BoatBanter.com - Best entry level pocket cruiser

BoatBanter.com (https://www.boatbanter.com/)

- ASA (https://www.boatbanter.com/asa/)

- - Best entry level pocket cruiser (https://www.boatbanter.com/asa/18581-best-entry-level-pocket-cruiser.html)

Best entry level pocket cruiser

He asked for the best not the simplest.

Cheers MC

FLying Tadpole wrote:

Bolger Micro.

Best entry level pocket cruiser

C'mon Doug!

A bolger micro is not a "sea worthy" craft. It is fine for pottering
about on fine days or on ishore waters. In my opinion it would be lethal
in a gale in unprotected water having a very low angle of vanishing
stability. If you want a salty boat look for something along the lines
of a Cornish crabber or Tamarisk (if you can find/build the latter you
will have a gem).

Cheers MC

DSK wrote:

The Carrolls wrote:

Undefined to stimulate discussion. How about a Huchins Compac 16?

I like the their Sun Cat better.

The biggest problems with the ComPac 16 is that it's harder to ramp launch than
it should be, the cabin is absolutely tiny inside, and they are so slow they hit
the same wave three times.

But they are very salty looking little boats, inexpesnive to own, and I know
some people who have done a good bit of serious cruising in them. They don't
have the reserve bouyancy to carry enough stores for passagemaking, but for
coastal cruising they are very capable. Plus they are lots of fun for daysailing
(as long as the other boats dont' cruelly sail circles around you laughing).

I like Tadpole's pick, the Bolger Micro. Unorthodox but very practical &
seaworthy.
http://www.boatdesign.com/micro/

How small does a Pocket Cruiser have to be? If I weren't so humble I'd submit
that our Hunter 19 is one of the best.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...83124161YlrYLT

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Best entry level pocket cruiser

The navigator© wrote:

C'mon Doug!

A bolger micro is not a "sea worthy" craft. It is fine for pottering
about on fine days or on ishore waters. In my opinion it would be lethal
in a gale in unprotected water

Well, your opinion (in this case) goes against established fact, since they handle
rough weather as nicely as anything twice their displacement. Some of them have made
short passages.

.... having a very low angle of vanishing
stability.

I bet anything you care to name that they have a higher LPOS that anything else in
their size range.

If you want a salty boat look for something along the lines
of a Cornish crabber or Tamarisk (if you can find/build the latter you
will have a gem).

Don't know what a Tamarisk is, but the Micro has a higher LPOS than the Cornish
Crabber and will make ground to weather in conditions that will have the Crabber
scudding off to leeward. The Micro is not "salty looking" in fact it's quite
unconventional. But it is very practical and sails a lot better than one might think,
certainly better than a big yacht scaled down to the same size.

I rather like the Cornish Crabber and if we'd seen them before getting the Hunter 19
we might have had one of those instead, but I doubt we'd have been as happy with it.
They are indeed salty looking and they are fairly practical to trailer, but woefully
slow and not at all as roomy or comfy as our little boat.

Come to think of it, we've sailed the Hunter 19 thru weather that had 35 foot crab
crushers huddling at the dock. I guess there's more to it than meets the eye (although
I'm not making any claims about it's LPOS).

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Best entry level pocket cruiser

DSK wrote:

The navigator© wrote:

C'mon Doug!

A bolger micro is not a "sea worthy" craft. It is fine for pottering
about on fine days or on ishore waters. In my opinion it would be lethal
in a gale in unprotected water

Well, your opinion (in this case) goes against established fact, since they handle
rough weather as nicely as anything twice their displacement. Some of them have made
short passages.

Even Phil Bolger wrote this in his fiction story about his boat:

" If they had passed the strait they would almost certainly have lost
the boat. The Libeccio, a southwest dry gale, blew up out of a clear sky
as they neared Cap Corse, and even under the lee of Corsica they got the
scare of their lives and just made it into Bastia with deep-reefed
mainsail and motor wide open. They came close to being blown over to the
Italian coast. If they'd been on the west coast of Corsica, they would
have piled up on the lee shore.that a gale would risk "

You still want to maintain this is seaworthy!

What depresses me is that you should be able to look at the design and
_know_ it is NOT seaworthy.

Cheers MC

.... having a very low angle of vanishing
stability.

I bet anything you care to name that they have a higher LPOS that anything else in
their size range.

If you want a salty boat look for something along the lines
of a Cornish crabber or Tamarisk (if you can find/build the latter you
will have a gem).

