I know this is probably a often asked question, but here goes (maybe again).

I have a great Hobie 16 that I have sailed in Mission Bay, San Diego for the
last 8 years.

But now, I've got a lovely wife and two kids (6 and 2). Bottom line, I need
to ditch the cat and buy a monohull that is fairly dry and cozy for the
family members.

I am looking for a used boat that is:
1. trailerable (i.e. light and swing keel; I have a Jeep Liberty to tow)
2. inexpensive (under $4000)
3. easy to sail by one or two people
4. extremely safe
5. fairly fast under sail (I coming off a cat after all)
6. able to handle an outboard motor
7. has a cabin.

Been looking at MacGregor (19?) and Hunter (water ballast systems seems very
safe), and Catalina.

Any advice on these or others would be greatly appreciated as well as where
to look to buy.

Thanks,

Wes

Wes,
You have a lot of open area to cover there.
You say trailerable, and I assume you mean that to be trailer launch
capable (there are many small boats that are on trailers that do not
launch and recover very well at all).

Start at:
http://www.trailersailors.com/index2.tpl

These are the people that are doing what you want to do. They have
lists of boats (links to type-sites) and stories to read that will all
help you in your search.

Then find a local small boat marina or club and try to locate the boats
you are interested in and ask the owners about the experiences they have
had. Have your seabag with you as this may well result in an invitation
to go sailing.

The boat I have now is a big trailerable. It is so for lots of reasons
and I am glad for it.

I have learned -
"Where there are boats with masts, there is either someone I know or
someone I should meet."

Matt Colie A.Sloop "Bonne Ide'e" S2-7.9 #1
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Pathological Sailor

Wesnkat wrote:
I know this is probably a often asked question, but here goes (maybe again).

I have a great Hobie 16 that I have sailed in Mission Bay, San Diego for the
last 8 years.

But now, I've got a lovely wife and two kids (6 and 2). Bottom line, I need
to ditch the cat and buy a monohull that is fairly dry and cozy for the
family members.

I am looking for a used boat that is:
1. trailerable (i.e. light and swing keel; I have a Jeep Liberty to tow)
2. inexpensive (under $4000)
3. easy to sail by one or two people
4. extremely safe
5. fairly fast under sail (I coming off a cat after all)
6. able to handle an outboard motor
7. has a cabin.

Been looking at MacGregor (19?) and Hunter (water ballast systems seems very
safe), and Catalina.

Any advice on these or others would be greatly appreciated as well as where
to look to buy.

Thanks,

Wes

I think you may have overconstrained the problem. I don't know of any
trailerable that meets all of those. The MacGregor, Hunter, and Catalinas
might be your best bet, but I would not consider any of them fast,
especially if you were a hobie sailor. Also, you have to qualify extremely
safe. All of those are very safe in good conditions, but I would not want
to be caught out in any of them in heavy seas.

On water ballast, I prefer a swing keel because it's less hassle and you
have more control over raising it for gunkholing or going downwind, and it
gives more stability when down all the way. I consider all those as safety
factors.

I had a MacGregor 25 that I used to pull easily with a Jeep, and it was
simple to sail with my wife and I. We also raced in beer can PHRF races and
it held its own against catalinas and hunters. But I would not consider it
a particularly strong boat, and its construction and finish were not as good
as the catalinas or hunters. But it did have a lot of interior room, with
the pop top, it moved at hull speed with an 8HP o/b even in a lot of chop,
and we enjoyed that boat a lot. The mast was light enough that I could
raise it by myself if need be.

You might also look at a Paceship 23, a Rhodes 19, or ODay 22 c/b. Don't
know much about them, but I've sailed the Rhodes 19 and it handled nicely.

"Wesnkat" wrote in message
news:30vdb.29962$Ms2.26443@fed1read03...
I know this is probably a often asked question, but here goes (maybe
again).

I have a great Hobie 16 that I have sailed in Mission Bay, San Diego for
the
last 8 years.

But now, I've got a lovely wife and two kids (6 and 2). Bottom line, I
need
to ditch the cat and buy a monohull that is fairly dry and cozy for the
family members.

