Been looking at getting a small sailing cruiser(less than 10m)for estuary sailing and further afield. Need something that's easy to sail and maintain but which would be suitable to live aboard for one person. What can people recommnend at less than 10 grand - been looking at a 1976 Westerley Centaur.
cheers 
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Help Me Choose a Sailing Boat
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Posted 2 years ago #
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I know of a Jeanneau Sunlight 30 for that money, but you'd have to be good with your hands...
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'd go for a saddler 25 with a long keel. I think that they did a bilge version too which might be better for estuary. Great sea boats.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Difficult choice!
With so much spare money and so much spare time, the world is your oyster.
I believe the coastline of Somalia is a particularly interesting area to explore.
Other rich idle people have had the experience of a lifetime there
Posted 2 years ago # -
when one has such a quandary, one must be living outside of one's means.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Sadler 25 is canny little boat - 26 has nasty lines though - dont get a centaur if you want to get anywhere near the wind. Te are generally the butt of all jokes - always see old men with them in the marina - however there is statistic that suggests they were once the highest produced boat of all time.
We have a Sadler 32 drop keel version (3'6" - 6'6") which has been the family boat for 30 years and still going strong and is ideal for the shallow ports on NE coast.
If your looking for short hander sailing consider a fractional rig with a furling genoa. Maybe a Benetau first 25 or something like that - this era boat normally would come with a small aft cabin which would be handy if your living on it for any time rather than sleeping in the main saloon.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Oh and at '76 get a survey and watch out for stuff like osmosis - most boats will need some treatment - ours was done about 10 years ago by a professional yard with latest epoxy technology.
It will also become a giant money pit - even more so than bikes.
Posted 2 years ago # -
+1 sadler
Posted 2 years ago # -
generally the butt of all jokes - always see old men with them in the marina
generally the butt of all jokes - always see jews with them in the marina
generally the butt of all jokes - always see blacks with them in the marina
generally the butt of all jokes - always see women with them in the marina
generally the butt of all jokes - always see gays with them in the marina
We have a Sadler 32 drop keel version (3'6" - 6'6")
generally the butt of all jokes - always see idle, rich, smug, white, middle class in those nautical sheds
Posted 2 years ago # -
Eldeidge, actually your not wrong with that : generally the butt of all jokes - always see idle, rich, smug, white, middle class in those nautical sheds
Fancy a sail on my yacht?
it's actually a lot more accesible than most people think, sth coast is a different world from most other sailing venues around UK with snobs a plenty but our scene is very working class based with most owners starting businesses off from scratch, owners working up boats over the years.
Yachties get a bad press but @10k it cheaper than most caravans and how many of those do you see on most council estate drives?
Posted 2 years ago # -
our scene is very working class based
Sorry carbon - I forgot to mention the Yorkshire miners yacht club, and the Lancashire mill workers sailing club
As you say
it's actually a lot more accessible than most people think
If you've got loads of money and don't need to work
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago # -
eldridge
Posted 2 years ago # -
Westerly Centaur is slow, but if you're not in a hurry then great
Sadler 25 is great but there are other Westerlys out there such as the Longbow if you like the marque and the strong construction
Others to consider
Westerly GK29 - a bit sporty perhaps and again fin keeled
Cobra 850 - available in bilge of fin modelsPosted 2 years ago # -
Eldridge your wide of the mark there.
Sure there is a sector of yachting that is as you describe, however any of the owners I have crewed for have been "normal" working folks who buy the boats on a budget and maintain them themselves.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Wouldn´t recommend a gk29, based purely on racing a lot on a gk24 which was a scary little thing! Osmosis can be a problem but I think that the saddler is dual ply so you have to watch out for leakage between the skins. Could be wrong.
Ha! The old posh yachties thing!!! In the north of scotland it´s very accessible. We got our boat for the price of a 2nd hand car and it costs about a hundred quid a year to moor it I think. It was an almost free 4 week holiday sailing round Scotland every year from when I was 4 and my parents still go. It´s a very working class scene, and zero snobbiness. Having said that I crewed on a Swan 70 in San Tropez and that was a deeply unpleasant experience, a vile scene that I would avoid like the plague if I ever won the quadruple lottery rollover.
Posted 2 years ago #
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