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Coast 250: The mighty micro cruiser
- March 30, 2020
Producing a boat that planes under power and sails like a thoroughbred has been an elusive quest for decades. Has Swallow Yachts’ Coast 250 succeeded where others have failed? David Harding went to find out
![micro cruiser sailboats Swallow Yachts Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED007-Coast-250-DH_342006002_510233101-2.jpg)
A carbon rig and laminate sails contribute to the sprightly performance. Credit: David Harding
Product Overview
- Fast and easy to handle under sail
- Smooth and efficient planing under power
- Roomy and practical layout
- Engine could do with more sound proofing
- Foot-braces on cockpit seats would be useful
- Self-tacking jib presents limitations
Price as reviewed:
Sailing yachts are designed to sail and motorboats to motor, right? And never the twain shall interbreed – at least not successfully? This hasn’t stopped people trying.
Motor-sailers have always been around. More recently we have also seen the planing power-sailer, as epitomised by the phenomenally successful MacGregor 26.
Some might argue that power-sailers, like motor-sailers, have been compromises that neither motor nor sail particularly well.
But whatever your views, the fact is that now, nearly 25 years after the power-sailing version of the MacGregor (the MacGregor 26X) appeared, we have a British-built boat of similar size that will motor efficiently and comfortably at 15 knots without compromise to its sailing ability.
![micro cruiser sailboats A skipper helming a Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED002-Coast-250-DH_342005991_510233101.jpg)
If you’re helming from the coaming, the engine box can be used as a foot brace. Credit: David Harding
So how has this been achieved, and what lessons have been learned from the attempts of earlier builders?
Well, all previous power-sailers that have sold in any number have had certain characteristics in common.
One is lacklustre sailing performance, even though I have met MacGregor owners who defend them to the hilt.
After MacGregor’s 26X came the 26M. It sailed slightly better but was still heavily compromised, as was the Polish-built Odin 26 (later reincarnated as the Imexus 27) and Legend’s Edge 27.
Video: Trailer sailing made easy
The best performer under sail was the Tide 28, which made the headlines when a 14-year-old Michael Perham sailed Cheeky Monkey across the Atlantic in 2007.
The challenge with designing a power-sailer is that sailing yachts and planing powerboats tend to have very different hull forms for good reason, even before you consider fundamentals like the sailing yacht’s need for ballast, a rig, and foils that generate lift.
Most power-sailers have had a large outboard on the broad stern of a hull with very little rocker, leading to an immersed transom to support the outboard’s weight and create sufficient lift for them to plane.
![micro cruiser sailboats Interior of the Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED029-Coast-250-DH_342006052_510233101.jpg)
The folding solid-wood oak table sits on top of the lifting keel housing. Credit: David Harding
In this respect they have been just like conventional planing powerboats.
The problem is that sailing yachts need rocker (fore-and-aft curvature to the underside of the hull) and a transom that’s clear of the water at rest. They don’t like a lot of weight in the stern either, so the shape of the conventional power-sailer does it no favours under sail.
An idea whose time has come?
It so happens that I have sailed (and motored) all these power-sailers over the past 20-odd years.
I was also living on the Dart in the 1980s when Ian Anderson launched his 37ft (11.3m) MRCB (multi-role cruising boat), which was powered by 165hp of Volvo Penta diesel and helped along when the throttle was opened by ‘variable hull geometry’ – essentially integrated trim tabs that flattened the stern sections.
I remember seeing the MRCB in its creamy-yellow livery charging around at high speed off the mouth of the river.
![micro cruiser sailboats The engine of the Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED001-Coast-250-DH_342005982_510233101.jpg)
A 70hp in its central well drives the Coast at up to 15 knots – or you can stick with 10hp for displacement speeds. Credit: David Harding
Sadly the idea never took off commercially but it was unquestionably ahead of its time.
Remembering the MRCB and having tested various power-sailers as well as many of the day-sailers and small cruisers built by Swallow Yachts, I was more than a little interested when Swallow’s Matt Newland mentioned that he was planning to develop a power-sailer whose sailing ability, he assured me, would not be compromised by its motoring performance.
This was a few years ago now — such projects take time.
It was clear from the outset that this boat would be very different from the MacGregor 26 and its ilk.
Swallow’s Coast 250 was to have – and does have – the 70hp outboard mounted in a well at the forward end of the cockpit, immediately abaft the keel case.
This overcomes the need for a broad, immersed transom that creates an enormous amount of drag under sail.
![micro cruiser sailboats Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED012-Coast-250-DH_342006091_510233101.jpg)
An optional carbon bowsprit for the asymmetric retracts into the anchor well. Credit: David Harding
Moving the engine was the starting point.
Through CFD (computational fluid dynamics) testing with the Wolfson Unit in Southampton, Matt soon came to realise that, with an uncompromised sailing-boat hull form, this shift of weight alone was not the solution.
The boat still trimmed bow-up and created too much drag under power to achieve the speeds he wanted.
His solution was to fit trim tabs on the transom to eliminate stern-squat and bring the bow down at planing speeds.
Further CFD analysis, followed by on-the-water testing with a full-size plywood hull ballasted to sailing weight, showed that the tabs made the crucial difference and allowed efficient planing at 15 knots.
That’s how the Coast evolved, but what’s she like to motor and sail and how does she perform in testing conditions?
THE TEST VERDICT
In the words of Matt Newland, the Coast’s designer and builder, ‘this is not a perfect motorboat. It’s a sailing boat that has a big engine and some trim tabs. It’s not going to set any motorboater’s heart alight and I’m not expecting to convert any motorboaters to sailing, though I would love to.’
