For the first time ever, a comparative survey of 95 percent of the fiberglass pocketcruising sailboats ever built Author Steve Henkel has researched hundreds of cruising sailboats less than 26 feet long--pocket cruisers--to create this definitive gallery and handbook of the small cruising sailboats built in the last 45 years. With detailed plans, specifications, performanceindexes, and commentary for every model the authorcould find (360 in all!), The Sailor’s Book of Small CruisingSailboats is your ideal core reference for the used and new boats you see on the water. Steve Henkel is an illustrator and writer. He has been fascinated by boats for 50 years and has owned more 30 different types over the years. While working as an engineer and business planner he helped start SAILOR magazine in 1985, and has been writing about sailing ever since. He is the author of two other books for the International Marine imprint. Steve Henkel is an illustrator and writer. He has been fascinated by boats for 50 years and has owned more 30 different types over the years. While working as an engineer and business planner he helped start SAILOR magazine in 1985, and has been writing about sailing ever since. He is the author of two other books for the International Marine imprint. The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats Reviews and Comparisons of 360 Boats Under 26 Feet By Steve Henkel The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Copyright © 2010 Steve Henkel All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-07-163652-0 Contents AcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionONE Guide to the ReviewsTWO Sixty-Three Boats 14?–19? (On Deck)THREE Seventy Boats 20?–21?FOUR Sixty-Five Boats 22?FIVE Forty-Five Boats 23?SIX Fifty-Three Boats 24?SEVEN Sixty-Four Boats 25?EIGHT What to Consider When Buying a Small Cruising SailboatNINE One Hundred Choices for the Best Small CruiserTEN Author's Gallery of PhotosIndex Excerpt CHAPTER 1 Guide to the Reviews WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS VOLUME This volume covers 360 cruising sailboats from the smallest feasible size forcruising—about 14' in length on deck (LOD)—up to a nominal 25', thatis, up to (but not including) 25' 6" in length. If ever we get around to thenext volume, we expect it will cover boats from a nominal 26' (25' 6") through anominal 31' LOD, and will likewise encompass approximately 360 boats. Part ofthe reason for this cutoff in size at 25' LOD is to limit each book to areasonable number of pages, with about 360 boats each, one boat to a page. Another reason for a 25' cutoff is that above that range, most boats are notconveniently trailerable without heavy commercial trailers, and below it,generally they are. Consequently, by simply eliminating less than 20 percent orso of the heaviest boats included here, this volume could have been named "300Trailerable Cruising Sailboats." This is because the main dimension that determines easy trailerability is not avessel's length or beam, as many people might think; it is her weight. Forexample, in the 1980s many owners of Hobie 33s (33? long, 8? beam, 4,000 poundsdisplacement) routinely trailered their boats using ordinary large cars as towvehicles. Today, of course, almost no ordinary cars would be up to the task, dueto reengineering that made cars lighter and weaker. And although beam is afactor, with most states imposing towing restrictions on loads more than8½' or even 8' wide, many wide-boat owners, including us, have successfullytowed their wide boats (such as the J/24, an inch short of 9' in beam), on bothinterstate highways and back roads without ever receiving a traffic ticket. Weight, the main practical limit on towability, seldom exceeds 5,000 pounds forboats under 25' LOD. What's magic about 5,000 pounds? Until recently, that wasthe limit of towing capability of the largest ordinary passenger vehicles. Todaymany so-called sport utility vehicles (SUVs)—often passenger bodies stuckto truck frames—can sometimes handle more weight, but the SUV owner pays asizable price in terms of fuel mileage, first cost, and maintenance cost. Of course, the 5,000-pound limit doesn't refer to what the boat weighs.The true limit is the weight of the towed boat plus its trailer plus its sailing extras. Out-board motor, fuel and water tanks, personalgear for the crew, food and ice, and so on. For more on this, see the section on Trailer towing weight on page 10. AN ITEM NOT COVERED: BOAT PRICES No price ranges are given here. There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, there's often a wide range of advertised prices for a givenmake and model, depending on the boat's age, her condition, and what gear goeswith her. Note too that pricing for boats—new or used—is not nearlyas uniform or consistent as for automobiles. Second, prices fluctuate with theeconomy. Recessions, for example, create a larger supply and lower demand,forcing prices down, sometimes sharply. Prices also vary considerably withseason and geographic area. Any pric