Best small sailing boat for a family?
 

Can anyone give us some advice please? On a low budget we are looking
for a stable sailng boat for 3 of us. Safety is the main issue. We
would be sailing in Norfolk, UK.

Friends (without children!) have recommended a Cornish Crabber and
trawls of boatyards have produced lots of possible candidates in other
makes but if a sailng family could offer some practical advice we
would be extremely grateful.

Thanks!

On 29 Aug 2004 02:59:27 -0700, (Mos) wrote:
Can anyone give us some advice please? On a low budget we are looking
for a stable sailng boat for 3 of us. Safety is the main issue. We
would be sailing in Norfolk, UK.

Friends (without children!) have recommended a Cornish Crabber and
trawls of boatyards have produced lots of possible candidates in other
makes but if a sailng family could offer some practical advice we
would be extremely grateful.
=====================================

I'm not sure what you have available in the UK or what is popular.
It's always a good idea to buy something that is popular in your area
for several reasons: One, it is probably suited to local conditions;
and two, it will be easier to sell it when the time comes. Beware of
dealers trying to unload their "no name" turkeys. You might try
talking to a local sail maker for relatively unbiased advice as long
as he's not trying to sell his own boat.

Here in the states I'd recommend something like an Oday Rhodes 19,
Pearson Ensign or Catalina 22. All of these boats have withstood the
test of time and have good reputations as family say sailors. If you
do a google search on any of those names you will find a lot of
pictures, descriptions, resources, etc.

Check out the Wayfarer..small, open boat, but has crossed seas. Big
following in the UK I understand.

--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners
"Mos" wrote in message
om...
Can anyone give us some advice please? On a low budget we are looking
for a stable sailng boat for 3 of us. Safety is the main issue. We
would be sailing in Norfolk, UK.

Friends (without children!) have recommended a Cornish Crabber and
trawls of boatyards have produced lots of possible candidates in other
makes but if a sailng family could offer some practical advice we
would be extremely grateful.

Thanks!

RichG wrote:
Check out the Wayfarer..small, open boat, but has crossed seas. Big
following in the UK I understand.

I usually sail a Wayfarer at my club when I cant be bothered to take my
Albacore. Its possible to capsize a wayfarer but it needs a combination
of bad luck, inattention and poor seamanship to actually do so in any
conditions you'd want to take the family out in. They are big enough to
sleep two adults if dinghy camping with bottom boards to keep you and
your kit out of any bilge water, plenty of stowage, easily driven by a 2
to 3 HP outboard and the mast lowers easily on a pivot pin so the
bridges on the Broads would not be a problem. They've also got decent
but not outstanding sailing performance :-)

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk [at]=@, [dash]=- &
[dot]=.
*Warning* SPAM TRAP set in header, Use email address in sig. if you must.
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Uffa Fox designed, All varnished hot
moulded wooden racing dinghy circa. 1961

** Glad you asked!
Try the 'Sailfish 18' . I have the Canadian version, the 'Sandpiper 565',
and it still is a popular mini-cruiser although the manufacturer, CL
Sailboats' stopped building them in 1992.
see ** http://www.b-boats.freeserve.co.uk/ **