Whether or not Matt and the Coast succeed in introducing motorboaters to the delights of sailing, I’m sure they will gain converts in the form of sailors who might otherwise have moved to motorboating or chosen a more conventional sailing yacht.
![micro cruiser sailboats The campanionway on the Coast 250](https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/ED033-Coast-250-DH_342006062_510233101.jpg)
The wide, offset companionway allows easy access to the cabin around the engine box. The head compartment is to starboard. Credit: David Harding
He might also attract former (or current) owners of other power-sailers that they have found unrewarding or plain disappointing under sail.
The power-sailer concept has always had its appeal but, apart from the MRCB, the Coast is the only one I have come across that really seems to deliver the goods in both modes.
Great attention to detail has been paid to every aspect of the design.
WOULD SHE SUIT YOU AND YOUR CREW?
In many ways it’s a simple choice: do you want a boat of this size that sails well, offers roomy accommodation, will sit on a drying mooring, can be trailed behind a large family car and motors at 15 knots?
You will find precious little else, if anything, that does all that.
Even if the planing performance under power is of no consequence to you, the Coast’s other attributes make her worthy of attention.
She’s not cheap because of what she is.
For example, the carbon rig makes so much sense under both power and sail.
A cassette system around the gooseneck simplifies removal of the boom.
A boat of this size and weight can’t be described as a trailer-sailer, but she’s certainly a trailable sailer and an extremely clever, well-conceived, versatile and practical one too.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Price as tested: £77,771 LOA (including rudders): 7.95m(26ft 1in) Hull Length: 7.57m (24ft 10in) LWL: 7.57m (24ft 10in) Beam: 2.55m (8ft 4in) Draught: keel up 0.4m (1ft 4in) Keel down : 1.85m (6ft 1in) Displacement: 1,300kg (2,866lb) Ballast: 300kg (661lb) Ballast ratio: 23% Displacement/Length: 83.60 Sail area: 28.6m2 (307.86sq ft) SA/D ratio: 24.40 Fuel: 75 litres (16.5gal) Water: 70 litres (15.4 gal) Engine: 10 or 70hp Transmission: Outboard RCD category: C Designer: Swallow Yachts Builder: Swallow Yachts Tel: 01239 615482 Website : Swallowyachts.com
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Study Plans are available for these designs - remember a study plan gives you more details and a wood materials list usually on two A1 sheets, so that you can cost out a project before ordering the full plans. When you order the full construction plans you do not need to order the study plan as well, as all the study details are on the full plans.
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ORDER THE 16' MYSTERY PLANS
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ORDER THE 16' GREY SWAN PLANS
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ORDER THE 16' GOSHAWK PLANS
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ORDER THE 16' GOSHAWK OPEN VERSION PLANS Note - you need the standard plan (above) as well, to build the open version
![micro cruiser sailboats micro cruiser sailboats](https://www.selway-fisher.com/Goshawk%2016%20Open.jpg)
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ORDER THE 16' GOSHAWK MOTOR VERSION PLANS Note - you need the standard plan (above) as well, to build the motor version
![micro cruiser sailboats micro cruiser sailboats](https://www.selway-fisher.com/Goshawk%2016%20motor.jpg)
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ORDER THE PTARMIGAN 15 PLANS
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ORDER THE AVON 12 PLANS
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34 108 122 |
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ORDER THE SIMPLICITY 14 PLANS
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ORDER THE HERON 14 PLANS
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ON POCKET CRUISER | ||
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ORDER THE 15' HERON PLANS
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STUDY PLAN £25.00/FULL PLANS £195 |
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STUDY PLAN £25.00/FULL PLANS £175 |
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ORDER THE 15' FIRECREST PLANS
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ORDER THE 16' SANDGROUSE PLANS
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for construction photos and the full story of Dennis's extraordinary North sea crossing to Holland in his Lynx 14 'Diddy-Da'. | |||
and click on the pages link to the right, for his boat called Deux Chevaux. | |||
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ORDER THE LYNX 14 PLANS
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ORDER THE LYNX 16 PLANS
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ORDER THE 14' DUETTE CAT BOAT PLANS
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ORDER THE MORNING TIDE 14 PLANS
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for details. | |||
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ORDER THE MICRO 8 PLANS
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ORDER THE MICRO 10 PLANS
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the Eventide Owner’s Group (www.eventides.org.uk).
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ORDER THE YM SENIOR PLANS
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I YACHT | |
She has a daggerboard type keel with a steel core and lead bulb which is bolted in place for sailing but which can be raised using the main halyard for easy trailing. Construction is based on a ply framework consisting of ply bulkheads and a ply fore and aft girder which incorporates the keel box. The planks can then be fitted and finished using the simple stitch and tape method for the chine seams.
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and the Model Boat Building in Wood manual for details. | |
Below is a simple card model by Ralph Woodard.
![micro cruiser sailboats micro cruiser sailboats](https://www.selway-fisher.com/Class4mp1.jpg)
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ORDER THE 4m MINI YACHT PLANS
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MOTOR SAILOR (16' MOTOR PUNT ADAPTATION) | ||
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Sail Far Live Free
Go small and go now 5 pocket cruisers to take you anywhere.
Marquesas anyone? Flicka will get you there. |
Allegra 24 in all her glory |
Tom Thumb 24 slicing nicely through the chop |
A local (to me, sort-of) Nor'Sea 27 |
Falmouth Cutter 22 in action |
What, no Georgian 23? ;)
Gotta love those little Canadian sloops!
Or Bayfield?:)
I am a Bayfield fan (and even more so a Ted Gozzard fan), but I wasn't aware of the Bayfield 25 making any major bluewater passages. Do you know of any?
