I started looking for a small sailboat for 4-5 people to sail on river
or sea. First time buyer with less or no experience on sailboat.
Iam like to get a 17' Catalina or O'day. But it need to be
trailerable, to be easy to launch and haul out of ramps by a V8
SUV/Truck. Any good advise? This is my first boat and dont want to
spend more thant 3K on boat, mast and sails. Other things I will fit
as I go.

Thanks for any advise.

Sam



Hi Sam,
4 or 5 is a lot for a small boat like a 17-20 footer. Plus the trailer ones are
liable to turn over in big puff of wind. You mentioned a budget of $3k for that
you could get an older Pearson 26 at least here on the great lakes. A P-26 will
sleep five friends or two couple easily, Yes i do know of a couple boats for
sale but they want more than $3k for them as they are in good condition with
lots of sails and good motors. $4k to $6k I think. Others I've seen are around
$3k without a lot of gear or without a motor. If trailering is a must look for
a Catalina 22. It's less likely to tip over and still has the positive
flotation as the the smaller boats should have. An SUV with a V-8 will easily
trailer most sailboats up to 26 feet, some more. If you want to race the boat a
J-24 is a good option for a trailer boat but way more than $3k more like $10k
for a good used one with good sails. If you don't do anything other than a few
hours of sailing per week and want something easy to launch and sail look for a
hobie cat 18. They're very fast with 4 people but also very wet, easy to set up
and sail.

Hope this helps
JT