Best pre 1990 yachts to buy in the 26 -35 ft cruiser category?

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Bananabender said..

Seebreasy73 said..

Bananabender said..
Pretty broard range because of lack at parameters.
What about a Noelex 30 trailer sailer.
Holds value compared to keelers. no mooring fees, tow to holiday spot say Whitsundays from down South in a couple of days and spend more time in Paradise. Cheaper insurance. Run aground ! No problem raise keel and off you go. Same for entering inlets, creeks, etc,etc.
Use as caravan on road .
No issues with anchoring ,raise keel and take up to beach . Fairly quick. Low maintenance ,no anti fouling unless leaving in water. Take home to work on, wash down etc. Only downsides are ,needing tow vehicle but hey everyone has a large suv thesedays and not as roomy as equivalent keeler.
So why are trailer sailers pretty much a dying class of boat in Aust. ?
www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/noelex-30/209726

I think as its name suggest, these are "in an out boats" for a quick weekend sail. I would not take any trailer sailer further off shore, or even endeavour on sailing to tassy.

I know what your saying but definition of cruising? Cruising up the Murray or Cruising offshore.
Don't tell the avid trailer sailors that trailer the boat to a distination then spend weeks cruising the area. Have a read in the July issue of cruising helmsman "Living it up". Was speaking to couple in their seventies couple of months ago from Atherton Tablelands. Spent six months on road trailering to places like Whitsundays, Moreton/Broardwater,Lake Macquarie ,Pittwater and cruised each area for a a week or a month then hitched up boat and drove home.

certain boats are merely designed for cruising, some are designed for agility, racing etc. You can certainly cruise on any boat, even on a racer, but I was thinking of boats that are solely designed to be cruisers.

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Ramona said..

Seebreasy73 said..


certain boats are merely designed for cruising, some are designed for agility, racing etc. You can certainly cruise on any boat, even on a racer, but I was thinking of boats that are solely designed to be cruisers.

Australian yacht designs just for cruising are very rare. The only one that comes to mind is the Swanson 28 and the Swanson 42. All the others started out as racing boats and were "detuned".

did not say it would have to be Australian boats only, could be any imports too. There are plenty of British, New Zealand, French, American boats on the market.

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Seebreasy73 said..

Bananabender said..
Pretty broard range because of lack at parameters.
What about a Noelex 30 trailer sailer.
Holds value compared to keelers. no mooring fees, tow to holiday spot say Whitsundays from down South in a couple of days and spend more time in Paradise. Cheaper insurance. Run aground ! No problem raise keel and off you go. Same for entering inlets, creeks, etc,etc.
Use as caravan on road .
No issues with anchoring ,raise keel and take up to beach . Fairly quick. Low maintenance ,no anti fouling unless leaving in water. Take home to work on, wash down etc. Only downsides are ,needing tow vehicle but hey everyone has a large suv thesedays and not as roomy as equivalent keeler.
So why are trailer sailers pretty much a dying class of boat in Aust. ?
www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/noelex-30/209726

I think as its name suggest, these are "in an out boats" for a quick weekend sail. I would not take any trailer sailer further off shore, or even endeavour on sailing to tassy.

The Noelex 30 I used to race on has done a Sydney-Hobart, and I'd do one on it. It's got good ultimate stability, from memory; handles well, and is a doddle to sail in many ways.

Well, the opinion of one guy, much less experienced than many others and with plenty of snarky little remarks that denigrate other sailors, isn't evidence that most people consider long keels better for ocean sailing. There are plenty of people with more experience than him who do not agree with his thoughts. That's not to say that he's wrong, merely that almost all of what he says is merely his opinion which is no better than (say) my friend who thought his Oceanis was a good cruiser, or the guy currently doing a non-stop double circumnavigation on another Oceanis, or the couple who spent many years cruising full time on their stripped-out lightweight IOR two tonner with racing rig.

Phil, More Imagination went down south twice after she was sold to South Australia. She didn't do too well in 1989, finishing behind Zeus II and David Parton's Defiance over the line. She did better the next year, finishing with the S&S 34s. The description and pics in the programme confirm that it's the Noelex.

Cavalier 32 ?
walker H28 ?
Top Hat 25 ?

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cisco said..
Spencer 30?
Peterson 30 (Northshore 30)?
S&S 30 (Defiance)?
S&S 30 (Yankee)?
Doven 30?
Adams 31?
Lotus 9.2?
Cav 28 or 30 (Same boat)?
Mottle 33?
Northshore 33?
Arends 33?
East Coast 31?
Nantucket 31?
Van De Stadt 34?
S&S 34?

and there are plenty more. These are all great boats. Who is to say which are the best ones?

The best one is the one you can afford and have a love affair with like I am with my Lotus 9.2.

respectfully Cisco, the "love Hat you got" and "what you got is the best" is how is under communism and still is in Russia and all those forsaken countries of the World. If I had a boat and turned out to be a lemon (which I had one or two in motor boats until I have learned my lesson, that in fact there are boats to stay away from and be very cautious, because people will LIE about things).
This thread should be simple and hones, people giving feedback, not debate and sidetrack the whole thread. And we are not here to crown a KING, but to provide a list to anyone, who would like to perhaps to buy their first sailboat merely for CRUISING purposes. Boats, that shuld be mostly trouble free and relativey easy to crew (naturally, everything has one or two bad apples, but if the basket is mostly full of bad apples, thats not a good APPLE is it? Let's just call it a lemon. So if I will hear form 6 previous owners that Titanic is not good, and from one praising it, who will you trust? Anyhow, the point is this thread should be simple feedback and votes Top Hat, +1 to Top Hat, so people should have an idea what boats to look at to begin with.

So lets put Lotus 9.2 on the list for CISCO

Whatever you reckon.
No need for condecension.
I have what I want and want what I have.
Failing that I am sure I would be very happy with a Spencer 30 or most other yachts on my list.
Thirty foot length I believe is the sweet spot for affordability, managability, capability and insurability.

Your turn.