Sailboats 21-30ft

The Tord Sunden-designed Swede classic, the International Folkboat, shares many of the same features as the Nordic Folkboat: the displacement and sail area are the same, the shallow drafts are similar, and the $10,000-price tag runs about equal. The IF, though, has done away with Nordic Folkboat clinker hull, the Nordic’s reverse transom has been cut short, and the IF’s shallow self-draining cockpit replaces the Nordic’s deep well. The most notable difference is that the IF is fiberglass. This well-made boat with a loyal following performs well under blustery conditions, and remains popular with coastal cruisers and weekenders.

Practical Sailor reviews a custom, backyard-built Tiki 30, a wood boat designed by cat-cult hero James Wharram (www.wharram.com) and built by bluewater voyager Dave Martin. Like most of Wharram's designs, testers found, the real genius in the Tiki 30 comes more from whats not found than whats present on board. No lead, no liners, and no inboard engine adds up to a displacement that is so light that a low-tech, no-boom small sail plan can provide enough drive to make way. In light zephyrs, this agile cat will tack and make progress to windward. Not only is the light-air cruiser efficient under sail, but it's also efficient to build. The price point is attractive, as long as one views the labor commitment as part of the recreational experience. But when all the glue and paint has finally cured, the bottom line is that the Tiki 30 is best suited to cruisers willing to slip away without huge battery banks or large-volume tanks, and with less mechanical propulsion reliance.

Introduced last year, the sleek J/95 is a lightweight, 30-foot sloop with a plumb bow, a bronze centerboard, twin rudders, and a Spartan interior. The J/95 is the brainchild of Rod Johnstone and is built by C&C Fiberglass Composites (CCFC) in Bristol, Rhode Island. An ideal option for baby boomers settling in the shallow estuary areas of the Carolinas and Southwest Florida, the race-ready J/95 is a high performance daysailer thats fun and easy to sail right off the dock. It also offers the potential to take off as a one-design race boat.

Boat maintenance master Don Casey, on the BoatUS website (www.boatus.com), suggests cleaning the surface using a mild abrasive like Bar Keeper’s Friend (www.barkeepersfriend.com) and fine bronze wool, and then sealing the surface with a wax. Sparmaker Seldén Mast recommends applying Woody Wax (www.woody-wax.com) using bronze wool to seal the surface and remove the pox. Casey cautions against using a polish on aluminum as some are so abrasive they will peel away the anodizing. We’ve had success with Mothers (www.mothers.com) and Prism Polish (www.mppros.com), but we do not recommend using the Mothers with the Powerball on aluminum. Be sure to read the label on any polish before using it; some advise against use on anodized aluminum.

After sifting through the field of sailing sports cars on the market today, Practical Sailor identified five very different watercraft that met our speedster criteria. At the top end of our size and cost profile is yacht designer Bill Lees legacy, the Santa Cruz 37, a wolf in wolfs clothing that offers performance as priority one, two, and three. Next in line is the Andrews 28, a breakaway racer/cruiser that packs performance and a Spartan minimalists cruising package into a 25.7-foot waterline. Hard to miss is the Open 6.50, an out-an-out go-fast sportboat with room below for little more than a cooler and bevy of high-tech sails. For the diehard dinghy sailor, we highlight the quick-planing Stealth, a 14.5-footer that redefines reaching, and in true giant-slayer fashion, can fly by most 40-footers on a power reach. And if thats not action enough, we hop aboard a turbo-charged windsurfer, the Starboard Futura. Powered with a Neil Pryde sail, it runs away with the award for most speed and fun for our dollar.

