small boats vs larger boats

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EmergencyExit
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small boats vs larger boats

Post by EmergencyExit »

When we purchased our C26, I had not sailed in 25 years, and then only mostly as ballast on someone's 470 <G>. Picking the basics back up wasn't too hard, but I wanted to improve my skills a bit more, so we bought the Coronado.


Well, after a while having a great time with the Coronado 15, we will likely be selling it after the summer to pay for a haulout on the big boat as I raided those funds to buy it this spring. I wanted a smaller boat as I had always heard you learned a lot about sail management and efficiency in a small close-to-the-water craft. I think that is true since you can feel more of the immediate effects of minor changes, and have to be more coordinated, esp single-handing on a gusty day..

Any thoughts from the group along these lines ?
NYCKELPIGAN
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Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 5:07 pm
Location: Michigan, Lake Erie

Post by NYCKELPIGAN »

Well, what kind of water are you sailing on, or want to sail on? What kind of sailing do you like, overnight, daysail, with a crew, or mostly singlehanded? These are all questions you have to ask yourself. How much time do you want to spend on the boat?

I started out with a sportyak, plastic 8' molded, looked like a inflatable. But it had a sail kit. Used it a couple of years close to shore in Lake Huron. It was not big enough to share with the whole growing family. Bit the bullet in 1977 for a C-22. Used mostly on lake Erie, but trailered to far away places. Sold it a few years ago, picked up a used 1977 C-26, for the headroom, 6'. I like to singlehand, overnight. I keep her on the trailer, and launch when I want to go sailing. For me this keeps the expenses down, and concern about the weather.
hotdot

Post by hotdot »

I've been wanting to reply to this for some time, so here goes.
I've owned boats for over 20 years, sailboats and powerboats. The smallest was a sunfish, the largest was a 42' Palmer Johnson yawl. I've sailed from the great lakes (Huron, Erie, Michigan) to Georgetown in the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas. The most fun and rewarding experiences where had on my C-26; hands-down, no-question about it.
Even though the Palmer J. had all the toys (radar, watermaker, ssb, chartplotter, everything they say you need) it was always alot of work to sail. Going out for a daysail was a major pain in the rear. The biggest drawback is the marina fees, here in florida $400 - $500 per month is normal for that size of boat. That amount of money quickly takes the fun out of sailing.
The chrysler is big enough to be safe in almost all weather conditions, shallow draft enough to get you into the best anchorages, and most of all is a pleasure on all points of sail. I keep mine on a trailer when not being used so the cost is $0 for dockage/storage. To me it is the perfect boat.
I've sailed it quite a bit around the Tampa Bay to Naples area in the past and expect to go from St.Petersburg south (distance depending on weather) over the christmas holiday season. My plan is to sail it to the Bahamas in two years, as a teacher I get summers off.
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