Hi All,

My dad is soon to retire and mum wants to buy him a sail boat or cat. I no nothing about this topic so thought I would seek your assistance.

Requirements:
Can be sailed by himself or can take one or two friends out.
Quick to set up (his patient levels rigging a boat for an hour would be greatly tested)
Could fit in a standard garage and can be towed by a Ford Falcon.
Something he can get out and about and have fun on rather than anything competitive

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I know dad will love getting out on the water.

Cheers
Moffchar

Moff. the easiest and best and most fun and simplist and over all best boat that fits your criteria is a Laser 4.7. or a Laser Radial. it is a about 12 ft long has one mast without staysand just one, normal sail. it goes pretty fast when its trimmed right and is a very forgiving boat. and best of all, theyre cheap. you can pick one up thats a few seasons old for about $5000 with a mast boom and 2 sails. attatched are a few pics of a laser. i think you will find it fits the profile perfectly







send a message back and tell me what you think and if you have any other questions, dont hesitate

It would need to be a really large garage to fit a "Witch". Most have a fixed keel and would be out-of-the-question for a garage. Great old boat, yes, but doesn't fit the bill.

Hi

your dad probably needs a trailer sailer - there are loads to choose from. They are fairly stable, he won't get wet and he can take two or three crew easily. They usually have an outboard engine which is great for saftey, light wind days and taking non-sailers (your mum?) up rivers or out on calm days.

The Falcon is ideal for towing and can handle fairly large trailer sailers (22 - 24ft) but start small - I sail an Ultimate 16 which is cheap, fun and simple. The Hartley is a cheaper alternative but wooden boats need more maintenance.

It does take 45 minutes to rig and I take the whole day when I go sailing but believe me he'll love a trailer sailer. You can sleep on it, make coffee on the way, take grandkids along and send them below to play with toys when they get bored!

If rigging is a real problem try leaving it at a marina during teh summer 'on the hard' with the mast up.

Any 16-17 footer should fit in a garage, larger ones need more hight as well as length!

Google the Ultimate owners association to start with but also look at smaller Farrs, Sonatas, the Dennis, Castle and many more.

Hope this helps

Thanks for all your different ideas and advice, greatly appreciated. Someone has suggested a Hobie 16 or Hobie Wave. Are these worth looking at or should I steer clear of them?

Hobies tend to be alot more expensive when it comes to, sails, parts etc...

You might like to have a look at these ex resort model siroccos, ideal boats simple and cheap.

www.tradingpost.com.au/Marine/Sail-Non-Power/Sailing-Boats-Yachts/AdNumber=TP000300549?BackToResult=true

Leigh