A bayfield 25 is built well enough BUT it’s shallow keel and light weight classify it more of a coastal cruiser. But that also makes it a great gunk holer. It’s a nice little boat for the Chesapeake and coastal areas. It lacks the deep keel and ballast to be comfortable offshore. The bayfield 29 is a bit more blue water but also it’s shoal keel at only 3ft 6 inches also gives it a comfort ratio a bit on the edge for a true blue water boat. BUT that said a bayfield 29 outfitted right will get the job done and with a good turn of speed over most listed here. It will reach its hull speed of 6.5-7 knots no problem and will point windward well enough. (It’s not got to compete with a fin keel 30 footer but it will be more comfortable. And it’s faster then a westsail32 (nick named the wet snail 32) I find most of the better pocket cruisers on this list are great for what that are but NOT the most boat you can get for your money today. Some great 30-32 foot blue water boats can be purchased for LESS then some of these. I just bought a great bayfield 29 for UNDER 3K that’s right 3 not 30. I looked at a foulmouth cutter that was available in my area it was rough really rough and they still were asking over 10K. It’s only benefit was it came with a trailer but what good doesn’t that do when Your offshore. I wouldn’t mind taking one on single handed adventure as the romance of the boat would add to the fun of the adventure but. Is it the best boat for your buck? No their popularity and reputation and (good ones are getting scarce) bring high prices.
It's amazing: after looking at all your boat reviews and choices, I realize we have exactly the same tastes and dream boats! And I enjoy your writing and musings! I'm very glad I happened upon your blog site! Bill Hinkel
Thanks Bill! I love writing about sailboats almost as much as I love actually sailing them.
I've owned a Flicka, Allegra, and FC all excellent boats.
Wow...that's an impressive resume! I bet you've got some great stories to tell.
What about the Halcyon 23? Any thoughts on that one? Great article by the way!
Sorry, I'm not personally familiar with the little Halcyon 23, but you can read a review reprinted from "Yachts and Yachting" originally written in 1970 here .
How about the Pacific Seacraft 25? If your talking about small salty sailboat (SSS) that can take you to the paradise. She prolly don't a standing headroom but sure does the perfect little sailboat. Just like HC33t.
Yup, I too like the PSC 25. She's not as roomy as either the Flicka or the Dana, but a typically a fair amount more affordable. And as you point out, no standing headroom. Still, a pretty boat with bluewater experience.
A very informative article, thank you very much. I find myself daydreaming to be on a boat, sailing around the world quite often and i'm trying to collect a budget, to buy a boat and take sailing classes. I love the design on the ships you posted. Are there any good pocket-cruisers with a steering wheel ?(i can't say i really like tillers :P). Again, thank you for compiling this list, you gave hope to a "wannabe" skipper.
My humble little Bristol 24 wants to know if she can join the group.
Yup, good choice. Humble and capable...just the right ingredients!
what about the Catalina 22 ?
A fine little coastal sailboat, trailer sailboat and "first" sailboat, but for all the things that the C22 is, she is definitely not a pocket cruiser that can GO ANYWHERE. Don't get me wrong, I love the C22 and our first boat (Helms 25) was very similar, but neither is suited for offshore work.
My little hurley 22, can she make the mark?
A Hurley can do anything! Ihave had a 24 since 1972 they are forgotten but they are great! Joe
Morris Frances 26.
Good recommendation! I love all of the small classic Morris boats like the Frances 26, Linda 28 and Annie 29. Chuck Paine has a way of making these small boats look larger than life!
Was expecting to see an Albin Vega 27 mentioned...
I included the Albin Vega in my "Bluewater on a Budget" post about affordable offshore cruisers. You can read it here: http://www.sailfarlivefree.com/2012/06/blue-water-on-budget-5-budget-cruisers.html
Any thoughts on our west coast Brent Swain 26 welded steel boats? Truly budget cruisers!
I have built one, but yet to launch it I am getting a trailer for it, an advantage that I never thought of when I started building it. Not very many built, mine is a single keel version and I added a wheelhouse.
What about Cape Dory's?
Howard - Good suggestion. Both the CD22 and CD25 are worthy little pocket cruisers with classic Alberg looks. I haven't been aboard either and don't know of any that have crossed oceans, but I suspect someone's been offshore in these two little Cape Dory's and I have little doubt they could be good sea boats in the right hands, given their stout construction, full keels, etc.
The boats listed are priced such that one could buy a much larger, albeit not-so-primo boat for the same or lesser amount. I've seen decent cal 34s go for $8k. So why buy a pocket cruiser that goes for 30K? Smaller sails and reduced slip rent can only account for a modicum of savings
True enough, this is NOT necessarily a list cheap/affordable small boats, but rather well-built and capable small boats that can go offshore in the right hands. Some sailors simply prefer a small, simple sailboat to a larger more spacious (and sometimes more complicated) sailboat, even if the purchase price is similar.
West Wight Potter 14 #223. Mexico to Hawaii.
I'm contemplating buying a 26' Micmac for rougher waters. http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=6202
A Vancouver 27 !!!!
hey you forgot a little boat from south africa called the flamenca 25 great little boat built for the cape of storms
A Flamenca would also sail circles around this list of boats. These traditional long keel boats are slow and without decent fouls, suck going upwind.
Would the Cascade 27 be a good pocket cruiser or is this just a coastal cruiser
I think it would be a excellent choice
Mmm. Some consistencies in your selections (apart from the obvious US of A bias), they all have square bows. Me thinks this is as much a beauty contest as a seaworthy small boat list. I'm afraid trailer and seagoing don't fit in the same sentence
Guilty as charged! Although I do disagree about trailer and seagoing...with both the Flicka and the Nor'Sea being plenty capable on both fronts.
