Sailboats 21-30ft

Comparing the J/80 with the Melges 24 may provide a frame of reference because of their similarities and differences. The Melges is clearly a faster boat, rating in the 90s, despite being nearly 2 shorter.Both have cavernous cockpits designed and rigged to maximize performance. Though waterline length, draft, and beam measurements are close, there are major differences. The Melges has a retractable keel and performs like an overgrown dinghy; the J/80 has a fixed keel. It is less buoyant and more comfortable going to weather in a chop.

It took some time for the Stuart Knockabout, an L. Francis Herreshoff design, to take root and finally flourish. The 28-foot day boat first appeared in 1932 as line drawing number 53 in the L. Francis annals, and only one boat was built. In 1933, Ben My Chree (a Galic term of endearment), was launched and wound up nestled away in Casco Bay, Maine, at the island home of owner Willoughby Stuart. With its own small marine railway and boat shed, Ben My Chree remained in the family for nearly 40 years. In the mid-1980s, it was discovered in a Massachusetts boat shed by Bill Harding, a sailor known for his deft hand on the tiller and the builder of the popular Herreshoff 12 replica-affectionately known as the Doughdish. Harding fell for the lines of daysailer he had discovered, and he researched the boats lineage. After getting a feel for what it had to offer under sail, he decided that this was another slice of sailing history that deserved being resurrected.

Modern engineering works well with many older designs. In the Stuart Knockabouts original plans, soft wood planks were mechanically fastened to hardwood frames and the its shoal-draft keel/centerboard was bolted to the keelson. Timber boatbuilding is labor intensive and the time-saving shortcuts found in molded FRP hull and deck construction have a well-proven track record. Add to this the fact that wooden hulls and decks are susceptible to rot, and its clear that Hardings vision of a fiberglass/foam sandwich Stuart Knockabout was a best-of-both-worlds solution rather than a sacrilege. The result of the FRP conversion is a stiffer/stronger, monocoque hull that required less maintenance and is much more immune to the elements.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Clark Boat Co. jumped on the trailer sailer bandwagon, and became a successful player in this decade-long market. Earlier, Bob and Carol Clark built Lightnings and ThistIes, and later, with the business in the hands of their son Don, the company built boats as large as 34 feet. The last boats came out of the shop in 1986, the year the company went out of business. While the San Juan 21 trailer sailer really established the Clark Boat Co., it was the more performance-oriented boats such as the San Juan 24 and 7.7 that gave it the reputation of a successful builder of faster, under-3D-foot boats.

The stout Marshall 22, in production since 1965, rekindles the romance of shoal-water sailing. As a weekender or coastal cruiser, the Marshall has much to recommend it, especially to those who can fully exploit its shallow draft. Drawing less than 6 feet, the Marshall opens up new cruising grounds for those willing to put in a little extra effort. New boat prices range from the base $76,900 to around $90,000. Used boats range from around $18,000 to $70,000. Practical Sailor recommends a survey for the purchase of all used boats.

Rodger Martin’s Presto 30 is clearly a descendant of the round-bilge sharpies made famous by Ralph Munroe’s Presto and Egret. The origins of the hull and rig date back to a classic American oyster-tonging boat, the New Haven sharpie, which first appeared in Long Island Sound around 1850. Martin wanted the Presto 30 design details to include trailerability and shallow draft. The Presto is 30 feet long and 8 feet, 6 inches wide. With the centerboard up, it draws just 13 inches; with the centerboard extended, it draws 5 feet, 6 inches. The 320 feet of sail area is evenly divided between two sails set on wishbone booms, and while the designer calls it a schooner rig, the maker, Ryder Boats, has deemed it a cat-ketch rig. The Presto’s 1,000 pounds of lead shot in the keel help address this shoal-draft weekener's tender handicap, but like any shallow-water boat, the Presto will need to be actively sailed in a blow.

Built by Ryder Boats in Bucksport, Maine, the Presto 30 is a lightweight performance craft built with modern composite construction and assembly techniques.

The Catalina 30 is a remarkable success story. We suspect that more Catalina 30s have been built than any other boat of that size anywhere in the world. While the basic boat has remained unchanged since it was introduced in 1975, there have been dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of minor developments in the boat in the course of a production run that is approaching 4,000 hulls. The advantage of a boat in production for so long is a high degree of product refinement over the years. The challenge for the owner of an early version of the boat is to upgrade his boat to the standards of models currently in production.

The Catalina 30 is a remarkable success story. We suspect that more Catalina 30s have been built than any other boat of that size anywhere in the world. While the basic boat has remained unchanged since it was introduced in1975, there have been dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of minor developments in the boat in the course of a production run that is approaching 4,000 hulls.

On most trailerable boats, when the mast is stowed for travel it is lashed to the bow pulpit and stern rail with no support at all in the middle.