced boats are built within the same range
of cost-cutting construction foibles, but personally I'd rate San
Juans (Clark) at the lower end of the scale. They're fast boats for
their era though.

O'Day 272LE -1987

A bit roomier & possibly more initial stability; I happen to like the
Hunt designs... definitely take a look at the Paceship 26 (as another
poster recommended) which was done by the same office, a bit earlier.

Ericson 25+ -1976

A bit small, but better built. Ericsons have a great reputation for
being able to sail hard and not come apart; however at this age you
may still have tabbing & core issues no matter who built it.

Morgan 27 -1971


I happen to really like these boats, although they are not as roomy as
more modern boats. Solidly built, pretty good performance in light &
heavy air (I've raced one in 30+), good workable cockpit & deck layout
too.

Another poster mentioned the Contessa 26 which is a well built (as are
all Contessas) little boat but rather cramped by modern standards.

I mention the age as I think construction quality has varied
over the years with some of these makers.


In the age that you're looking, care taken of the boat will far, far
outweigh anything the original builder did. As I mentioned earlier,
most mass-produced boats have a tendency to use spit & pasteboard
anywhere they think people won't find it. The debate about whether
Cals or Islanders or Catalinas or Hunters or Lancers or San Juans or
Odays or Irwins etc etc are "built better" is really just something to
argue if you don't have anything better to do. IMHO older C&Cs, older
Morgans, Pearsons, & Ericsons are a cut above the rest, but then there
are also genuinely well built boats like the Sabres, Rivals, etc etc
if you are willing to look and/or go a little further afield. Too bad
Oyster & Nautic never made a boat in this size range

Whether or not it's worth the time & trouble to look harder, given the
way you plan to use the boat, is your own call.

My advice- pick the boat that has had the best care and the upgrades
closest to what you'd pick. Avoid boats with all OEM equipment no
matter how low the price... it's likely they have also never had their
deck hardware rebedded (etc etc) and you can spend a fortune on sails
& line alone.

A qucik gander at YachtWorld revealed these which might be worth a
look
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...oat_id=1804311

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...oat_id=1798405

Good hunting!
Doug King