Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

has some experience with a Ross 650...

There are a few... very few... of these in the U.S. and
since I'm looking for a small zippy trailerable, what are
these boats like?

From the pictures & the numbers, it looks like these boats
will blow the doors off any small U.S. trailerable except
the newest sportsboats. A bit too much cabin at the expense
of cockpit space, but that would be OK since I'm not going
to be sailing with a crowd and only racing casually.

Any word?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

... Ross 650...


OzOne wrote:
Great boat Doug.
Fast and nimble, they sail much faster than they appear capable.

Hmmm, a sleeper, eh?
Now that's cool. Judging by the pictures they are handsome
little boats too.


Cockpit is wide and quite roomy for a boat this length and they're
tough, can't remember if they're a foam or combination of foam and
balsa laminate


Do they have a reputation for being stuck together pretty
well? They're rather light compared to most US boats in that
size range but not unbelievably so.

A lot of US built boats are 10% to 25% heavier than their
brochure says. One nice thing about the Lightning (or any
hard-chine boat, once you get familiar with it) is that you
can tell at a glance if the boat is heavy by the height of
the chines relative to the waterline.

The Ross 650 that I spotted for sale is a long drive from
here, but it sounds like it's worth checking out. Thanks!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Do they have a reputation for being stuck together pretty
well? They're rather light compared to most US boats in that
size range but not unbelievably so.


OzOne wrote:
There are a few in my yacht club and they seem to have no problems at
all, and they've been sailed pretty hard.

OK, I'm convinced. I know what you all mean when you say
"sailed hard."

Were the US ones shipped over or built there?


Probably shipped over or brought by an owner who moved her.
It's also possible a few were built in Canada under license.

At this point I'm serious enough to spend a phone call,
that's one thing to ask the guy.



The Ross 650 that I spotted for sale is a long drive from
here, but it sounds like it's worth checking out. Thanks!


Easter coming up...take a drive :-)


Does anybody else see the irony in burning 75+ gallons of
fossil fuel in order to go sailing?

DSK

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

OzOne wrote in message news


Easter coming up...take a drive :-)


Yeah, gas is only $2.45 / gal. now.

SBV

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

OzOne wrote
tough, can't remember if they're a foam or combination of foam and
balsa laminate

http://www.rossyachts.com/aross.htm

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

OzOne wrote
tough, can't remember if they're a foam or combination of foam and
balsa laminate


Bart Senior wrote:
http://www.rossyachts.com/aross.htm


Thanks, I saw that website too. Looks like a great little
boat. Problem- it's a long drive!

The numbers suggest this boat would rate about 145 PHRf,
which is really fast for a 21 footer.

DSK

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

$0.25 to $0.45 higher out here.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Scotty" wrote in message
...

OzOne wrote in message news


Easter coming up...take a drive :-)


Yeah, gas is only $2.45 / gal. now.

SBV

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Capt. JG wrote:
$0.25 to $0.45 higher out here.


Heck, I'm not driving *that* far. Although there are a lot
of cool boats out there.

DSK

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

I'm just about to spend $50 on gas today doing that exact thing... looking
at boats. :-)

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
$0.25 to $0.45 higher out here.


Heck, I'm not driving *that* far. Although there are a lot of cool boats
out there.

DSK

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Still not fast enough. The Aphrodite rates 132. My Echells
beats it--rates 126 in California--not sure what it would rate
around here.

I think you should decide what rating you want and then get
the boat.

How about -21?

"DSK" wrote

The numbers suggest this boat would rate about 145 PHRf, which is really
fast for a 21 footer.

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I'm just about to spend $50 on gas today doing that exact
thing... looking
at boats. :-)


I spent $655 filling up the truck yesterday. Should last
till Wednesday.

SBV

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

"Bart Senior" .@. scribbled thusly:
Still not fast enough. The Aphrodite rates 132. My Echells
beats it--rates 126 in California--not sure what it would rate
around here.

I think you should decide what rating you want and then get
the boat.

How about -21?


That'd be a sled, right? OK consider it done.
Will you cash a check for me first? ;)


OzOne wrote:
Hmm, don't know what an Aphrodite is, but an Etchells is 30' with a
fixed keel and no cabin.
A far different boat to the Ross 650 which goes on/off a trailer in a
few minutes anywhere there's a ramp and can easily overnight.


Here's the Aphrodite... it's a gorgeous boat
http://www.aphrodite101.info/history.htm

It's understandably slower than the Etchells, being a good
bit heavier, more freeboard, and a slightly smaller rig.
Higher aspect ratio, it looks like, but less sail area.

If I get a keelboat & keep it in a slip, then I'm going to
have to haul it & leave it out of the water all next year.
If I get a trailerable boat, it has to be ramp launchable
but I can keep it in the sailing club lot around the corner
and it stores itself. Having already gone the trailerable
cruiser route, I'm getting interested in the prospect of a
sportier trailerable.