Okay. On seaworthy, I sailed in 12 knots past a site where 2 friends were drowned, their yacht lost in a gale. So is my Folkboat, my sailing skill or patience to credit or was their boat any less seaworthy? An ocean crossing does not make a boat seaworthy, the sailing skill and weather and sea mix have as much to credit. I assert that a long heavy keel, stout rig and water tightness are compulsory if you want to lengthen the odds in your favour.
Nice article, I would however strongly suggest that you give a second thought about linking to myboatplans.com. It's a scam (most, if not all, of the plans are available for free elsewhere on the net and at least some pics are stolen from other boatbuilders). You don't have to take my word for it, just google around.
Thanks, and thanks for the suggestion...the link has been removed!
I am agree with you. Tks. An article about siling solo those smalls boats (in spanish): http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/la-navegacion-oceanica-en-solitario-en-peque%C3%B1os-veleros-/
How about a Privateer26 by Kenner ? Check the specs, and I think you'll find she's equal in important areas and prettier by far than most!
Having a love affair with traditional boats with genuine shear lines, I just stepped out of my Marshall 22, and into a totally unknown double ender called a Skipper 20. Why these trailer sailors dream have gone unnoticed is hard to fathom. With room for 4, 2' draft, 800#s ballast, and a cockpit larger than my Bristol 27' which includes a outboard locker has me spending the last 4 months making the 40 year old look like modern and updated, quality pocket cruiser. With the new genoa, 5.5kts up hill and down, and as dry as they get,, Where they been???
I just bought a Skipper 20 and am fixing it up, can you tell me how it handles in a heavy blow? I am planning to use it as a micro coastal sailer and would like to know as much about it's capabilitys as I can. Much appreciated, Richard.
What are your thoughts on a San Juan 7.7 with the keel shoe? Offshore sailong to Hawaii or the inside passage to Alaska.
What are your thoughs on a San Juan 7.7 with the keel shoe offshore? IE; Hawaii or the Inside Passage to Alaska.
We recently purchased a JJ Taylor Contessa 26, hull #262, Ophelia, and have trailered her to Malletts Bay in Lake Champlain, VT. We were extremely flattered to have a visit from Tania Aebi, who lives 35 min. from us and wanted to show her sister and daughter-in-law an example of the boat that she sailed round the world in the late '80's.
What about steel Tom Thumb 24 ???
For whatever reason, I'm a fan of the Bristol 24 (Paul Coble design). The baby Bristols are full-keeled and don't go upwind very energetically, but once the sheets are started they come into their own. Hulls are usually nearly bulletproof, and even if damaged, they are small and easy to fix... some have been gilded into mini-yachts, but I prefer sparse brightwork and light/white paint. They are very (very) sea-kindly for their size and although they heel to about 15-20 degrees, their nearly 50% ballast usually stops it right there... Mast-head rigged, they have a large main and can develop noticeable weather-helm, so one reef keeps the tiller loads modest. Thankfully they aren't very popular or well-known, so you can find bargains and even top-drawer examples probably will cost less than a modest commuter car... I'm now on my second one (after having a larger fin-keel... am returning to the B24); if possible, look for one with split lower shrouds... Oh, they have comfortable 5'11" headroom, or just a fraction more,,,
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Micro-Cruising: Small boat comforts
- September 24th, 2020
- Cruise Report
Another big step towards my own new boat has been made: As part of a sea trial-week in the Southern part of Germany I spent 10 days on board and with the Beneteau First 24 (which is essentially a Seascape 24). Hosting guests and potential clients aboard with frequent sea trial-action was boosting our sales but also opening up the chance for me to gain more intimate insight into small boat-issues which I´d like to address in a few upcoming articles. This first article will deal with small boat comfort. And I can tell you: There´s plenty of it!
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/01_Lars-Reisberg-sailing.jpg)
Mooring at the pontoon in between the client-appointments there was quite some time for me to roam the boat and spend time enjoying the treats offered by it. Small boats like the First 24 or my upcoming First 27 may not be as glamorous and stunning as a beautiful Solaris or Oyster and of course the variety of amenities offered are much, much smaller and way more limited, but as life is in one´s head and happiness is a state of mind, let´s draw the most out of it and get started.
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/02_Small-boat-sailing-price.jpg)
First thing I noticed which is a lot contributing to the comfort-factor of a small boat like this one was the fact that it was so small in the first place. Sounds ridiculous? Well, not so much: A small boat is way much easier to handle, to maintain, to rigg, to clean, to deal with. All the hazzle and bristling of big yachts is not to be found on a small boat. Rowing to the buoy at which my MADCAP was tied to it took me exactly 8 minutes to clean the boat from morning moisture and leftovers of the sleeping ducks from past night – and I was ready to go. Very satisfying.
A key element: Energy management
For most boat owners I know one big point for comfort is closely connected to energy. Big battery bunks on the yachts for powering all these multiple gadgets. On a small boat like the First 24 we of course have a very limited range of energy consuming appliances: LED lights in the cabin and navigational instruments. That´s all. The small battery though will be re-charged by a 50 Watts solar panel:
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/03_solar-power-sailboat.jpg)
Which is very, very convenient. This small panel manages to sustain a constant charging of the board-battery even via indirect lights. Solar power in my view will become a much more important part in boating in the coming years with very, very interesting solutions like custom made flexible panels , solar cells on sails and various other solutions in the pipeline. For now on MADCAP I was astonished how efficient a even a small panel like this one in the end can be.
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/04_shore-power-seascape.jpg)
Of course, for some gadgets we need more power: Recharging the Torqeedo E-drive batteries unfortunately cannot be done via solar-powered 12 Volts plugs (smartphones on the other hand are recharged) so you need the occasional visit to a marina with shore power. MADCAP as well as many other small boats offer at least as an option the shore power plug and charger, which is a box I definitely would tick when considering buying a boat.
