Big cruiser vs. 22' trailerable S2

Posted By: Bob Pr. S2 6.7 #81, "The TARDIS", Topeka, KS
Date: 8/4/04 12:13p.m.

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This piece was originally posted on Todd Johnson's Trailer-Sailor BB. Tim, the author, graciously gave us permission to post it on our website. But the article disappeared in the damage to our website when we lacked a website manager. I recently found a copy of it. John Kenan's recent post and our upcoming Kentucky Lake regatta reminds me of how pertinent it is. Tim refers to a previous discussion of 'what boat would you buy if money wasn't a factor?' I thought Tim's reply was cogent and eloquent and while his choice for his situation was to buy a trimaran (F-27?), all of his argument applies equally well to our trailerable 22' boats for many of us. Bigger is not Better, IMHO Posted By: Tim Cahill-O'Brien -- Date: 3/5/99 12:24pm In the threads below on what to buy with unlimited dough, most posters seem to be wishing for bigger boats than the ones they already have. Many people seem to be wanting to someday 'graduate' to a bigger cruiser. If you are hoping to chuck it all in and sail around the world then I'd say go for it. However, for the rest of us, I believe that the trailerable is a better choice. I am coming the other direction from the 40-45' monohull ocean cruiser world to the trailerable world and believe it to be a better choice for the West Coast, though perhaps not so much as the east coast. Going somewhere for a cruise involves getting there and then cruising in ANY boat. On the west coast the getting there part involves long, boring passages in heavy conditions with waves from 8-20' in discomfort. This all requires a heavy bullet-proof (and slow) boat. The speed is a big deal here since you are going hundreds or thousands of miles and just want to get out of the conditions as soon as you can. There are often many days between ports and you arrive with a wet boat, exhausted and fed up. This is especially true going north as you are almost always motoring into the wind, waves, swells and current. When you get to your cruising grounds you're in much lighter conditions and want fun so you are looking for a fast, nimble and easy to handle boat that has shoal draft and is fun to sail. This is the opposite to most of the boats that are built for the passage-making conditions. There is no comparison between this scene and the trailerable scene where you motor up the freeway, staying in hotels and have a light and easy to handle boat. You get there quick, refreshed and have much more fun on the way. When you get there you also have the best boat for fun sailing. Like cars, I have found the smaller boats more fun to sail since they are lighter and respond more easily to changes in trim. A bit like driving a Miata and my Suburban. The Suburban is slower, more expensive to buy and run, more complex and unreliable. It's also no fun to drive. The Miata is cheap and fun. When you look at the comforts that are allowed by a big cruiser, it seems a no-brainer: the cruiser is more comfortable than the trailerable. At the dock yes, but a hotel is more comfortable than the cruiser. And you must bear in mind the discomfort that the big cruiser offers in getting to the cruising grounds. The big picture shows that the trailerable does IMHO offer a more comfortable cruise. The Big cruiser is also more expensive, more complex, more likely to have problems and more difficult to maintain. For me the decision to buy a trailerable was not a financial one. I could have gotten a big cruiser for the money I spent on the boat and tow vehicle. The other advantages that are offered on every trailerable from a Mac to an F-31 were what won me over. The multihull option can allow comfort, seaworthiness and trailerability at a fraction of the cost of what I spent. I offer the following link to a log of a cruise through Alaska on a trailerable tri, that can be had for a similar cost to many common trailer-sailboats. http://people.mw.mediaone.net/thorpeb/joestrip.html The trailer sailor may seem poorer in boat but is richer in life. Regards, Tim Cahill-O'Brien