Is this possible?

Hi guys! I am looking for a sailboat with several specific needs and am wondering if you have recommendations on a good design for a good price!

I am looking for a boat size 24' to 27' that I can trailer to my ranch, not store in a slip. I would like it to have a wheel and controls at the rear for 1 person operation. I need a smaller draft, around 4 ft. if possible and I plan on taking it to light open/blue water use so i want it to be built solid to take some abuse. I would also like it to have a center mounted stern outboard mount for motor for plugging around without needing sails.

What do you guys think? Thanks for your help in advance!!

Forgot to mention, I am not looking to break the bank on this one guys, something used and maybe needs a little love would be perfect!

I don't know if I'm asking for too much with all these preferences, but hopefully you guys can help me widdle down the options and see if anything fits.

 

To trailer the boat you described, you would need a draft of two feet or less, unless you are willing to pay for a Travellift each time you haul the boat.
A fixed 4 ft draft is relatively deep at 25 feet. You have to choose your poison------ either shoal draft or problematic trailering.

 

Is trailering a 4 Ft. draft too large? I found this boat for sale for 1500, but its not exactly what I'm looking for. Im wondering if this is safe to transport back and forth. its a 24 foot with 4 Ft Draft I believe.



1974 San Juan by Clark. Has added D tubes along hull for ocean racing reinforcement. Body is in the process of being refinished with epoxy resin and sanding etc.

 

The trailer is for annual transport to home storage, not regular launching. How safe depends on trailer construction and the towing vehicle. Probably weighs about 4000#, trailer 1800#. Any full sized 3/4 ton pickup will pull it fine.
...But do you really want the boat?

 

Not that boat. I feel like the price is too high for the current condition and I don't know if that boat fits my needs. I cant find too much information on a 1974 San Juan 24'. + it doesn't have a wheel!

 

Not many 24 ft boats do have wheel steering. Smaller boats react too quickly for wheels unless they have high displacements. I can't think of any boats at all that both trailer easily and have wheels. That light trailering displacement pretty much ensures a tiller steering system unless the boat is a light motor sailer.
Seems no matter what you do, you will have a difficult time combining wheel and trailering, though it isn't impossible. But it will be a needle in a haystack, I think, if it's at the low cost end of the used boat market.

 

I do not have personel experiance with it, but the San Juan has a good reputation, they were built in the Puget Sound area and they are still very popular around here. It is considered a good performing boat if I recall, and well built. Of course, with any boat that old you need to look it over carefully. Best way to get a good deal is go to the local marinas when they have auctions for back slip fees. You might get lucky, some seaworthy boats (that are just neglected and ugly) go for as little as $100. Of course you might just be buying salvage too, so it might take several bad buys before you get a gem, but all the spare parts are worth it if you can DIY repairs and improvements (and have a place to park them all).

The best performing boats have heavy and deep fixed keels, which make them hard to trailer. You can get reasonable performance with swing or retractable keels, but you will compromise performance to make it easy to transport. There are lots of good boats for what you are talking about, and some really good deals right now especially if you are willing to do some clean-up and fixing.

I have been looking for something similar, if I can keep it in my yard on a trailer, the cost of owning it are much lower. So my dilemma is do I want to hassle the tall trailer and paying for a sling lift every time I want to use it, or do I just live with something easier to launch and trailer.

I am considering building one with a shallow wing keel as a compromise. It will be fixed, but not as deep as the standard bulb keel, and the wings will give me more effective depth. Better performance than a shoal draft keel, but easier to launch and trailer than a deep keel, and best of all, no moving parts in the keel. Keeping it simple means less maintenance and trouble later.

I know buying used is less expensive than building, but I also like building and experimenting with design ideas like this, so build it would serve another purpose as well. Maybe I can use some parts off those $100 auction boats too.

 

Google using www.google.com.au this " court 650 trailer sailer " or " court 750 trailer sailer " I club raced both in Perth Western Australia, Great fun, robust and readily trailerable (heavy winch up keel/centreboard), so they are made and available here, You will just have to search thoroughly in USA or import a second hand one...

 

The swing keel idea sounds good, it would keep it lower on the trailer and be easier for me to load/unload. I have heard mixed reviews on the concept however. The ability to coast in shallow water is a nice feature, but maintenance and performance suffer, but is it worth the tradeoff?

In terms of a light motosailer, that sounds pretty optimum to me, but I like the idea of an outboard motor instead of inboard or outboard/inboard. Would it be similar just to take a 24'ish swing keel sailboat and mount a higher HP outboard on it instead of getting a "motosailer". What is the maximum HP motor you can put on something like a Catalina swing keel 20's length boat? would it be bad to put something like a 50HP motor on one? lol

I am not able to custom build a sailboat, I would really need to find something I can fix up without much modifying. I would paint it, clean and restore wood etc work on it, but in terms of modifying the structure of the boat or any sort of hydrodynamic properties of the hull would be a disaster for me.

From the picture, for the price that San Juan looks pretty well used too me, and the trailer is in poor condition, not to mention the high stance of the boat on the trailer. The hull is in good shape, just needs a lot of TLC on the inside, outside and trailer. Would that trailer be too much of a pain/impossible to load off a loading dock without a lift?

 

You will not notice the difference in "lost performance", but really appreciate the other advantages and FUN to be had - - I raced quite regularly then, and was quite competitive, and HAD A HOOT.... that is why I graduated from the 650 to the 750 to also implement some changes during the build...

Thinking over the past couple of days, where all these converts from "stink boats" were saying you need a certain amount of power for adverse times - - ******** - - You need patience and an understanding of the conditions to make a favourable passage, or a **** of a trip - - TIMING and seamanship... You will not likely get much better than "hull speed" and just waste more fuel for no gain

Columbus, Cook and Chichester, sailed without engines, as well as many many others... Settle for a small engine and learn how to use it and when... The voyage is the essence of sailing life (cruising) learn to sail when there is a "window of opportunity" and make the most of your leisure - Else get on a jet plane to where you want to go...

 

Try

www.macgregor26.com

it has a wheel, a decent engine and tows better than most 26ft boats, and is a good price - especially secondhand.