Top 5 Small Sailboats You Can Live On! Ep 257 - Lady K Sailing
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- čas přidán 19. 12. 2023
- #tinyhouse #tinyliving #offthegridliving #sailing #sailboat
This week we look at the top five small sailboats you can live on. What makes a good off the grid liveaboard sailboat? What do you NEED to have on a sailboat to live on, sail alone solo, from roller fulrings to sailboat toilets to sailboat engines - the top five sailboats for you to buy cheap and live on.
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I was lucky enough to get a beautiful Challenger 32 for $6,500. Everything a fellow needs to live comfortably, even a hot shower! Pretty darn good shape for a '77! I am fortunate to have good health and physical ability to still be sailing and enjoying it, at 86! Keep on "Keepin' on!" John
Kudos.
Hello, where did you purchase it?
You inspired me!
I am approaching 70 and want to do the same.....looking for a boat now.....
I'm 63 and this comment gives me confidence! ❤
Go small. Go simple. Go now. Well said
About the wheel vs. tiller. You talk about doing a 100 mile day. Anyone doing that distance is going to have a wind vane, and those are easier to set up on a tiller.
Why dont catamarans have them then? THat stick is garbage if in anything but a lake .
Just bought my first sailboat a few months back, 1967 morgan 34 centerboard, 3/4 keel. paid a whopping 3750 with a running diesel engine, AC and generator. Beyond blessed for the opportunity
Wow that’s great!
I lived on an old Catalina 30 for almost 3 years. It was a dream come true and very comfortable! Highly recommend it.
Trust me: there's nothing "golden" about our "golden years".
I'm in the UK so this may not relate but we bought a 1979 Colvic Sea Rover 28 with a furling cutter rig, for £2500 and spent the same again fixing her up. Sails great in the Irish Sea and it's comfortable. Nice to see you talking about boats with more affordable prices.
Sails great in Irish seas for less than 5000. Folks, you didn't buy a sailboat, you found the Holy Grail. Chuffed for you.
That last one looked nice.
I could have easily lived aboard that when I was single and been happy.
You don’t have enough following, you’re truly one of my favorite people I’ve ever watched, you have a huge heart, you’ve been beaten down,
Lost so much yet somehow, you just keep trucking on. You’re one strong man, and motovational as all hell. I look up to you and hope one day I touch as many lives as you have
Wow, thank you
Hey, you're right! I just realized I hadn't subscribed either. There! Just took care of that! Thanks.
I had a 25' Erikson, I lived on that for 4yrs. I loved it.
I have a 25' Pearson that I wonder if I could setup for extended stays aboard...
Wheel vs tiller -- there are tiller-based autopilots, and wheel-based autopilots. Their capabilities are similar. I'd trust either of them over "just lock the wheel and go below". For ocean sailing, wind vanes also come into play -- but that's another level of complexity.
Tim, awesome video, really enjoyed it. But... what's your beef with tillers? I specifically was looking for a boat with a tiller and I glad I did. You can lock tiller just as you lock a wheel, look up Tiller Clutch or Tiller Tamer. I have a Tiller Tamer, but I still have it in a box, because I use the autopilot (tiller pilot) instead. Huge benefit of the tiller (besides the direct feel) is space saving - on anchor I kick the tiller up in a vertical position and have the full cockpit for myself and the guests. Last but not least, a tiller steering is 100x simpler and more reliable than steering wheel
I agree
Yup, I now own my first wheel helm sailboat and do believe of all the sailboats I have owned my favorite helm was a tiller with transom hung rudder. All around easy to inspect and maintain with the added benefit of instant input and feed back. Kicking the tiller up and out of the way when not in use is nice as well. Replacing the steering cables on my Edson helm is on my to do list but not looking forward to it. I'm all for simplicity when and where available.
first time i saw the galley on cat 30 was amazed. i had a cal 20 so any galley amazed me. in seattle procuring a liveaboard permit at shilshole used to take years but a liveaboard permit for a small boat was instant back then. and the small boat mooring births with power are the closest to the shore and most importantly the bathrooms showers and laundry. i was on j dock closest to the bar as well :) my little cal took me everywhere singlehanded.
Learned to sail properly on a Cal 20, good boats. Before that I was playing around in a 14' Enterprise. Fun but not a 'real' sailboat.