On the water, the Morgan 30 is a fine boat to look at, with springy sheer and an attractive stern. Although the boat has a full 6-foot, 2-inch headroom, the freeboard is low. This graceful form predates World War II and can be found in late Cruising Club of America-era boats. Our sea trials aboard reader Ray Mummerys Morgan 30 Wavedancer in South Floridas Biscayne Bay, offered proof of the boats impeccable balance. In 12 knots of breeze, with a 130-percent genoa, Wavedancer easily steered herself to windward, even holding a course as deep as 120-degrees relative wind angle, with no attention to the helm. Compared to modern 30-footers with canoe underbodies and fin keels, the boat is far from nimble. What the boat lacks in thrills, she makes up for with a seakindly ride.

A daysailer was once simple and small, an entry-level passport to the sport. In the new millennium, however, that has changed. Simplicity may still be a watchword, but the boats have grown into what could be called trophy boats. Hinckley Co.s latest daysail boat is 42 feet long. Morris Yachts is marketing a boat that stretches 53 feet as a daysailer. Ted Fontaine at Friendship Yachts already has built one that size. And these are only a few of the daysail boats with minimal accommodations, big cockpits, and over-size price tags that are filling up the fleet. In all, more than a dozen elegant daysailers have made it to market. This article compares an even dozen: the Alerion Express 28, 33, and 38 (Pearson Composites); e33 (e Sailing Yachts, Robbie Doyle and Jeremy Wurmfeld); the B-38 (Luca Brenta); Bruckmann 42 (Bruckmann Yachts); Crosscurrent 33 (Maxi Dolphin); the Friendship 40 (Ted Fontaine); Harbor 25 (W.D. Schock); Hinckley 42 (Hinckley Yachts), J-100 and J-124 (JBoats), Morris 36 (Morris Yachts), Sabre Spirit (Sabre Yachts), and the wallynano (Wally Yachts).

At first glance, the Etap 28s is an appealing, nicely finished, modern European-styled pocket-cruiser-but its what lies beneath the skin that sets it apart. This is one of the few boats with a ship-in-ship, double-hull structure with enough closed-cell polyurethane foam between the skins to provide floatation even if the hull is breached in multiple places. The foam has enough buoyancy to offset the weight of the keel and diesel engine and has been distributed so that a flooded boat would remain stable and be able to make way under sail. This feature can be a significant safety factor to any sailor, but is especially appealing to those sailing in colder waters. In addition to offering positive buoyancy, the Etap 28s sports a spacious cabin and a no-nonsense sail plan that makes it an easy boat to sail. With a compact head, a dedicated nav station, small galley and aft berth, the boat is set up well for family coastal cruising. Details like fiddles and grab rails also showcase its potential as an offshore cruiser.

Fiberglass boatbuilding really hit its stride in the 1970s, and a lot of big-time boatbuilders were pumping out a lot of good boats. Although boats 30-plus years old are a little long in the tooth, a 1970s fiberglass boat that has been well taken care of is an excellent starting point in a search for an affordable used boat. Those searching for a $10,000 to $20,000 sailboat would do well to search for a fiberglass cruiser from the 1970s. Practical Sailor examines nine models of 30-year-old 30-foot sailboats that are fun to sail, have sufficient accommodations for a family cruiser, and are plentiful on the open market. Among a field including the C&C 30, Cal 2-30, Hunter 30, Irwin Competition 30, Newport 30 PH-II, and the O’Day 30, the Pearson 30, Tartan 30, and Catalina 30 stand above the others. A close look at these three used boats—the Sparkman & Stephens-designed Tartan, the racer/cruiser Pearson, and the well-rounded family boat, the Catalina—offers an idea of what to look for and what to expect when you’re searching those used-boat classifieds.

As with all of Lyle Hess designs, the Balboa 26 statistics reveal the underpinnings of a seaworthy coastal cruiser. The Balboa's 3,600-pound displacement includes 1,200 pounds of ballast, by no means a lead mine, but the B26's 8-foot beam was carried well aft, and its reasonably full sections contributed form stability and helped make the little sloop a seakindly performer. With 293 square feet of working sail area, the B26 is close in potential performance to the Excalibur 26, Cal 25, and Columbia 26, all vaunted designs of the same era.