Don't know what a Tamarisk is, but the Micro has a higher LPOS than the Cornish
Crabber and will make ground to weather in conditions that will have the Crabber
scudding off to leeward.

And what is the LPOS of the MICRO Doug?

?The Micro is not "salty looking" in fact it's quite
unconventional.

But it is very practical and sails a lot better than one might think,
certainly better than a big yacht scaled down to the same size.

I don't think it will sail any better that I think that's for sure.

I rather like the Cornish Crabber and if we'd seen them before getting the Hunter 19
we might have had one of those instead, but I doubt we'd have been as happy with it.
They are indeed salty looking and they are fairly practical to trailer, but woefully
slow and not at all as roomy or comfy as our little boat.

Thisd is true but the Crabber is a good seaboat.

Come to think of it, we've sailed the Hunter 19 thru weather that had 35 foot crab
crushers huddling at the dock.

There are even bigger boats that huddle at docks. When the crabber hull
was designed it was based squarely on working boats that went out in
gales. I have sailed a very similar design through a severe gale in the
english channel.

Best entry level pocket cruiser

DSK wrote:

OK I'll take that bet. How does $10,000 sound?

Cheers MC

I bet anything you care to name that they have a higher LPOS that anything else in
their size range.

Best entry level pocket cruiser

The navigator© wrote:

Even Phil Bolger wrote this in his fiction story about his boat:

" If they had passed the strait they would almost certainly have lost
the boat. The Libeccio, a southwest dry gale, blew up out of a clear sky
as they neared Cap Corse

1- this is fiction

2- he is talking about 50 knot gale and confused seas, not a hopeful place for a 15' boat
with rocky cliffs under the lee.

What depresses me is that you should be able to look at the design and
_know_ it is NOT seaworthy.

One cannot judge a book by its cover. It's sad to see that *you* think *you* can.

DSK

Best entry level pocket cruiser

DSK wrote:
I bet anything you care to name that they have a higher LPOS that anything else in
their size range.

The navigator© wrote:
OK I'll take that bet. How does $10,000 sound?

Beat 180 degrees LPOS. The Bolger Micro has sealed wooden box masts and a 50%
ballast/disp ratio.

Awaiting your check, do you have any stock market advice to go with it? I understand
that it's possible to make over 40% returns these days....

DSK

Best entry level pocket cruiser

DSK wrote:

The navigator© wrote:

Even Phil Bolger wrote this in his fiction story about his boat:

" If they had passed the strait they would almost certainly have lost
the boat. The Libeccio, a southwest dry gale, blew up out of a clear sky
as they neared Cap Corse

1- this is fiction

Yes very romantic but based on his knowlege of his design.

2- he is talking about 50 knot gale and confused seas, not a hopeful place for a 15' boat
with rocky cliffs under the lee.

A gale is not 50 knots. You should know that. The Libecco is just a gale.

What depresses me is that you should be able to look at the design and
_know_ it is NOT seaworthy.

One cannot judge a book by its cover. It's sad to see that *you* think *you* can.

What a petulant response. Do you deny that some people know about boat
design and can make decisions by inspection about their suitability for
sea? They are called "yacht inspectors" here Doug, and I can tell you
that not one of those that I know would rate that vessel as anything
other than manifestly unsafe for offshore passages -and that is why I
say it is not seaworthy. It's ballast ratio is only 25% and it's form
stability is lost at 45 degrees. If that's not bad enough, I suggest she
is not weatherly either when the wind picks over a stiff breeze up with
a 3'sea.

It's really simple. This was never intended to be a seaworthy boat. It's
for shallow water and calm days. That will indeed fit the needs of 95%
of prospective Micro customers. What is incorrect is to over sell the
qualities to the point that some poor misled person thinks they can go
offshore safely in it.

Cheers MC

Best entry level pocket cruiser

Bzzt. You loose! It's 25% ballast ratio for a start and mast buoyancy
does not (and cannot) contribute to LPOS measurements ('cos it can and
will be dismasted!!!). Please send cheque care of Western Union Auckland
Branch.

Cheers MC

DSK wrote:

DSK wrote:
I bet anything you care to name that they have a higher LPOS that anything else in
their size range.

The navigator© wrote:
OK I'll take that bet. How does $10,000 sound?

Beat 180 degrees LPOS. The Bolger Micro has sealed wooden box masts and a 50%
ballast/disp ratio.

Awaiting your check, do you have any stock market advice to go with it? I understand
that it's possible to make over 40% returns these days....

DSK