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/05_Seascappe-24-electric-winch-handle.jpg)
Getting up and down of the swing keel on MADCAP is a pain in the ass (not because it’s a heavy thing to do but tiring) so that one might use the electric winch. After approximately five times getting up and down of the keel, the winch´s battery was nearly empty and needed a recharge: This can be done via 12 V charger or – much faster – when utilizing 230 Volts. Name it: shore power! Same goes for portable ceramic heaters and other appliances. So I would reckon that solar and shore power options are a premise for enjoying small boat comforts.
Enjoying simple luxury
Once you have made up your mind and the decision for going for a small boat is made, you will see that the level of comfort even on a boat as short as 24 feet is amazing. On MADCAP two adults (a young couple heavily in love maybe) will find that there is no shortage of seating and lounging space on deck and down below either. Let´s take a look at the boat´s interior:
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/06_seascappe-24-comfort.jpg)
Of course one should be arranging the legs to fit into the spaces not occupied by the keel-housing and the spars, but once you´ve found your position you can spend a full evening down there, for example on a rainy day at anchor. There is enough headroom when seated and the benches are long enough for stretching out. I became a huge fan of the clever table offered as an option by seascape.
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/09_first-24-beneteau-comfort.jpg)
It´s a simple but very effective solution: A big plastic screw holds the table in place when folded away – but if unfolded it can house a proper dinner for two! Also, if the seating benches are taken out, two more persons can have a comfy seat at the entryway and join in for breakfast. The table is made from plywood with a simple folding mechanism – if damaged it can be repaired very easily.
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An extension can be screwed to the cockpit flooring and this very same table is used outside and can also host a cockpit-dinner. Of course: One shortcoming of small boats now immediately is in the spotlight – the absence of a proper galley . For MADCAP the solution would be to have mobile BBQ or stoves (of which I will test the Jetboil cooking system soon) – same goes for my new upcoming First 27 which at least offers a gimbal mount to fit a Jetboil to it. Other small boats will come with a galley – in this a potential buyer can scale up or down the amount of amenities and gadgets needed.
A good night´s sleep in a small boat
Obviously a WC and a sink for personal hygiene is much appreciated on a boat. MADCAP is too small to offer either of them – and as a thoroughbred racing boat it is simply not the concept of that boat too. For taking a whizz there is an option to fit a portable camping toilet, washing yourself must be done by using fresh water from canisters and a simple bowl, which fits to the “camping on the water”-concept of the boat. Another aspect of comfort of course is the question if a good night´s sleep can be provided.
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I must say, it works absolutely fine! I did have my sleeping bag and a comfy blanket with me to spend a night aboard and test how it feels. After I finished my dinner in the cockpit, reclining fantastically cozy in the stylish bean bags in the cockpit, I killed a couple of beers and when sun was finally down after brushing my teeth went down below. The First 24 comes with adequate LED lighting for the salon. There is more than enough options for finding a berth for the night.
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In the bow of course two adults would be sleeping comfortably although the bowsprit might be in the way if you want to start some love action. As I would put it: There is only room for one pipe in the bow … Aft two more adults can find a berth, additionally widened by the extractable seating-extensions offered as an option. So 4 persons in a 24 footer? No problem! I absolutely look forward to my First 27 where the same concept is applied but a forward bulkhead with magnetic swing doors will make the forepeak separable from the aft section for more privacy (and a proper toilet is mounted as well).
How much comfort do you need?
Being 10 days on MADCAP, enjoying an uncluttered and easy boat which is so much fun to sail (that´s another article) was very helpful in defining my own way to become a “micro-cruiser”. The question of how much boat one needs has been answered more than impressive: From an energy-standpoint to maintenance and time spend for cleaning and setting up the boat, I cannot find any shortcomings. Of course, one needs to find a solution for hygiene, cooking and heating. This is a question of cleverly choosing the right products offered on the market in the first place.
![micro cruiser sailboats](https://no-frills-sailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/12_small-boat-comfort-sailing.jpg)
I loved being aboard MADCAP: A perfect test for my own boat. Spending more time sailing and enjoying the boat while cutting time needed for setting up the boat and having it ready. The maximization of sailing fun and pleasure at anchor. As much as I love being aboard the big cruisers and indulging the gadgets provided as well as the massive volume created – it´s the easiness and therefore independence experienced aboard MADCAP that fascinated me the most and makes me much more looking forward to receiving my 27 feet sailboat.
You may also be interested in these articles:
Go small – go now!
My decision for a small(er) boat
Pogo 36 at Boot Duesseldorf Boat Show 2019
Yachting World
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Smallest boats: The bonkers world of Microyacht adventures
- Elaine Bunting
- November 28, 2022
What are the smallest boats sailors consider for crossing and ocean? For ‘microyacht’ voyagers, there's no limit. Elaine Bunting finds out why they put to sea in tiny vessels
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Often the smallest boats to cross oceans look much like a child’s crayon picture of a little boat on a big sea, certainly Yann Quenet’s Baluchon does. Baluchon is only 13ft 1in (4m long), with one simple sail and a stubby, blunt-nosed hull painted cherry red and ice cream white.
Baluchon is no toy, though. When Quenet sailed it back to Brittany in August, he had fulfilled his childhood ambition of circumnavigating in a tiny boat. Its simple appearance is emblematic of his philosophy. “I have loved little boats since I was a child,” he says, “and I am still a child at heart. Sailing round the world on a little boat is something I have dreamed about since I was a teenager.”
