Can anyone give me an idea of a good trailer sailor to get? relevant strengths/weaknesses etc.
I want a boat that
- Can sail from Swan River to Rottnest for a few days holiday.
- 2 adults can comfortably sleep on
- Has very basic live aboard facilities such as ice box and stove.
- I can keep on a trailer in my driveway.
I am considering the Red Witch vs Red Eagle at the moment. I think a Red Jacket may be too small although I have not seen any of these boats recently so a comparison of those and any other suggestions would be helpful.
I am a competent sailor, having previously owned boats from 12 ft to a 45 ft yacht.
Thankyou!
In WA you are limited by what is on the market.
Generally, the Red witch was made for sailing on the Swan.
Try trailersailerplace. It specializes it TS.
gary
trailersailerplace.com.au/
There are several excellent WA built trailer sailers. One good choice is the Windrush Wildfire. 23 foot long with a largish centre cockpit. A boom tent over the centre cockpit would make an excellent place to sleep on hot, muggy nights. They are one of the better trailer sailers for sailing performance.
What's your budget? If you're looking at a Redwitch I'm guessing its on the sub-10k side? Otherwise there's a nice looking Flinders 7.8 for sale on Facebook for $35k
The Redwitch has the advantage of being able to sail under the bridges at Freo without dropping the mast, but it is a fixed keel boat - so not the easiest to launch and trailer. And then you won't be able to pull up on the beach at Rotto when you get there. You'll have to anchor off or pay for a mooring.
Have a look at a Court 650 - another West Aussie boat. Friends of mine have had these and cruised to Rotto several times. One guy even did it so much that he cut the mast down so that it was the same height as a Witches and was able to sail under the bridges. He was effectively sailing with a reef in his mainsail the whole time - but not too much of an issue in the sea breeze off Freo.
Select to expand quotegarymalmgren said..
In WA you are limited by what is on the market.
Generally, the Red witch was made for sailing on the Swan.
Try trailersailerplace. It specializes it TS.
gary
trailersailerplace.com.au/
Gary is that safe for work?
Look carefully at the condition of the trailer as well unless you only ever plan to take it a couple of miles from home to a ramp. Trailer Sailer and trailer combos are ridiculously below replacement or even repair value and if you have to get a new trailer it's very expensive.
Given the limited supply in WA I would consider a road trip to WA or even Paynesville Vic. Condition is everything as boat bits are super expensive as I'm sure you are aware. It's hard to shop for condition when there might be only one of any given design available in WA. If you do a trip to SA or Vic make sure you have at least four to look at.
Hi Jon.
RE: Gary is that safe for work?
Do you mean is a Red Witch safe to sail across to Rotto?
In the right weather conditions I would do it no problem.
Maybe I have mentioned here before, but I sailed a 14 foot windrush surfcat over.
Left early in the morning expecting to catch the Fremantle Doctor on the way back.
Wind died. No water. No cover from the sun. Drifted north. Waved frantically at all the powerboats heading back.
They were very friendly. They all waved back.
Beached somewhere near City beach around midnight.
Stumbled to a phonebox , Do you remember them?
Mate drove up and picked us up around 1 AM.
Left the boat in the dunes for a few days before we had the strength to retrieve it.
At least a Red Witch would have a 4 HP outboard.
gary
Hi Soe,
Almost every TS is capable of sailing to Rotto in good conditions. If you want something that can handle poor conditions that seriously reduces the number of boats capable. Keeping in mind, most trailer Sailers are designed for enclosed waters, rivers and bays with some being fine in coastal conditions.
For two people and overnight stays you really want nothing smaller than 25 feet. I owned a Noelex 25 and a Magnum 8.5. Both are great boats with the Magnum being far more capable in open water. Having a toilet and decent size bed and cooking facility with fridge is optimal but will cost. The Trailer Sailer Place is helpful or use Yachthub and filter search results to WA and Trailerable boats.
If you want a good boat, discern what features are needs and what are wants, then look at the boats that have those features and look at a few to get a hold of what they're like for the money asked. I'd definitely consider driving to the East Coast to see a few and drive back towing a good one. As Jules said, look for a good trailer as a new trailer makes them too expensive if you need to replace it.
DM
Select to expand quoteJonE said..garymalmgren said..
In WA you are limited by what is on the market.
Generally, the Red witch was made for sailing on the Swan.
Try trailersailerplace. It specializes it TS.
gary
trailersailerplace.com.au/
Gary is that safe for work?
Gary, sorry. It was a joke in poor taste. Google "website specialising in TS".
