"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
--

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

In article ,
Bobsprit wrote:
The First won't suffer from any of these problems.

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

We have a Yamaha 30 in our teaching fleet. It looks a bit strange, but
it is well-balanced and sails well, though not as fast as others of
similar size. It seems to be well-built and had zero blisters or
problems when we hauled it recently (it had been sitting for several
years without being sailed before being donated). It has a decent
interior, but I don't think it would be suited to live-aboard.

--
Jonathan Ganz (j gan z @ $ail no w.c=o=m)
http://www.sailnow.com
"If there's no wind, row."

"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

You could use a
higher dollar value when you're doing any searches, there is usually a big
difference between the asking/selling price

John is correct on this. When searching for a 50K boat, you can actually look
at 60-65K and be reasonably secure that you'll still be in the ballpark. It
varries by range and builder, of course.

RB

"Rob" wrote in message ...
Hi all,
Any opinions would be welcome. I'm looking to spend about $30K.


Maybe you should buy a mac :0O

Joe