Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing a boat for sailing on the Chesapeake. It will
primarily be used for weekend sailing / gunkholing. I would like something
at least 30' with wheel steering, and comfortable for a family of four. I
have been looking at various brokerages and web sites as well as reading
boat reviews. There are a couple that I think would be good, but would like
to get others opinions.

I am considering the following:

Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.

Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.


Beneteau is very well known here, but they don't get much respect. They are one
of the lowest cost boats per foot around.
The Catalina 30 would probably suit you. Few boats have more room and they sail
reasonably well. Of course there are other choices....

RB

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.


Bobsprit is very well known here, but he doesn't get much respect. He owns
one
of the lowest cost boats per foot around.

An admirable display of honesty!!


Regards

Donal
--

Thanks,

I probably didn't state it clearly, but inputs on other boats are also
welcome. The Beneteau and Catalina, were kind of the ones that were towards
the top of my list, but given that I'm somewhat of a newbie, I'm looking for
any suggestions.

Rob

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.


Beneteau is very well known here, but they don't get much respect. They
are one
of the lowest cost boats per foot around.
The Catalina 30 would probably suit you. Few boats have more room and they
sail
reasonably well. Of course there are other choices....

RB

Donal,
Scotty only been gone a week, but it's obvious
that you miss him.
S.

"Donal" wrote in message
...
:
: "Bobsprit" wrote in message
:
...
: Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
: Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what
I'm looking for, but Beneteau
: does not seem to be so well known in the US.
Any thoughts?
:
: Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to
spend about $30K.
:
:
: Bobsprit is very well known here, but he
doesn't get much respect. He owns
: one
: of the lowest cost boats per foot around.
:
: An admirable display of honesty!!
:
:
: Regards
:
: Donal
: --
:
:
:

"Rob" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing a boat for sailing on the Chesapeake. It
will
primarily be used for weekend sailing / gunkholing. I would like
something
at least 30' with wheel steering, and comfortable for a family of four. I
have been looking at various brokerages and web sites as well as reading
boat reviews. There are a couple that I think would be good, but would
like
to get others opinions.

I am considering the following:

Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.

The First will be a great boat to own. They are an immensly practical boat
that also have great performance.

I've sailed on a F37.5, a 42s5 and I own a 33.7. They all share two things
in common -
1) They are great fun to sail
2) They seem to have been designed by sailors - and not by marketing
people.


I looked at a Hunter when I was deciding what to buy. The cooker wasn't
gimballed, and so it wouldn't be possible to have hot food at sea!! Other
boats tried to make the accomodation look huge and therefore they didn't
have enough stowage. Some boats didn't have grab rails that run the full
length of the cabin. The First won't suffer from any of these problems.

I've never sailed on a Catalina, so I cannot offer a comparison.

If the resale value of Firsts is is low in your area, then you should be
able to get a lot of boat for your money.


IMHO you would enjoy a tiller more than a wheel. You get much more "feel"
from a tiller.



Regards


Donal
--

"Pony Express" wrote in message
k.net...
Donal,
Scotty only been gone a week, but it's obvious
that you miss him.
S.

Is he sailing?


I wonder if Bob will ever go sailing for a week??

Regards

Donal
--

"Rob" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing a boat for sailing on the Chesapeake. It
will
primarily be used for weekend sailing / gunkholing. I would like
something
at least 30' with wheel steering, and comfortable for a family of four. I
have been looking at various brokerages and web sites as well as reading
boat reviews. There are a couple that I think would be good, but would
like
to get others opinions.

I am considering the following:

Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.

http://www.yachtworld.com/index.html.en

Give you some good ideas about what's available out there. You could use a
higher dollar value when you're doing any searches, there is usually a big
difference between the asking/selling price, it's generally a buyers market.
BTW, Beneteaus are very well known over here, in fact they're manufactured
over here, for the most part.
John Cairns

I own a Catalina 30 and (so far) am happy with it. It sails fairly well and
the interior is nicely laid out and quite spacious for a 30 footer. A major
selling point is the fine support you get with Catalinas, both from the
factory as well as unofficial support from the large user base. There is a
C30 web site (www.catalina30.com) and also a very active listserv where you
can get plenty of advice from current owners. There's also a massive "Tech
Talk" compliation available, which covers the main issues that have arisen
with the boat and how to address them.

I have the standard rig, which works well for the consistently high winds in
San Pedro (in southern California). The boat definitely likes heavy air.
Unless you really need shallow draft I'd avoid the wing keel and go for the
deeper fin; the wings just don't point that well. In any case, the C30 is a
decent, all-around good boat. It is a production boat built to a price but
I've found the quality to be pretty good even if not stellar. It doesn't
seem to have any particuclarly nasty habits under sail (at least that I've
seen thus far)--and while it is not the most nimble boat it is a solid,
stable performer that can give you a reasonable turn of speed.

Take care,
Alan Gomes



"Rob" wrote in message
...
Thanks,

I probably didn't state it clearly, but inputs on other boats are also
welcome. The Beneteau and Catalina, were kind of the ones that were
towards
the top of my list, but given that I'm somewhat of a newbie, I'm looking
for
any suggestions.

Rob

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
Catalina 30 - well known, good resale, etc
Beneteau First 305 - This seems to have what I'm looking for, but
Beneteau
does not seem to be so well known in the US. Any thoughts?

Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.


Beneteau is very well known here, but they don't get much respect. They
are one
of the lowest cost boats per foot around.
The Catalina 30 would probably suit you. Few boats have more room and
they
sail
reasonably well. Of course there are other choices....

RB

The First won't suffer from any of these problems.

I've never sailed on a Catalina, so I cannot offer a comparison.

Here in the states, Beneteau is considered a weak boat. Talk to surveyors and
full service yards, get feedback on repair records. The Beneteau scores poorly.
The Catalina 30 is much more of a family boat. And older reliable Catalina 30
can be found for 15-20K. The interior is huge by any standard and the cockpit
is well done. A wheel is also much for fun for the kids and and guests. No one
says my C&C's wheel has poor feedback. It has less than a tiller, but you
adjust to it and the wheel has too many other advantages, especially with kids
on board.
Other boats to consider: C&C 29 (80's version), Pearson 30, Tartan 30...there
are a lot of boats out there.

RB