I got a Morgan Out Island 33 for under 20K and it has lots of room and makes a great live aboard.
Here in Brazil, for many years I sailed a 1974 Ranger 29 designed by Gary Mull, made in California.
Strong, ralatively fast and low cost.
After renewing she completely, I was really happy.
Such a shame that anything bigger than a 23ft is so unaffordable here in Brazil now...
I lived on my 22ft Hunter sailboat for a year, now I did keep her in a nice marina so I had the use of nice bathroom and pool ( near Annapolis MD)
Which marina? And do you recommend the marina?
I would have pick the catalina 27 over the 25.. great boat with everything a solo person would need!
I agree. I'm looking to buy on myself.
My first liveaboard was a $4500 c27 and I spent 3 years on her before upgrading. A perfect boat to learn on single handed.
Same built as C27 is Jaguar 27, that's the boat I have.
@daveg4963 try to find a mid 80s or newer with the Universal M-18 diesel engine. It's actually made by Kubota and you can find all the wearable parts cheaply (oil filter, fuel filter, injectors, etc) at farm stores. Runs like a champ too.
@@sailingindependence9927 thanks for that info! Much appreciated!
One thing I didn’t hear you mention which is quite important for liveaboard sailors is standing headroom in the salon. The Laguna 26 ticks all your boxes plus has standing headroom for an average sized person; pretty impressive for a boat that size.
That is one thing I wish my Tanzer 26 had. The ceiling is just an inch or two short.
Small boats have a charm of their own. They’re way cheaper to run. And they’re so easy to work on.
I'm downsizing from my 50' steel schooner to my "first love" boat that's sat forlornly in my barnyard for more than a decade. It's a 26' twin-keeled Westerly Centaur built in 1975. When I sailed her years ago, she needed this, that and the other, just like most boats, but there was always something about her -- she was easy to single-hand and was still roomy enough for my wife when she went along. There's actually 'berthing' for 5 people on this little boat -- some of the Brits actually did that and it made a fine family cruiser. I have a number of sailing dream adventures on my bucket list and this little Centaur is a perfect "fit" for a single-hander or a couple. The biggest drawback is that it's a 5.5 kt. boat. She's just not gonna' go faster than that and once you get used to it, it's not such a bad thing after all. The twin keels work wonders for stopping any 'roll' from big wake crowd and if you watch the tides closely, you can even 'beach' her in some places. A roller furling jib is one of the refit "improvements" I'm adding, but I'm keeping with the original mainsail system where the main wraps around the boom by a nice little crank handle that sticks out the other side of the mast. For my sailing, I like simple, strong and fool-proof, and most everything about these little Centaurs is just that. There's full standing headroom in the main cabin and tons of storage space throughout the boat. It compares in space to many 30 and 35 footers I've seen. Their average price about 10 years ago was around $2,500. A lot were actually destroyed to get them out of the 'dead boat' section of boatyards. But now I see the prices coming up as people are rediscovering they don't need a big pleasure palace or a combo- racing boat and would actually enjoy sailing more with a boat that actually suited their needs as economic realities. They're tiller steered, and I've experienced exactly what you described in the video regarding the need to take a quick pee or make a sandwich or get a cold drink -- but you're chained to the tiller. There are many easy ideas for a "third hand" for the tiller, but I cured my need by buying a Simrad Tiller Steer. That thing worked so well that it literally changed my way of sailing and freed me up to enjoy sailing so much more. So, if you're looking for a smaller, comfortable, strong and safe little 'mini-cruiser,' you might want to check out the Westerly Centaurs.
Best wishes for your adventures with the Westerly. My parents had a Westerly Pageant 23 in the 1970s. Yes, it was a bit tubby, and not fast. But OMG it was built like a brick outhouse - everything was oversized and heavy duty - from the hull to all the fittings, lifelines, stays, etc. I live in the PNW now; the twin keels would be nice to have for Puget Sound.
Twin keels gives a monohull wave handling equivalent to a catamaran! I wonder why that design didn't catch on... perhaps the increased wetted surface. Nonetheless, cool.