There are a lot of cool boats for sale out there, but
unfortunately none seem to be near by.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

http://www.ssssclub.com/a/ftol7907.jpg

Click on 414
http://www.aphrodite101.info/

OzOne wrote

Hmm, don't know what an Aphrodite is...

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

There are two ways to go. One is for a downwind rocket
sled, and the other is the upwind god like an Aphrodite.

I love going downwind fast, as do most people. Still you
eventually have to turn around and go upwind. And since
it takes 50% longer to sail upwind--more in waves, a boat
that will sail to weather is a blessing, while one that cannot
is a curse. An upwind boat will still do ok with a 'chute
downwind.

So what else is out there that rates a bit better, has a cabin
and is trailerable?

"DSK" wrote

"Bart Senior" .@. scribbled thusly:
I think you should decide what rating you want and then get
the boat. How about -21?


That'd be a sled, right? OK consider it done.
Will you cash a check for me first? ;)

If I get a trailerable boat, it has to be ramp launchable but I can keep
it in the sailing club lot around the corner and it stores itself. Having
already gone the trailerable cruiser route, I'm getting interested in the
prospect of a sportier trailerable.

There are a lot of cool boats for sale out there, but unfortunately none
seem to be near by.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

The Aprodite 101 is like an Etchells on steroids
--with a tiny cabin. Very pretty. A fellow at my
boat club has one. I fell in love with it when I saw
it.

The Melges 24 is a good trailerable boat, with
excellent performance, a sparse cabin, and used
boats have excellent resale value, and there are
lots of them--so there is market demand for the
Melges 24. Trailer sailer's are around, but they
seem to have compromises.

Each of these on the used market can be found
for around $22k.

While the Melges could be trailer sailed anywhere,
the Aprodite 101 at 7000 lbs could be trailered too
--you would need to pay to haul and splash it as the
draft is 5.5 feet. I would want a trailer so I could
take it home in the winter or haul it south.

I like the fact that the Aprodite 101 has an inboard
diesel. It makes a nice solo sailor. I just read that
class racing is with the self tending jib! That is a nice
feature.

If I could only have one boat, I'd be happy with the
Aphrodite 101.


OzOne wrote

DSK scribbled thusly:

"Bart Senior" .@. scribbled thusly:
The Aphrodite rates 132.

Here's the Aphrodite... it's a gorgeous boat
http://www.aphrodite101.info/history.htm

It's understandably slower than the Etchells, being a good
bit heavier, more freeboard, and a slightly smaller rig.
Higher aspect ratio, it looks like, but less sail area.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Wow, what a lovely classic design..stil, it's no trailer boat.
Friend of mine has always owned keelboats, J24 was his last one.
He has now bought a nondescript trailer boat and is spending lots of
time exploring places that are a days drive away, but were a 3 or 4
day sail before.

Oz1...of the 3 twins.

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Doug did you see the pictures under "Tricks" where the
owner of an Aphordite 101 installed hooks so he could
use a hoist to launch it?

http://www.aphrodite101.info/

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Bart Senior wrote:
Doug did you see the pictures under "Tricks" where the
owner of an Aphordite 101 installed hooks so he could
use a hoist to launch it?

http://www.aphrodite101.info/


No I missed that. It's a little big to handle on a dolly,
don't you think? But people dry-sail bigger boats.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

Here's the Aphrodite... it's a gorgeous boat
http://www.aphrodite101.info/history.htm



OzOne wrote:
Wow, what a lovely classic design..stil, it's no trailer boat.

Agreed. Not much room inside but I guess it's so much fun to
sail that nobody wants to go below?

Friend of mine has always owned keelboats, J24 was his last one.
He has now bought a nondescript trailer boat and is spending lots of
time exploring places that are a days drive away, but were a 3 or 4
day sail before.


We did that with our previous boat. It was a lot of fun. The
shallow draft was wonderful for exploring and staying in
isolated coves or creeks, one of the benefits that come with
being trailerable.

Fresh Breezes- DOug King

Hey Oz1... or anybody that knows
 

An Olson 30 is the biggest I've seen dry sailed off
a hoist. I've seen bigger boats hauled with a travel
lift and stored on cradles. IDLER an N/M 50 comes
to mind. What do you think that boat weighs? I'm
sure it is a light boat, but it is still a 50 footer!

It must be hard to find a hoist big enough for an Aphrodite.
Most hoists are designed for much less weight--J-24s
Etchells and there abouts.

"DSK" wrote

Bart Senior wrote:
Doug did you see the pictures under "Tricks" where the
owner of an Aphordite 101 installed hooks so he could
use a hoist to launch it?

No I missed that. It's a little big to handle on a dolly, don't you think?
But people dry-sail bigger boats.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King