Richard Randall wrote:
I guess by perform I mean how tender or stiff it is. But out of
curiousity, what would be your list of racer/cruisers 26 feet and
under. I'm drawn to the 525 because it much less expensive than a J24
or Merit 25.

Well remember that the cost of commissioning a boat, especially for
offshore sailing, will be proportionate to how much rebuilding,
rerigging, and re-equipping she needs over and above purchase price. For
a low budget boat, you could be looking at double!

One reason why the Santanas (and their sisters, the Schocks) are at the
lower end of the price scale, is that the builder Schock has rather a
mixed reputation. Some of their boats have been quite well built, others
have had some fairly dramatic structural failures. One race I was in
long ago had a Santana 35 peel a winch off the cockpit side as though it
were a banana shedding it's skin. Not desirable offshore no matter the
price!

How about a Moore 24? Another option (with more cabin too) the Ranger
26... or little sister the Ranger 23. Or one of the small Ericsons, they
made a couple of 25' and 23' models. Another good pick, one of the
Mirage, S2, or Aloha boats but might be at the higher end of the price
scale. How about a Soverel 26? They've made TransPacs & return (the trip
back is actually much more challenging).

One boat I feel I ought to mention specifically is the Yamaha 26. They
sail pretty well (not quite as fast as the Santana, Moore, or Soverel)
and the one I have been on is quite well built. Often they are for sale
at quite low prices, a friend of mine has one that he picked up for a
song. Plus, it's a cool looking boat IMHO (counts for something, right).

The priorities I'd look at are 1- basic suitability for the kind of
sailing you want to do, which would mean within a certain envelope of
SA/Disp, D/L, not excessively beamy 2- original build quality 3-
current condition versus price. A well maintained and well equipped boat
may be asking a higher price, yet cost less to actually take sailing,
than a bargain boat that you'd have to re-equip from scratch.

Almost everyone understimates how much it costs to fix up boats. Been
there, done that, got the epoxy spotted T-shirt

Fresh Breezes- Doug King