@@SeaDadLife I'm sorry I didn't catch your reply sooner. For some reason it didn't pop up in my Y/T notifications. I'll bet you guys had a LOT of fun with the Pageant -- especially in the 1970's. The Pageant and the Centaur were both designed by the same guy and are nearly the same boat, one's just a couple of inches longer. Most of my sailing is in the Chesapeake Bay, but I think you're right that a twin-keeler would work well in Puget Sound. My timeline has been pushed back a lot due to a back problem, so it might not be until late Summer or Fall that I'll get the little twin-keeler "Mockingbird" back on the sea again. Right now, my schooner is "trapped" inside of Baltimore Harbor. The container ship that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge probably has locked more than a thousand pleasure boats in the upper Patapsco River. The Army Corps of Engineers has cleared two shallower channels at the bridge, but they're only open to government, commercial and construction vessels working on clearing the bridge wreckage.
@@G11713 Hi! I just saw your reply to my comment (Y/T didn't notify me there was one.) and I think you're right -- twin keels is a bit like a catamaran, but with a greater 'heel,' of course. The neat thing about the twin keels is that, as the boat heels the draft gets a few inches deeper as one keel is pushed down, while the other is hiked out, creating a lot of additional stability. But, they are much, much slower than the lightweight mono hulls of today's new sailboats. For me -- now retired -- I don't have to fret about getting back to the marina early enough on Sunday to do all the 'after the outing' boat stuff then the two-hour drive home so that I'm able to make it to work on time on Monday. If the weather's turned bad or the tide's running the wrong way, I just find a nice cove, drop the hook, and have a nice, quiet night. I'm hoping I can post some videos of that stuff soon. But this back problem has sure made all the other work pile up!
@@G11713 Twin Keels very popular in the UK. Opens up a myriad of waters to explore. Some like my British Hunter 27 designed as 'twin fins'. 1 Metre draft, Heads, Galley, Diesel Engine, etc😀
You ought to consider a Nonsuch 26 or 30. The accommodations on either boat feel like a much bigger boat, plus Nonsuch is a Canadian builder. Yeah, the wishbone boom cat boat rig looks a bit odd, but it is a single line. Also, if you are on a similar sized boat, don't challenge a Nonsuch to a race. They sail surprisingly well.
Nonsuch are great boats but you'll be hard pressed to even find a 22 for 10 grand.
@@allanrheaume5549 true, they are not cheap, but you get what you pay for with a Nonsuch.
I live on a Pearson 40 full time with my wife. I own a Bristol 27 and it’s solid a rock. Literally world traveling pocket cruiser that can be had under 10k and ready to head south with 4k in addition for dingy solar and batteries. Anywhere under 15k hard to beat a Bristol 27
Like the Bristol 27 -- good things happened when Pearson and Alberg collaborated. LOVE the Pearson 40. You're winning at life.
6:21 Tillers are easy to lock: cord mounted across cockpit, clip on tiller. Also can use a tiller autopilot, which is pretty essential anyway (as is headsail furling). Good list of boats and excellent advice. I lived comfortably for 8 years on a Grampian 30, roomy, strong, stable though not particularly pretty. There are many other good live-aboard candidates in this class. Ones I have sailed, cruised (even raced) and liked include Alberg 30, Catalina 27, Catalina 36, Hughes-Columbia 8.7, Bavaria 32, Jeanneau Fantasia 27, Nonsuch 22. I did not like the Grampian 28, though the venerable but clunky-looking Grampian 25 can be good. All boats have advantages and disadvantages, with different ways of sailing them, and so much depends on their history of maintenance and improvements.
If I were doing this again in the Great Lakes region, I would be very interested in the Polish-made TES 28 Magnam, even the little TES 678 BT which I have chartered several times. These are Mazurian-style internal ballast centreboard (or keel-centreboard) boats with a minimum one foot draft, with a very solid and convenient mast raising/lowering system. The keel-centreboard gives a somewhat deeper minimum draft (perhaps two feet), but allows off-shore sailing (a smaller one has sailed across the Atlantic). Such a boat opens up many of the lakes and rivers of Ontario inaccessible to the predominant standard keelboats with fixed masts, while retaining their comfort and sailing qualities. The old US-made Macgregor sailboats, for example, are much less comfortable and durable than either standard keelboats or the Mazurian style boats.