I am looking for a used boat that is:
1. trailerable (i.e. light and swing keel; I have a Jeep Liberty to tow)
2. inexpensive (under $4000)
3. easy to sail by one or two people
4. extremely safe
5. fairly fast under sail (I coming off a cat after all)
6. able to handle an outboard motor
7. has a cabin.

Been looking at MacGregor (19?) and Hunter (water ballast systems seems
very
safe), and Catalina.

Any advice on these or others would be greatly appreciated as well as
where
to look to buy.

Thanks,

Wes

In article 30vdb.29962$Ms2.26443@fed1read03, "Wesnkat" wrote:

I have gone through roughly the same senerio over the past
20 or so years. The first issue is that any displacement
hull boat is roughly limited by the hull speed (i.e.length).
That said, some get there is less wind than others.

We used a venture/MacGregor 17 for many years, too small
for anything but day crusing but has served us well.
I would say 22 ft is a minimum if you plan to sleep on it
any, want a porta-head, and need the capability of bringing
along friends (kids or yours). As our kids got older we
added an old solcat to liven things up a little. The need
for speed then progressed to windsurfers.

Our 'kids' now have their own boats and we have upgraded to
a 1990 MacGregor 26D (water ballast,dager board). Dry weight
about 2000 lbs. Trailers nice, sleeps nice, and sails fairly
fast. MacGregors from the factory are a bit sparten. However
one can always add to the ameneties.

Water ballast mono hulls are a bit tender. Ours heels to 10
degrees in moderate wind, but takes a lot to get it past 15
degrees.

my $.02

mpm




I know this is probably a often asked question, but here goes (maybe again).

I have a great Hobie 16 that I have sailed in Mission Bay, San Diego for the
last 8 years.

But now, I've got a lovely wife and two kids (6 and 2). Bottom line, I need
to ditch the cat and buy a monohull that is fairly dry and cozy for the
family members.

I am looking for a used boat that is:
1. trailerable (i.e. light and swing keel; I have a Jeep Liberty to tow)
2. inexpensive (under $4000)
3. easy to sail by one or two people
4. extremely safe
5. fairly fast under sail (I coming off a cat after all)
6. able to handle an outboard motor
7. has a cabin.

Been looking at MacGregor (19?) and Hunter (water ballast systems seems very
safe), and Catalina.

Any advice on these or others would be greatly appreciated as well as where
to look to buy.

Thanks,

Wes



Michael Moorman
Durham NC

I have a question about the amount of HP needed for the MacGregor 26. I
understand that to empty the water ballast while under way one has to be
moving faster than hull speed. How did that work out with that 8 HP? I
know the company recommends a 50 HP but I'm wondering if 20 HP would be
reasonable and more economical than the 50. I don't need to go 100 mph but
10 would be nice. Asking the company I got some fuzzy answers.

We got our first sailboat this spring, a Magregor 26s. We are learning
to sail with it and I believe I can say it is a very easy boat to
sail. Regarding HP, we have a 8 hp 2-stroke that can move it along at
around 5.5 kts. Remember, hull speed for this boat can only be about
6.5 kts so you really need to bump up the power to go a lot faster. My
model, a '94, is only rated for 10 hp max, you need to get into the
26x model for the higher hp ratings.

People say the boat is a little unstable with the water balast empty
so I have only emptied it for trailering. I just loaded it on the
trailer, opened the plug and drove up the ramp. The water drained out
in about 10 min. I've read about folks buying a battery operated pump
at Walmart, otherwisw used to inflate an air mattress, and used it to
"blow the water out". They say it works great!




"R HINSHAW" wrote in message . ..
I have a question about the amount of HP needed for the MacGregor 26. I
understand that to empty the water ballast while under way one has to be
moving faster than hull speed. How did that work out with that 8 HP? I
know the company recommends a 50 HP but I'm wondering if 20 HP would be
reasonable and more economical than the 50. I don't need to go 100 mph but
10 would be nice. Asking the company I got some fuzzy answers.