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Opinion on cruising trailer sailers


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Sorry to start a similar thread - I have the same problem, trying to find a good boat to learn to sail in, mostly it will be used as an overnight "adventure platform" around the Coromandel and Hauraki Gulf, I am aiming for a trailer sailer to keep the costs down and ease of maintenance. Full GRP preferable.

 

We went to Auckland to see what kind of deck sizes each of the boats have (sneaking around marinas) and really fell in love with the Elliott 7.6 (I think it was a 7.6?) that we saw a few of, but it seems to be well out of our price range of below 10k, one that seems to be quite good value is this Redwing.

 

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =343546626

 

It doesn't have the open back cockpit that I would have liked for ease of swimming, diving and fishing, but it does have a decent amount of room inside and ladders to access the boat from 2 different directions

 

It looks pretty tidy inside, no water stains inside the hull that I could see, the guy has kept a tarp over it and pulled it back from the front of the trailer so the only part that is making contact with the trailer is the keel, I couldn't spot any bubbling of paint but there are 2 or 3 quite deep scratches through to the glass. The grab rail on the bow also seems to be bent up a little bit, maybe it nudged a pier at some point but I can't see any cracks around the nose anywhere. the topside is suffering pretty badly from sun fade but nothing that would seem to make it unsafe.

 

I know that it may be a little bit of a tugboat with sails when it comes to performance, but we are more interested in having a relaxing sail in a safe boat than trying to race anybody, my mate has 400hp on a 34ft launch if we wanted to throw money away at 32kts (140Litres per hour!)

 

Opinions/objections please :)

 

btw if you really wanted to know what we would have if money (and experience) was no object (within reason)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =345175518

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I'm sorry, but a Redwing??? They are just so ugly. Being new to the game I'd think the Redwing won't be appealing for long once you got it. You will quickly notice climbing up and out is a pain in the botty. Sure they have good room for a 21fter but that's about all they have going for them really. The cockpit on them are bloody small also and it's like sitting in a one person knot enough empty spa pool. They were designed as a sort of trailer motor sailor really.

 

Try sussing Tasman 20's, Bonito Aquarius, Davidson 20 or for a bit more room maybe a Beachcomber (22ft I think). All of those will out sail a Redwing with ease and without dropping into race mode. Also they would be more 'user friendly', I suppose you'd say. OK cockpits and very good ones if you have a good boom tent.

 

Generally most of the above boats are all from the same sort of era and usually pretty well made. So if you get a goodie that has a strong rig, combine that with some weather reading skills and common sense then they will take you anywhere, just about.

 

Without wanting to offend anyone, I'd call a Redwing bloody good for a retired couple on Lake Wanaka or somewhere else prone to cold and/or lots of wet. The others are better suited to the Gulf.

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So something a bit more like a $9,995 Bonito Aquarius

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =346210043

Problem is that's right at the top of what we are willing to pay, and all it would take is something like the motor to seize to put the boat on hold for 2-3 months while we save for a new engine or rebuild.

Others for similar money are barren of all the accessories that this one comes with such as cooker/toilet/decent motor so any cheaper boat will cost us before it is ready to be used for its intended purpose.

 

I know the old adage of you get what you pay for is mostly true, but I thought that the Redwing is pretty good value and the price reflects that they are not very desirable boats, and for the price that we are paying the loss of value wouldn't hit us that hard when it comes time to upgrade, which could be within a year.

 

I noticed that none of the other boats you mentioned have the cockpit open to the sea, is this a safety feature for smaller boats or a structural design issue with the materials that they were built from back in the day?

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Go to http://www.weiti.co.nz/Brokerage.htm Take a look at the Catalina 7 metre. A better boat than either of the ones you've shown us here. They sail well, have loads of room for their size, and with a pop top roof you can stand up - don't underestimate the value of that feature alone! The trailer is almost new as well.

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The Red Wings usually have a small diesel in them. If that goes wrong it'll take more than a couple of months to save for the repairs. The TS at Weiti is a minter. Pop top too so you can stand up at anchor.

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What would be the best place to see a whole lot of different TS all lined up? We went to two marinas in Auckland, Akarana and near the Westhaven charter berths, but of course most people keep thier TS at home so there were fewer than a dozen suitable boats all up.

Are there any marinas where there are a massive amount of TSs in storage (where we might spot some bargains) or otherwise ramps that are more popular for launching TS so that we could see a large number of them in one day.

I'm in Hamilton so Auckland and Tauranga are the easiest options, although we would be prepared to get over the Harbour Bridge if it meant getting to see a lot of boats. I don't want to have to drive around tyre (keel?) kicking at various peoples houses because we have no clue what we are after.

