Trailable cruisers
Duncan Kent continues his review of trailable
yachts and looks at new and used compact
cruisers in the 21-26ft (6.4-9.0m) size range
BOATS
I
f you want to sail with your whole
family, change cruising grounds and
enjoy the convenience of trailing your
boat back home for winter, a bigger
boat is probably the order of the day.
Remember, though, that any increase in
boat size will almost certainly mean higher
running costs.
And a bigger, heavier boat needs astronger trailer and a more powerful car to
tow it, so you might find you need to
upgrade to a 4x4 or similar and accept the
associated costs of running such a beast.
If you prefer to launch and recover from
a slipway yourself then you need to look
for a boat specifically designed to do just
that. All the ‘new’ boats reviewed here
have been developed specifically forlaunching directly off a trailer. They have
retractable centreplates – allowing them to
float in knee-deep water – their rigs are
specifically designed to be lifted or
dropped using existing parts of the boat,
and most have simple outboard motors
for engine power.
Although listed as new boats, most of
these craft (or similar models) have been
available for many years, so you needn’t
necessarily pay top-rate to get your hands
on one.
However, proper trailer-sailers are still
very popular and command higher prices
than, say, bilge-keelers of a comparable
size and age.