I have an interview on my channel with a TES owner
@@MikeSantis Thanks! That was a very positive report on a TES 550 Master, a nicely appointed pocket cruiser. czcams.com/video/NCx_7YWjHks/video.html
Thanks so much for making me feel better about the boat I bought this fall, a 1979 S2 9m (29ft). Found it for less than $3k from Boat Angel. I met the previous owners and they helped me move it to boat storage from their yacht club (only 1 mile). They donated it because they didn't want to put the work into sanding and bottom paint. It's got a running Yanmar and a roller furling jib. The deck has this great nonslip diamond pattern in the gel coat. There's even some sort of raw water cooled air conditioning system (anyone heard of this?) The last owner took out the plumbing and installed a compost toilet. Should I look into replumbing it and install a new blackwater tank? Now I just have to teach myself how to do the bottom job and learn to sail before I bring it down the ICW 90nm to the marina near my home. Eventually I plan to sail south for the winters (Florida and maybe the Caribbean). My business is seasonal so I have the winters off. Any advise on learning to sail?
Do not reinstall a holding tank but learn to use the composting unit. You might stash a camp toilet for marinas which don't approve the composting unit. The previous owner knew what he was doing when he ditched the holding tanks.
S2 is a good boat, I had an 8.5 m for 25 yrs.
@@jamesbaldwin7676
@@jamesbaldwin7676😅
Could you do one video where you explane all the terms you use to describe boats?
Like sougar scoop, gally, quater bearth, furling etc...?
I just picked up a 1977 Pearson 323 and I plan on living on it. She seems plenty roomy for a big guy like me, and being claustrophobic, I haven't felt trapped at all in her. That saying, she's on the hard... But I'm hoping to have her in the water come spring!
That's awesome. Something to look forward to!
I lived on a 1972 Catalina 27. LOVED it. Then a Yorktown 32. Loved it. Great times had all around.
Great choice! My friend still has a 1973 Jaguar 27, which is basically the same boat
Those of us who have cruised on boats with tillers quickly learn the simple way to walk away from the tiller: a bungee led from one coaming, looped over the tiller, and a small line looped over the tiller and put under tension to a jam cleat on the other coaming. More reliable hands-off steering than a locked wheel....and after sailing, Voila! an open cockpit with the tiller raised out of the way. Tillers have other benefits over a wheel, they just require a bit more seamanship.
Thank you, Sir, it really means a lot for you to share your wisdom with us. I'm a newly retired Veteran and looking for a good place/vessel to live on. Fair seas to you and everyone.
Our first boat was a brand new Catalina 25, 19k, in 1982. We sailed it 7500 miles in the Great Lakes for 5 years before we sold it and bought a 30 footer. Our current boat is 35.5 feet and we have lived on it full time for more than a decade. The Catalina 25 is still our all time favorite boat!
I have a Catalina 25 up here in Washington state. Its perfect for the Puget Sound. Good for solo sailing. Spent over a year renovating it. I dont live on it but sleep on it quite often. I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs and fit in the V-berth quite comfortably. Love your videos Lady K!!!
Cool video! I bought my Ericson 27 for $2500 and used it as an apartment for 3 years while fixing it up and saving money. I've since moved to land but sail and anchor out on the weekends. Great boat
Welcome everyone to the Fourth Annual Sailing Channel Awards! First, a big thanks to all of our favorite Sailing Channels who helped us vicariously crew along with you as you sail around the globe. Second, thanks to all who voted and either viewed the videos or even became patreons to help keep the content coming! With that said, our Award for Best Armchair Boat Banter goes to Lady K Sailing. Congrats on the great content, whether it is origins of sailing jargon, or guidance on solid, pre-loved boats to buy at a reasonable cost, so we can all get out there and sail, you provide the wannabe sailor community a great service and a path to go do it! Please keep at it and we will keep watching.
I loved my Newport 28. It was great boat for Lake Erie and we basically did live on it in the summer.
I bought a 25 O'Day 1976 for around $4.5k in 2009. It needed cosmetic work only. I only had it a couple of years before I sold it but it was one of the best times I've ever had. It had 5 berths, a bathroom with a hand sink, a kitchen counter with a gas grill and an ice box, the main and jib sails, a wooden tiller, and an outboard. I had a hammock on it as well. I kept it at a nearby marina that was within walking distance in NYC. It was awesome to hang out on it and not go back to my 1 BR apartment. Totally liveable if I were a single guy... After selling it, the next guy broke it.
Great video. I love my Catalina 25. My first boat, she reminds me of my first car decades and decades ago, a VW bug. Both have that small & simple, "you can count on me vibe." And both are larger on the inside than outside. Only thing, not for very tall people.
