What is a good small New Zealand Cruiser

[Kiwi Sailor]

Hi there, this is my first post. I have spent a big part of my life looking at this site and now need to ask some advice.

I am going to purchase a keeler and sail it around the Hauraki Gulf New Zealand. Choosing a boat is the hardest thing because I am finding every one is telling me the exact oposite from the previous advice.

If I had hair, I would be tearing it out right now.

Last week I was told to get a townson 28, they are about 30-40 years old now and most are made of ply covered in epoxy/Glass Fabric. But I have just been told to forget anything wooden or ply that old because the whole bottom will be rotton by now and also never touch steel or Aluminium bacause they will both oxidize around me, the only thing a good boat is ever made from is GRP (the pro wood guys call it Frozen Snott).

If anyone familiar with the Kiwi seen could give me some advice it would be appreciated. I am currently looking at Nova 28, Davidson 28, Chico 30, Townson 28, falcon 28, Tracker, Raven 26 etc etc..

Cheers

[Gary Baigent]

Stop messing about looking at those plodders, see if you can find a Crowther Buccaneer 24 or 28 or a Tennant Great Barrier Express ... or similar type craft.

[gggGuest]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Sailor

Choosing a boat is the hardest thing because I am finding every one is telling me the exact oposite from the previous advice.

And it will be exactly the same here.

There are also a host of problems that can affect old glass fibre boats too, and some of them are pretty damn intractable, especially those that weren't that well built or had a poor choice of materials, and 20-40 years ago it wasn't always very clear which the poor choices of materials were...

All you can do is to spend enough time round boats to get a picture of what sort of materials and what sort of maintenance overhead suits *you*, and then adjust accordingly. Just remember there are no bargains in boats, and if something costs 5% of the price of a new boat that's probably what its worth, and you'll probably find you spend just as much cash and money in maintenance as you save in up front cost...

[SloopJohnB]

Why don't you log on to "crew.org.nz" I am sure the locals will be keen to offer assistance.

[JJay]

Thanks for the reply guys, I think you are right gggGuest I gotto get out there in the thick of it and learn. I think it would be better for me to make a mistake than never get out on the water. I had a look at crew.org.nz and it looks like the a good NZ site, thanks sloopJohnB. Cheers.

[AnalogKid]

That range of boats in the first post covers a huge variety.

The Tracker is the smallest of the lot, but no cheaper than the Nova which is 3' longer. The reason is the Tracker has an active association and is raced extensively while the Nova is a boat no longer favoured by the racers. The Marauder is a more modern boat of the same length by the same designer, and they seem to go for twice as much as a Nova or more.

I've spent plenty of time window shopping for keelers, and I think the first thing to get straight is what do you want to use it for. A Raven is unlikely to win a race, but they are popular cruisers, the Davidson perhaps a better racer, and the Townsons remain popular despite their age and many turn up at the start line for club races.

A good way to get near a few of the boats to see what you like is to turn up at Westhaven offering to crew for the Wednesday or Thursday rum races. You're bound to get a whole load more advice in the bar afterwards as well.

[Eralnd44]

I enjoy John Welsford and the work he makes for this kind of boat.

[SteveMellet]

Yeah, I agree, but ONLY look at John Welsford`s website if you have a lot of time on your hands (I spent most of a day there!), and now I am really frustrated that I don`t have the cash to build at least 3 of his designs..