Quenet, now 51, has dedicated much of his adult life to designing, building and sailing microyachts. Whereas most of us progress in incrementally larger boats, Quenet’s craft have always been minuscule. He has created numerous self-build designs for plywood construction from a 9m gaffer to a 5m trimaran and a 6.5m gaff yawl (see them at boat-et-koad.com ).
In 2015, Quenet attempted to cross the Atlantic in a 14ft 1in (4.3m) plywood scow, but it capsized in a storm off the coast of Spain and he was rescued by a ship. After that experience he resolved to come up with a bulletproof self-righting microyacht suitable for ocean sailing, and went back to the drawing board.
His solution was a pram-style design that could be built in plywood in under 4,000 hours and would cost no more than €4,000. Baluchon is the result, a tiny boat to be sailed by one person for up to six weeks at a time and resilient enough to take anything the oceans throw at it.
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Yann Quenet’s 4m long Baluchon
Smallest boats getting smaller
The history of sailing across oceans in the smallest boats is a surprisingly long one. With a few exceptions (of which more later), it is not about breaking records. This is about stripping away everything complex and extraneous – including other people.
One of the most famous small boat voyages was nearly 70 years ago when Patrick Elam and Colin Mudie made several ocean passages in Sopranino , which was only 17ft 9in (5.4m) on the waterline. Elam observed: “I would not pretend that Sopranino is the optimum size. At sea she is near perfect, but could with advantage be a few inches longer to give a slightly bigger cockpit and a separate stowage for wet oilskins below. In harbour, she is too small (for comfort) and too delicate and vulnerable.”
Also in the 1950s, John Guzzwell consulted Jack Giles about the smallest boat practical to sail around the world and Giles drew the 20ft 6in (6.2m) Trekka , which Guzzwell built and circumnavigated in twice. Smaller still was Shane Acton’s 18ft 4in (5.5m) Shrimpy , a Robert Tucker design which he sailed round the world in 1972 despite having very little sailing experience when he left.
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Tom McNally planned to retake his small-boat Atlantic crossing record in Big C. Photo: Ajax News
In 1987, Serge Testa beat that by sailing round the world in his self-designed 11ft 10in (3.6m) aluminium sloop, Acrohc Australis . He broke the record for the smallest yacht to be sailed round the world, one that is still standing 35 years later.
This feat, together with Acton’s well-publicised voyages in the 1970s, ignited a lasting interest in small boat or microyacht voyages. Money is usually a factor in the choice of such small craft but overlaid by a streak of determined romanticism, the almost spiritual challenge of sailing a nutshell craft across a vast ocean.
Yann Quenet is not alone in creating self-build plans for aspiring micro-voyagers. New Zealander John Welsford also specialises in small boats such as the 18ft (5.5m) junk-rigged Swaggie – ‘a mighty, miniature long range cruiser’ – and a sturdy oceangoing 21ft (6.5m) gaff cutter, Sundowner (see jwboatdesigns.co.nz ).
As with Quenet’s little boats, Welsford’s designs are for plywood construction. The plans, he says, are detailed for “real beginners with very basic woodworking skills and a good attitude… the other skills will come as the project progresses.”
In his thinking, people can experience a deep sense of escape even through the process of building such a boat. “I anticipate a lot of builders will be people who find themselves trapped in a soulless desk job which condemns them to commuting for hours in heavy traffic, living in a thin-walled and crowded apartment and dreaming with longing of the freedom of the seas, golden sands and warm breezes.”
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John Guzzwell’s Trekka. Photo: Historic Images/Alamy
Perhaps unsurprisingly the small boat community attracts a mixture of adventurers, inventors, idealists and eccentrics. One of the less successful was the self-styled ‘Admiral Dinghy’, a former Hollywood B-movie star and retired dance teacher from the US whose longtime aim was to sail round the world in a 9ft 11in (3m) boat. He had scant ocean sailing experience and no money. He’d been building and tinkering with his tiny junk-rigged boat since 1975 and began preparing for a circumnavigation in earnest in 2009. But he had problems with his boat, never went offshore and has since vanished from the radar.
A small boat living legend
A mixture of naïve courage and inexperience appears characteristic of many of the smallest boat sailors. It’s easy to imagine a dichotomy at the heart of it: many of the ideas could be perilous in hands of someone inexperienced, yet how many seasoned sailors would contemplate voyaging in a tiny craft?
Someone who has, numerous times, is Sven Yrvind. A Swedish sailor and boatbuilder, now aged 83, he has been designing and sailing tiny yachts for more than 60 years. He built his first tiny open boat in 1962, and decades of experimentation and voyaging followed.
In 1969, he built a 15ft 7in (4.2m) boat and sailed to Ireland. In 1971, he built his first Bris (or Breeze) in his mother’s basement, its size dictated by the dimensions of the cellar and the door it would have to be taken out through. He sailed this 19ft 8in (6m) cold moulded epoxy double-ender across the Atlantic seven times in four years and went as far as Argentina and Tristan da Cunha. (I highly recommend reading his fascinating and entertaining account at yrvind.com/my-life-texts ).
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Yann Quenet completed a three-year world tour on his 4m Baluchon. Photo: Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty
In his next boat, the 15ft 9in (5.9m) Bris II , he went much further, sailing south to the Falkland Islands in 1980, before rounding Cape Horn and going north to Chile.
Over the decades, Yrvind (his birth surname was Lundin but he changed it to the Swedish term for a turbulent wind) has continually experimented with tiny yachts. In 1986, he built a 15ft 8in (5.76m) double-ender and sailed it to Newfoundland. In his most recent boat, Exlex (Outlaw), he sailed to the Azores in 2018, and in 2020 from Norway to the Azores and Madeira, returning to Ireland, a voyage of 150 days.
