** Above the dinghys, most trailerable sailboats use a heavy keel as the
ballast. For example, my keel weighs 300 lbs and is raised & lowered
straight up & down by a bronze naval screw.
The Catalina 18 with the fixed shoal keel was my 2nd choice. A bit harder to
launch but more useable floor space in the cabin.

"sams" wrote in message
om...
Thank you. I been pretty much convinced to get a Catalina Capri-18 or
22?

Now I was surfing the web and found too many types of keels. Wing
Keel, Swing Keel, Fin Keel and Center Board. Are they all different
names and type for the same technology? I would like to get a Swing
Keel or C.B assuming that it could be retrieved for easy trailering
and beaching.

Another question is do all the trailerable sailboats comes with
ballast? Is the improper use of ballast (racing with empty ballast)
cause the boat to go upside down in a puff?

I still have lot of questions with little answer. I will be more
comfortable with a sailboat with least complexities. I just want to
sail and sail often nothing else.

Thank you

Sam


(JFTeig) wrote in message
...
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