Rambling thoughts on the matter.
Tami and I have done a lot with our two trailer sailors. We've been to the North Channel 4 times, the Cheasapeke twice, and Florida more times than I can count.
There are other ideas, yet no attained. like Maine or the Maritime Provinces, but I am finding that the road trips with that big of a boat are wearing on me. Now I'm looking at what extended coastal cruising life might be like. We are both retired, and long adventures are a possibility.
Looking now at a Tartan 31 and a Cape Dory 30. Both will fit at our current dock. The Tartan is a more modern and a more comfortable apartment. Tartan is pretty fast, while Cape Dory is set up for slow blue water plodding.
The Tartan has six foot draft . That would keep us from getting very far into some anchorages and deny us some harbors. Cape Dory draws 4.2 feet. If it hits a sand bar you might get off by going into reverse and standing on the bowsprit.
There's a lot to be said for faster and more capable windward performance. You can go a long way making 2 day hops with one overnight. With the Tartan, could propably make another 40 miles per hop. 160 to 200 miles? Leaving Lake Erie to the East, we could still see the Maritines and New England. I Don't see any Atlantic crossings but could see Norfolk to Bermuda and then on to the Bahamas, and maybe further. 600- 800 mile hops. Cape Dory is built for it, but Tartan can be set up as well. Put the 90% Genoa on and furl it down to storm sail size if needed.
I've done a lot to make the Oday do as much as we have. I'm not real sure what the market is like for such a boat, but we'very got our money's worth from her, regardless of selling price.
Turning the page but some great sounding dreams!
rfrance, Charlie Jones went from Necessity a 21 foot trailer sailor, to Tehani, a 25 foot cruiser. Shane Wallace went from a 23 foot trailer sailor to a 33 foot cruiser. Wayne Howard went from 21 foot Unole (nee Necessity ) to a 37 foot Tartan.
I still regard all of them, as "Trailer Sailors".
Get whatever boat does the job for you, no matter what size it is.
(I could be the Poster Boy, for THAT sentiment!) :o
Just take lotsa pics and post stories about your next chapter; I intend to be doing exactly that, as well. :o
Food for thought,
Charles Brennan
Quote from: Charles Brennan on Oct 01, 2025, 05:35 PMrfrance, Charlie Jones went from Necessity a 21 foot trailer sailor, to Tehani, a 25 foot cruiser. Shane Wallace went from a 23 foot trailer sailor to a 33 foot cruiser. Wayne Howard went from 21 foot Unole (nee Necessity ) to a 37 foot Tartan.
I still regard all of them, as "Trailer Sailors".
Get whatever boat does the job for you, no matter what size it is.
(I could be the Poster Boy, for THAT sentiment!) :o
Just take lotsa pics and post stories about your next chapter; I intend to be doing exactly that, as well. :o
Food for thought,
Charles Brennan
LOL!! You missed one, Charles. Connie and I started out on a 16 foot AMF Sunbird. No motor on this one so we really learned how to sail.
rfrance, we will still accept you here UNTIL you go to the dark side and sell your sailboat. ;D
While I still have my Compac 19 for trailering to the North Channel/Apostle Islands and such. The Pacific Seacraft Orion is my Chesapeake Bay to Bahamas boat. If you make the jump, you find you'll still want something small for quick day sails. If I only have an hour or two, it's the 19bI take out.
Ain't nothing but a thang, and I'll run a motorboat in a minute!
I'm a happy reverted trailer sailor: after living aboard a Cal 28 for 3 years, then sailing a Tartan 37, I've been downsizing ever since. They are all fun in their own way! I really enjoy that low 30's range: you can sometimes find good headroom, plenty of space for one and enough for two, not outside of comfort to handle, and as cost efficient as one could hope for. If you intend on returning to the Chesapeake or similar areas, I still hold by the advice I first got to try and stay at or under 5 foot draft AND get a Towboat/whatever insurance policy for when you ground. YMMV, but I found it necessary on the Bay and ICW cruises.
Those Tartan 31s are just lovely!! Cheers to the next season!
I've been around this forum since before the turn of the century... wow, that feels really old just writing that. My wife and I enjoyed several trailer sailers, and when we retired (first time around) in 2006, we bought a trailerable motorcruiser as our retirement boat. A boat that we could haul to some great places at the best times to be there, but still comfortable for a couple to spend up to 6 months at a time on.
That boat was a C-Dory 25 Cruiser. I called it a motorcruiser with a sailing sensibility. It could be used as a "boater-home" of sorts while on land. I'll also note that the good people on this forum did not chase me away (although I did keep a Com-Pac SunCat for 3 years after getting the C-Dory).
You wouldn't be the first trailer sailor to move to a bigger boat. I won't give you advice other than to relate our experience: my wife has said, "I'm glad we did the boat cruising we did when we did it. It was a fun adventure, and we were young and agile enough to handle that. I wouldn't want to start that adventure now at our age."
We always had some kind of RV while we had boats. After selling our last small boat before we moved from the Gulf Coast to the desert, we downsized our RV. We still want to get out and do things, but "easy and comfortable" has moved to the top of the want list.
I was very concerned about "losing my friends" (on this forum) when we moved to a motorcruiser. I was told: "You'll make new friends." That was true, but even better: I wasn't "shunned" here.
Good luck with your plans.
Jim B.
Danggit man! Did you have to bring up that turn of the century thing???? I remember that! But I refuse to act my age. So THERE!