I recently bought a MacGregor 224. It is a fixer upper but sailable right now. so this spring I will launch her in our local lake and start learning to sail her. I started watching your videos after I bought this boat and have learned a great deal from you. Thank you for these. It inspires me and educates me on my next boat. i am a solo sailor and expect that to stay that way when i move to the coast in two years to start the salt life down south.
I can’t get enough of your videos. Happy to see you bringing us content. Merry Christmas
I bought a Coronado 27 for $500. I love the layout where it is more like an RV with dinerre birth to srarboard and galley to port. Head and locker forward of them to v-birth. Slso has 1/4 birth. Power is from an outboard in a well giving you much more living space.
Thank you! This is exactly the video I've been waiting for!
I have an O'day 28. Solid, sails well and roomy for its size. I do not live on it, but certainly one could. When looking to purchase seriously considered the Pearson 28.
I have an O'day 272 lots of headroom and fast. I have no problem living on it.
This is the video I have been waiting for! Thanks 👍
i know nothing about boats but love these videos
I just got a great deal, 1973 Contessa 26 for $2000. Very easy to solo sail, comfortable for myself and my dog, and a very solid design.
Thanks for sharing that .
Can you stand up?
My brother had an 87 Pearson 28! Spent lotsa time sailing on her! Luved that boat! Had everything U could want in a smaller package! 👍❤️
just awesome content you are producing and i really love how you always use actual examples and not just theoretical tipps. this makes your videos super relevant 👍🙌 please continue the good work
Mr lady k you have grown on me over the years and I can truly say you are my favorite sailing CZcams channel by a long shot ♥️❤️♥️ love ya loads and happy holidays to you and your family!!!!!!
Thanks for the upload Tim!👍🏼👍🏼
Watkins boats are a good sailing/ livaboard choice, I’ve owned 3 over the years 2 27’s and a 29’.
Thanks so much! Great boat selection and recommendations. Happy holidays!
Great advice as always thanks. Off shopping !
Thanks - Happy Holidays. Your videos are a 🎁
Great review! I gotta throw in my 2 cents. I live on my awesome Paceship 26. I'm told it is the hull that predated the Pearson you show here. Super well built and very roomy inside for a small boat with 6' head room! I have had 8 people aboard for a sailing day and nobody felt too crowded, just cozy. The boat even got washed ashore during a hurricane storm surge my first year of ownership, and the only damage was a snapped tiller handle. Super solid boat for a newbie like me to learn on! Because the head was shot when I bought her, I swapped the head and galley locations. Now I have a head by the cockpit- better for solo sailing turn around times, and the galley located under the opening hatches, better for venting steam. It's a lovely boat for a very low budget liveaboard like myself!
Another great video! I hope to be on the water soon and I'll be making use of the knowledge you've shared. Merry Christmas to you too as well
Wow, thanks for the info once again
Also, my c27 had tiller steering, but it came with an electric tiller pilot. They exist and work like a charm!
Awesome tips… Thanks!
Your channel is INSPIRING ! Great job sir. 👏. Definately got me motivated for a sailboat. Greetings from the UK 🇬🇧
Good video covering these boats!!!
I'm cruising on a Catalina 27 with an 11hp vetus. If you're just living at the dock it really doesn't matter, but you absolutely without a doubt need a diesel engine.I completely agree. Get the 30.
Thanks so much for great content
Merry Christmas
Thank you for sharing so much seasoned advice, I’m looking to live aboard out in the blue⛵️
Merry Christmas Tim! Hope you and the kids have a great holiday together and we'll see you in the New Year!
I love my '86 Catalina 30. Came with a tired diesel that I am going to rebuild soon. Lived on her for about three years now.
You are a master, Tim... nice episode!!
My Father owned a 28' Tartin that we sailed the Great Lakes from SE Michigan. Loved Mackinaw Island on 4th of July 1976.
I have the best small bluewater sailing vessel. The Pacific Seacraft- Flicka 20. Only 20 feet long. Has everything you need and nothing you don’t. Sleeps 3 (V-berth, quarter berth), full galley, AND a head. Full keel. 5-11” headroom. Yanmar 1GM. Has been sailed around the world! Huge fan club. Just not easy to find on eastcoast.
That is what I want.
