Hi team,
was wondering who in Brisbane make the best trailer sailers? Have decided it's time to invest in something little for weekends on the bay - peel island etc and want to know what's out there. I'd love a brand new one but will prob have to start 2nd hand but would like to buy a local make if I can.
Look forward to the discussion.
S.
Buy second hand. There are very few new trailer sailers being built at the moment and new boats cost many times more than second handies. Very few boats would have been imported so almost any boat you buy will be "locally" built.
Hi Simon, if you are after a trailer sail built in QLD, the Aquarius 23 is one. They were built by Clem Masters in the 70 and 80's. They have a swing keel and shoaldraft. Built for Moreton Bay.Not to be confused with the USA boat of the same name.I have 2, but not sailed either yet.
groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Aquarius23/info
Hi Simon,
This is a "How long is a piece of string?" question. What kind of boat are you looking for? In other words, what do you plan to do with said boat? Do you want to day sail in a high speed thing or do you want to cruise at leisure for days on end? Do you have a budget in mind? Extremely important for a trailer sailer is the tow vehicle that you are going to use to tow it with.
If it's cruising and overnight stops that you've got in mind, I can highly recommend the Careel 18 and 22. The 18 is cheaper and can be towed by most mid-size vehicles while the 22 will give you more room but is of course heavier. Both are strong, easily handled and fairly foolproof. There are a few of each on the market at the moment. You'll also find a small but very active group in the Moreton Bay area that get together regularly for weekends away. They're numbers are growing quickly too!
Thanks for the advise all - and you are right -this was a pretty vague question!
I'm looking for somethign I can cruise moreton bay in, and maybe look to some racing after my GF gets comfortable with sailing. Both the Careel and the Aquarius are lovely little boats, and exactly what I am lookin for (swing keel). This would also need to be towable. I saw some lovely boats on the noosa river last weekend which sparked out interest hence my question to the forum.
As I am in the 'speculating' stages of purchase interested to know all opinions and options out there so please comment whatever your thougts opinions may be.
Cisco - thanks for the tips however i prefer monohull boats. can't explain why, but all scenarios should be catered for :)
A couple of other thoughts while I'm at it:
If buying a second hand boat, inspect the trailer carefully. Often the trailer can be a third to half the value of the boat/trailer combination and yet a lot of people don't spend much time inspecting them. You won't get anywhere for very long on a clapped out trailer and they can be expensive to bring up to scratch.
If you want to investigate brand new boats, you can buy a good boat which is Australian made in Victoria in the Castle 650. They are quite quick and reasonably priced although there is a long waiting list.
Last point is that there is a trailer sailer forum which is an excellent resource for your search. www.trailersailerplace.com.au/ The guys on that undoubtedly deluge you with more options than you could probably imagine... 
Hi there is an Aquarius 23 for sale at Manly,you are in Brissie so not sure where but Manly is not far.I was going to have a look at her ,not to buy but just for a look.
Cheers Lorri
Just looked at your profile and saw you are in the valley,so not far to manly.
See you on the trailer sailer site maybe.http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=8085346
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Windrush Yachts which in 1979 was a fledgling yacht building company recognised the potential of the design and either bought the rights to it or copied it making it slightly longer.
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in 1979 windrush yachts were hardly a fledgling yacht building company ,they were selling more W14 than they could produce,they started building W12 years earlier,the wildfire is a similar concept to the Mottle 33 that is centre cockpit cabins fore and aft it was designed i believe after they finished the fit out of the Mottle33
For sailing around the Bay I can recommend the Sonata 7 after owning one for a few years. It has a large cockpit and will sleep 4. Very stable, dry boat and easy to sail
I use to take it to Peel & Moreton and when the tides were right I would beach her and spend the night on the sand. With it's flat bottom it would sit lovely on the sand. Some of the trailer sailors have a small keel that would casue the boat to roll if beached.
I have now got a keel boat and miss being able to beach it overnight.
You should find them for sail for around $18,000.
yep, sonata 7 or nthwind 7 [same hull and swing keel], great yachts!!
or farr 750. change the keel cable every year!
Regards James