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Definately contact the Waikato Yacht Squadron, Trailer sailers are mostly kept in the Sq compound at Kawakawa Bay and the WYS meets on the 4th Tues of the month at the Hamilton Yacht Club although not sure about January , email the commodore pacrim@xtra.com The club is based in Hamilton about 100 members, keeler and Trailer yacht owners, most sailing is done on the Hauraki Gulf, although the TS division do some lake sailing as well. I think there is a TS winter series sailed at Ngaroto Lake at Te Awamutu. The majority of keelers are sailed out of Pine harbour.

 

We had an Aquarius 22 for 4 years when our kids were very little, a great boat we went all over the Hauraki Gulf and across to Coromandel in her.

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Waikato Yacht Squadron are big on their Joker designs. I think the designer is or was a member of the club. Not sure what the boats are like.

 

Don't write off ply as a buidling material for trailer sailers. Nice and light for speed and for towing. Usually cheaper too. Maintenance not too bad - especially if you can cover the boat at home.

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The Joker trailer yacht is designed by the well known designer Ron Given. Water ballast makes for light towing, both sizes sail well (6.7m and 8.2m). The Jokers are one of many different designs within the WYS.

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Don't write off ply as a buidling material for trailer sailers. .... Maintenance not too bad - especially if you can cover the boat at home.

 

As this is our first boat we really can't risk any kind of problems with the hull, and plywood scares me because I've been on a boat and saw a small bubble in the paint, told the owner, he came up and pressed on it and it went right through to the other side! (splash guard outside the cabin) sure this might be rare, but if we had anything similar we would just sell/give away the boat and that would be the end of it. Maybe that is why ferro boats appeal to me? :)

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You've really opened up a can of worms now - brace yourself for impact! A ferro boat can be a high quality thing, if they're built well - which alot of them weren't. I'd suggest that you would be setting yourself up for heartache if you go ferro especially as the kind of thing you've been looking at so far is an indication of your budget and your budget virtually dictates that you will get a pile of crap if you go ferro. Wood is no problem if it's been well maintained, same with fibreglass. If you are inexperienced, then invest some $ in getting your choice checked by a boat surveyor - once you've finalised which one you want. No comment from you about the Catalina 7 metre - despite it seemingly fitting your criteria perfectly?

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Have you looked at the Young designs? Beamy and roomy and light to tow. Mostly home built of ply but so much depends on maintenance on any boat.

Come over to Tauranga sometime and have a wander around the Sulphur Point marina compound to see a variety of Trailer Sailors. PM me if you need to get in at the weekend.

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AA - no chance of us getting a ferro boat, it was just from the perspective of maintenance the theory is good, and I can't imagine there are too many ferro trailer sailers around anyway :D

The catalina does tick a lot of the boxes, but I'm worried that it may end up being closer to 12k by the time it has a suitable motor on the back, I'll be keeping an eye out for some that we can see the dimensions of (closer to Hamilton), and if we fell in love with it then I'm sure the money could be found. I was planning on getting an inspection done once we had the boat choice nailed, but with all these new boats to now go and look at - that could be a long way away!

 

Rafin - I'll add it to the list of places to visit, looks like it's going to be a big drive on Sunday.

 

What kind of $$$ would I be looking at for a surveyor to look over a boat, I'm sceptical of wood still but if it was only 50-100 to have a pro look at i then I might be willing to add them into the mix, again though, I don't really want to waste an owners time, especially if it wasn't really for sale and we got them down to the marina just to tell them thier boat is a POS

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Generally you would only get a survey done once you have decided to buy a particular boat. You would agree to purchase subject to a survey result. I imagine for a trailer sailor you might be looking at around $300 but I haven't had a survey done for 8 years so...

 

Don't give up on the Catalina. Did you phone him? He's a good guy and I'm sure if there will is there, an agreement can be made.

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It appears budget is key priority here and therefore I would recommend a Davidson M20, or a Noelex 22 for all round use-ability.

 

The other designs discussed above may be good in some areas but I don't think you could beat a Davidson - bang for bucks. see trade me.

 

An Aquarius would be good but not likely to find a good one for under or near Davidson price.

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Generally you would only get a survey done once you have decided to buy a particular boat. You would agree to purchase subject to a survey result. I imagine for a trailer sailor you might be looking at around $300 but I haven't had a survey done for 8 years so...

 

Don't give up on the Catalina. Did you phone him? He's a good guy and I'm sure if there will is there, an agreement can be made.

 

The survey from a professional is more likely to be $900-$1500 I'm afraid.

They don't base their survey price on how much the boat is selling for, just on how long it takes to do the survey and write up and file their report.

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