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Good Boat for Single or Double?
- Thread starter HansSolo
- Start date
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
It really matters where you'll be sailing.
For So-Cal conditions I would consider Rich Ray's old Antrim 27 (#14), which is for sale again. He did well singlehanding it in SSS races, and with its lift-keel it was easy to trailer. He also installed a Honda SailDrive which made it handier for motoring around in choppy conditions. Another Antrim 27 has done the Pacific Cup 2-3x (with top-end crew), although I wouldn't consider it an offshore singlehander.
For around here (heavier conditions), combining "trailerable" and "coastal passages" limits your options. Since you're including fixed keel boats like the Olson and Express I'm not sure what you consider trailerable. Either of those are good choices and I would add the Santa Cruz 27.
For So-Cal conditions I would consider Rich Ray's old Antrim 27 (#14), which is for sale again. He did well singlehanding it in SSS races, and with its lift-keel it was easy to trailer. He also installed a Honda SailDrive which made it handier for motoring around in choppy conditions. Another Antrim 27 has done the Pacific Cup 2-3x (with top-end crew), although I wouldn't consider it an offshore singlehander.
For around here (heavier conditions), combining "trailerable" and "coastal passages" limits your options. Since you're including fixed keel boats like the Olson and Express I'm not sure what you consider trailerable. Either of those are good choices and I would add the Santa Cruz 27.
Culebra
New member
What a trio!! Did I mention wet?
Now that's a nice roundup of candidates. You can't go wrong with any of them! I owned a SC27 for several years and raced solo and shorthanded... tons of fun, great boat. But I didn't enjoy stepping the mast or trailering. Consider the challenge of doing that if you don't have a crew. You mentioned safety... the SC27 is very sturdily built. Very large kite, making it a real challenge in messy seas. Did I mention wet? You won't stay dry, that's for sure. The e27 is much more popular here in the bay and has a large and active fleet. Faster, too.
Paul
Culebra/Olson 34
Now that's a nice roundup of candidates. You can't go wrong with any of them! I owned a SC27 for several years and raced solo and shorthanded... tons of fun, great boat. But I didn't enjoy stepping the mast or trailering. Consider the challenge of doing that if you don't have a crew. You mentioned safety... the SC27 is very sturdily built. Very large kite, making it a real challenge in messy seas. Did I mention wet? You won't stay dry, that's for sure. The e27 is much more popular here in the bay and has a large and active fleet. Faster, too.
Paul
Culebra/Olson 34
Tho I'm a proponent of small ULDB's like O-30's for short-handing, especially in S.Cal waters, a couple of caveats: Drysailing ULDB's is a lot of work for day sailing satisfaction. In addition, they are more sensitive to trim, hiking, sail changes, etc. and are more difficult to sail anywhere near 100% rating potential, if racing is in your future. Lastly, speaking from experience, they are very quick to go from vertical to horizontal attitude when running under spinnaker in >18 knots TWS. "Sunning the bottom of the keel" always quickens the heart.
Paul's absolutely right about wet on the candidate boats. But that's just how small boats are when it gets exciting. The workload for dry sailing is pretty high when sailing solo. And the mast raising/lowering is even more work. I've raised and lowered the stick on the O30, Exp 27 and my own SC27 and the Express is by far the easiest of the three. 4 people can easily do it using the hinge-plate. The Olson is keelstepped and a heavy mast. The SC while deck stepped is also a very heavy extrusion. (I think it's .8 lbs per foot more than the express. In any case, the SC mast is 2.2 lbs per foot.) I made an A-frame for stepping and un-stepping my rig. But it still takes 2 people. I made the A-frame after an almost scary hinge-plate raising with 4 people.
In any case they are all capable and seaworthy boats and you'll surely have a great time on any of them (including the Antrim, which I sailed on with R. Ray a couple of times on the ocean).
In any case they are all capable and seaworthy boats and you'll surely have a great time on any of them (including the Antrim, which I sailed on with R. Ray a couple of times on the ocean).
Mini Transat...
This is coming from a mini sailor though. Easily trailered, lots of horsepower, and great offshore. The fore mentioned boats are all great and have strong one design fleets (I buoy race on an Olson 30), however the mini fleets are growing here (the bay) and the Pogo 2s are now being built in so-cal. As for stepping my crew and I can take down and put it back up in about two hours. There are stories of singlehanders putting their masts back up after mid race dismastings during the transat, granted I think it was a wing mast.
This is coming from a mini sailor though. Easily trailered, lots of horsepower, and great offshore. The fore mentioned boats are all great and have strong one design fleets (I buoy race on an Olson 30), however the mini fleets are growing here (the bay) and the Pogo 2s are now being built in so-cal. As for stepping my crew and I can take down and put it back up in about two hours. There are stories of singlehanders putting their masts back up after mid race dismastings during the transat, granted I think it was a wing mast.