Right now, he is working on Exlex Minor , a glassfibre sailing canoe design of 20ft 4in (6.2m) which he intends to sail round Cape Horn to Valdivia in Chile. This new boat has twin keels and 12m2 of canvas split between three square sails on freestanding masts.
His food, water and all his possessions for up to 150 days at sea amount to around 1 tonne. He stores 111 litres of water on board as he “doesn’t trust desalinators. They can break down.” At sea, his diet is a simple mix of oatmeal and almond flour – “like muesli” – and sardines. “I eat the same every day,” he says, “and at lunchtime, not any other time.”
“I am a health nut. I believe in running and eating once a day for a long life.”
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small-boat sailing legend Sven Yrvind. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty
Yrvind’s way of life divides opinion. Many casual followers think his choice of yacht slightly mad, but the tiny boat community reveres him as a living legend. To him, it just makes plain sense. “My boats are very functional. If you go back to old magazines from the 1950s and 1960s, boats were not much bigger. Back then, a 30ft boat was quite a decent size. The Hiscocks sailed twice round the world in such a boat. Now 40ft is too small; it must be 50ft.
“And what is big enough? With a small boat, you don’t have a lot of problems with money. You go back to first principles. You also have a boat you can tow behind a car. I have been doing that down to France and Ireland. Or you can put it in a container. So small boats are really handy.”
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Yrvind in his 15ft 8in Exlex. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty
No room to stretch out
Smaller even than Sven Yrvind’s vessels are the record breakers’ boats, no bigger than a bathtub.
For many years, the record for the smallest yacht to cross the Atlantic was held by Hugo Vihlen, a former Korean War fighter pilot and Delta Airlines captain from Florida. In 1968, he crossed from west to east in the 5ft 11in April Fool . In 1993, his record was broken by Tom McNally, a fine arts lecturer from Liverpool, in his 5ft 4 1/2in (1.6m) Vera Hugh .
That prompted Vihlen, then aged 61, to go back out a few months later to recapture his record in Father’s Day , which was half an inch shorter than Vera Hugh . Vihlen crossed from Newfoundland to Falmouth in 105 days.
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Andrew Bedwell intends to take former record holder Tom McNally’s modified 1.1m Big C to a new Atlantic record. Photo: Paul Larkin Photography
Not to be outdone, McNally designed and built an even smaller boat for the record, the 3ft 10in (1.1m) Big C . His plans were shattered when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and he was unable to sail it before he died in 2017.
Next year, British sailor Andrew Bedwell hopes to break Vihlen’s 30-year record. As a sailmaker and experienced sailor, he knows exactly what he is getting into. Bedwell has previously sailed a Mini 6.50 to the Arctic and been round Britain in a Class 40 .
In 2018 he started reading up about small boats. “I had always had an interest in unusual challenges and things that were raw. I saw these boats and was amazed by them, and I started designing a vessel.”
He contacted Tom McNally’s daughter and was amazed to learn that Big C was still lying in her garden. “It had never been in the water, or fitted out. Sails had been made for it, but they had never been used.”
Lorraine McNally agreed to sell, and Bedwell worked out how he could modify it for him to sail across the Atlantic. He calculates that it will take him around 60-80 days to cover the 1,900 miles from Newfoundland to the Lizard, sailing at an average of 2.5 knots. It has twin headsails set on one furler, and external floats, or pods, that make it behave a little like a trimaran when heeled. Freeboard is only 35cm and “she really does bob like a cork”, Bedwell says.
The boat is so tiny he cannot stretch out in it. “When in there I have to sit. It is dead flat in the bottom and in calm conditions I can just about get into a foetal position – and I mean just. I’ve modified the hull so my hip can just fit into a recess.”
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Big C is a tight squeeze for British sailor Andrew Bedwell, and he could spend up to 80 days in it crossing the Atlantic from Newfoundland to the Lizard.
With the hatch fully shut the boat is watertight and airtight, but has only 40 minutes’ worth of air, so Bedwell is making two rotating air scoops at the bow.
When conditions allow, he might be able to stand up, or even go for a swim, but mainly “there is very little you can do with the lower body at all.”
Muscle wastage will be a major issue. To offset this at least partially, Bedwell will use a manual desalinator to make water. “We looked at putting in a generator to pedal but there isn’t space.”
His rationed food will amount to only 1,000 calories a day, “so I will lose weight and muscle mass, but I want a slow, slow decline.”
The food will all be the same. “It is a protein food similar to Shackleton’s pemmican, a clever nutritional bar made of fat and protein, salt and honey, with a little bit of paracetamol to thin the blood and ascorbic acid to preserve it and prevent scurvy,” he explains. “I will eat that for at least a month before I go, to get used to it.”
All 12 of the boat’s watertight compartments will be filled with it. “It will be moulded in bags and pushed into the hull. I will take food from the external pods to start with and work inwards, so increasing stability as we go.”
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Italian skipper Alessandro Di Benedetto returns to Les Sables d’Olonne in 2010 after a non-stop circumnavigation with his 21ft Mini Transat 6.50. Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty
Bedwell’s planning sounds scrupulous. But… isn’t it the definition of suffering?
“Yes, very close to it,” he replies cheerfully. “If you said you were going to do this to prisoners, you wouldn’t be allowed to, it’d be against human rights.
“There’s not going to be any comfort in it whatsoever. Food and navigation equipment are the absolute keys. There’ll be no changes of clothes, for example, as there’s no room. It’s so tight. I can use some water to wash but it will be a flannel wash. l’ll do what I can to prevent saltwater sores but there’s not going to be any soap.”