I bought a 1991 Tartan 31 this past Spring (May 2023) and lived aboard while I refitted and then sailed her with a good friend (and we are still good friends!) around the Great Lakes to her new home port on Lake Michigan. The Tartan 31 is a Tim Jackett design that makes remarkable use of interior space with angled bulkheads that make the head (not the "bathroom"!), the hanging locker, and the galley much bigger than you will find on other boats her size (well, the galley does not have as much counter space as on the Catalina 30). The galley especially has a lot of storage for a boat this size, with a huge icebox.
The angled bulkheads do take away some space from the main saloon, but only on the outboard edges of the settees, so it seems just as roomy in the main saloon as it would with traditional athwartships bulkheads, although the longer of the two settees is only 5'11". The double berth in the forward cabin and the ample quarter berth make it a comfortable boat for two or three to live aboard. (All boats this size claim to "sleep six", but let's be realistic.)
The build quality of this boat is exceptional (she's a Tartan, what else do you have to know?) and she points well despite having a shoal-draft keel (my boat has a Scheel keel). She has a masthead rig with double spreaders, and chainplates clear down to China. I was also fortunate that she came to me well cared for and very lightly used, and is a freshwater boat. For some reason she has a Volvo Penta diesel instead of a Yanmar, but the Volvo has been very reliable.
Here is a slightly earlier but largely identical boat for sale on Yachtworld www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1989-tartan-31-9099965/
...and the specs sailboatdata.com/sailboat/tartan-31/
Tartan slightly upgraded these boats over the years. Mine has a small sugar scoop on the transom and instead of the fold-up pilot berth has shelves and cabinets on the port side of the main saloon, a huge improvement which significantly increases the amount of storage along with being much more attractive. The woodwork is beautiful oiled teak and the fit and finish are excellent throughout.
When I finished the refit, we lived aboard for the months of August and September, traveling about 850 nm total and found it very comfortable. I have a lot of video of the boat and our voyage on my channel www.youtube.com/@AhoySkylark/videos
Current plans are to sail the entire summer of 2024 on the upper Great Lakes, especially the North Channel and Georgian Bay.
Great video!
OK, Here are my thoughts and a couple of comments. My Atomic 4 doesn't stink and neither should anyone else's. I do agree about wanting a diesel though, but they can actually stink pretty bad with the diesel small thing. I also rock a tiller and prefer the extra room I get. It was a pain before I got the tiller pilot, but now nobody ever touches it when we are underway... And yes I do 100 mile days all the time. I loved the video and thanks for mentioning the little fatty that could.... Catalina 30! Have a Merry Christmas
We were a family of 5. Our first boat was an O'Day 25. Spacious for the small size. Perfect starter boat on a trailer, shoal draft 18" with a retractable fiberglass keel inside the encapsulated lead keel. Since it was trailerable, we launched north of Parry sound, 1000 islands but mostly Tobermory....a one day sail to Killarney. We usually went for one or 2 weeks. A solid, inexpensive, family starter boat. You mainly talked about couples or single handing. It may be a little cozy at times, but great family fun.
My wife and I purchased an Albin Vega with an almost new Beta Marine 16 for less than $5000 (€4500). It’s a gorgeous boat in very good condition which we can easily live on together. We bought this boat to learn to sail. We are planning a trip around England (from Holland). Eventually we are going to sell our house and buy a much larger boat. For now the Albin Vega will do very fine 😉
@@LadyKsailing._-_ I watch them all 😉
Awesome channel and analysis brother!!!
I loved my Sabre 28. Great boat.
What a terrific video! Now I’m thinking about a gift to me for next XMAS! Best of the holidays.
I really love your small boat "yacht" videos...no one can make a mistake if they just listen to all the very important tips you giving us...please keep up the excellent work...we'll done Bru!!!!
Thank you very much!
Very nicely presented!…informative and to the point…. I live on a Catalina 30’ btw
Loved this
thanks for watching!
We have a Dixie 27 with solar (powers the fridge, induction oven, lights and any electronics needed), inboard diesel motor, septic toilet, water for 2 weeks easily. sleeps 5, we sail each summer for 4-8 weeks with no problem.
thank you for showing all these boats! 😊
I have a 393 Beneteau Oceanis. Love her to bits
Novice sailer here, currently fixing up an Ericson 29. It has tiller steering and a dead Atomic 4. I converted the old gas tank to diesel for my space heater. Was thinking of going electric but the 8 hp outboard i got for it works plenty well for now. My plan is to use the boat as a summer home and putter around Lobster Bay
Great information, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Hello from Sherbrooke in the province of Quebec. Thank you for this video. You confirm the result of my research on sailboat data and my plans for the next year. I've just bought a couple of months ago a 1989 Pearson 272 that I'm currently updating. The previous owner neglect it for the past few years. I've paid 8k$US and pretty happy with the quality of construction of the Pearson. Thank you!
In th old days, before roller-furling jibs became available, it was common practice to slab-reef working jibs, especially on masthead sloops. This did not require a sail change, but it did require fore deck work.
Some masthead sloops had double head stays. Two jibs could be hanked on at once. One for each stay. The one not in use could be left on deck, bundled up in sunblock cloth. Both could have down-hauls.
This required less fore deck work. And, if the alternate jib was sheeted down hard on deck, no fore deck work needed to quickly swap them.
Back in the '70s, roller-furling jibs had a bad reputation for failing.
Excellent content Sir.
CATALINA 28!
I love my 1992 Catalina 28. Diesel onboard, wheel steering and SUGAR SCOOP! I can’t overemphasize how great that scoop is for swimming and boarding kayaks. The 28 is enormous compared to the 25 and even the 27. It’s interior is huge for its size. One huge problem is that they only made about 700 of them.
Another consideration is Catalina parts availability, an extremely active owners group and the lower cost of docking and storing it compared to the ‘30. Cheapest seasonal Slips around here are 30’. That includes bow pulpits, etc. My 28 barely fits in my 30’ slip which is about $800 less than the next size. Furthermore, the wait list for 30’ seasonal slips is Only two years while longer slips virtually never open up here in Michigan.
I just love my 28 and was super lucky to find one for sale.
BTW, the Catalina 28 MK2 came out around 1994. It replaced teak with stainless steel amount other changes. The price of the Mark2 is waaaay higher.
I have been looking for Catalina 30s, but thanks for pointing out the 28. I'll add that to my search just in case. Not sure how different it feels than the 30. Probably similar.
Happy holidays. Cheers.
Thank you. I’m a new sailor and I appreciate this information
Thanks for watching!
We bought an ‘88 Catalina 30 MKII last spring for less than $25k US. No soft spots, no smile, and a Universal M25 diesel. There were some leaky stanchions that we took care. We are loving this boat!
I have a Pearson 28-2, and everything you said about it is true. I've actually slept in the rear birth and it's fine.
I have a 27 ft C&C and I'm actually about to move back to land and sell my boat.
Great boat!
Thanks for the great information. I’ve always heard people talk about Catalina’s and I’m not even in the sailing community…yet!
👍👍👍👍 you described my next boat to a T. Very useful info. If you wrote a book on this topic you would sell a ton. Skip the trailer sailer and go for a 25-30 footer with a stand up cabin, that is my goal. Thanks Tim
Excellent voice and commentary. No AI voice over. Thanks
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEOOOOOO
Thank You for your reasonings. excellent advise. without being a snob.
Thanks for watching!
YES! This is the video I've been waiting for! I'm a newbie. Quite frankly I kinda suck at sailing, but, just like fishing and sex I might not be any good at any of these things but I'll always try! Main this for me is price and there's a lot of these boats up for sale right now and not in terrible shape. I had a Pearson 26 but was forced into selling it until I find something big enough to support my kids. Thank you for this informative video!
I have a Catalina 25. The number of sleeping arrangements is mind boggling with this boat, but it is not easy to stand up without bumping your head, a lot! I highly recommend the pop top!!
Standing headroom in 25 feet affects performance by putting "stuff" above the water line that is not sail. Pop tops, a matter of preference, are a reasonable compromise. Even in 40 feet, I need to sit when dressing for action.
This is great. Thanks for your insights. Right now I belong to a sailing club in the SF Bay Area so I can try out lots of different boat. One of my favorites to sail is the Catalina 30. Totally comfortable for one or two people as a minimalist live aboard platform. Good advice on the "Catalina Smile." And you're right. They're always available for sale.
Also to emphasize your point on the Catalina 28 - there's one at the club as well. I couldn't believe how much room there was. And it had an enclosed head as well as afterberth. Very well thought out.
My buddy bought a Pearson. Amazing boat for the money.