When close to the finish of one of his voyages, Tom McNally was hit by a ferry. The hull of his boat split and he had to be fished out of the water almost by the seat of his pants. Bedwell says: “If I’m hit by a tanker I’m not going to survive that, but tech has changed. Tom didn’t have AIS but we have a standalone Class B transponder as well as a VHF with AIS receiver . I have a masthead light – the boat is so short it doesn’t need to be a tricolour.”
Bedwell says: “Planning this keeps your mind completely occupied as every single little detail has to be completely thought through.” He rejects any suggestion that he is ‘making a bid’ for the record or similar phraseology. “I am not attempting it. I’m doing it. My theory is if I’m just trying, I’m not really pushing myself.”
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Matt Kent’s 2017 solo Atlantic crossing attempt in the 42in Undaunted ended in failure.
Smallest boats, smallest problems
The micro-voyagers seem to share a different way of looking at the world, a can-do attitude galvanised by their repudiations.
“Human beings are very adaptable,” says Sven Yrvind. “Lawrence of Arabia lived simply in the desert and said wine takes away the taste of water. It is the same with comfort. It depends on your mindset and how you think, how you look at life. Some people go on holiday on bicycles and put up a tent. Some want a car and a caravan. I think when they get back the man with the bicycle is happier and has more to think about.”
“You can get spoilt,” he argues. “If you get something without fighting for it, you’re not so happy when you get it.”
Returning after 31,000 miles and 360 days under sail in his little yacht, Yann Quenet insists that a small boat is the best. “Small boat equals small problems. When there is no engine, there is nothing to go wrong, just a simple boat that is simple to sail.”
Andrew Bedwell explains how he gradually dismissed fripperies. “I’d had plusher boats, but hated it – all the cushions and wiring hidden behind panels. It’s just not me. I kept coming back to the simple things.” Like Sven Yrvind and Yann Quenet, he made the realisation that his sense of achievement might be in inverse proportion to boat size.
When people ask now about what he is doing with Big C , he tells them, without a hint of irony: “Everyone is different. I need something really big.”
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For the crew: forgiving and predictable but fast & fun. Launch time should be kept to a minimum. As a RAID class boat, she must draw 8" or less, be rowing-friendly and launched from the beach unassisted; in other words, as small as possible. The result is RoG(River of Grass), a 15ft micro expedition cruiser
Balboa 26. Balboa 26 Courtesy Of Matts G. Djos. First splashed in 1969, the Balboa 26 continues to enjoy a strong following among budget-minded cruisers. Built sturdy and heavy, all of the boat's stress points are reinforced. The spacious cockpit comfortably seats 4 and is self bailing, ensuring that sailors stay dry.
Swallow's Coast 250 was to have - and does have - the 70hp outboard mounted in a well at the forward end of the cockpit, immediately abaft the keel case. This overcomes the need for a broad, immersed transom that creates an enormous amount of drag under sail. An optional carbon bowsprit for the asymmetric retracts into the anchor well.
LOD 14'6''; Beam 6'1''; Draft 2'1''; Weight with 700lbs. of ballast 1900 lbs. NOTE - Details are now shown on the Morning Tide drawings for round bilged strip plank construction and a junk rig - and now see her bigger sister, the Morning Tide 18 in the Pocket Cruisers 16' to 20' section.
3. Tom Thumb 24: The Tom Thumb 24 may well be the most interesting boat on this list, which is a true feat considering the unique niche that most of these pocket cruisers occupy. At first glance, the Tom Thumb 24 looks a lot like the Flicka or Allegra.
Since I knew I could not move Little Cruiser's 1,600 pounds off the beach by myself, I bought one of Matt's older micro-cruisers to race. This boat, Enigma, weighed only 180 pounds unloaded and was just 11ft 10in long. In September of 2009 I surprised myself by winning the inaugural 90-mile North Carolina Challenge race in the solo sailboat ...
Being 10 days on MADCAP, enjoying an uncluttered and easy boat which is so much fun to sail (that´s another article) was very helpful in defining my own way to become a "micro-cruiser". The question of how much boat one needs has been answered more than impressive: From an energy-standpoint to maintenance and time spend for cleaning and ...
Paradox. Paradox is one of Matt Laydens most successful micro-cruiser designs. Built in 1993, this boat was initially sailed from Connecticut down the Intracoastal waterway and as far out as the Ragged Islands in the Bahamas. After cruising near his home in Florida for 10 years, she was then entered in the grueling 300 mile Everglades Challenge.
New Zealander John Welsford also specialises in small boats such as the 18ft (5.5m) junk-rigged Swaggie - 'a mighty, miniature long range cruiser' - and a sturdy oceangoing 21ft (6.5m ...
Above- Three cruising sharpies together on the beach in the Exumas in 1994- Little Cruiser, Hogfish and Paradox. ... Mindy and David have a passion for small sailboats called micro-cruisers, and they have been cruising in their tiny boats for 30 years. Their favorite destinations have been the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Florida Keys and ...
For the crew: forgiving and predictable but fast & fun. Launch time should be kept to a minimum. As a RAID class boat, she must draw 8″ or less, be rowing-friendly and launched from the beach unassisted; in other words, as small as possible.The result is 'RoG' (River of Grass), a 15ft micro expedition cruiser.
The Elusion is Matt Layden's newest micro-cruiser. Similar to his Enigma design in construction and design, this boat is even lighter at approximately 120 pounds, which means she can be realistically transported on the roof of a vehicle. In 2010 Matt entered her in the 1200 mile Watertrible Ultimate Challenge race around Florida and once more ...
Spencer gives everyone a run down of the SCAMP him and his buddy, Walter built. 🥬Become a Paid Subscriber and Help Us Out:https://www.thelitzenbergers.com/h...
Mini-Micro Cruiser Sailboat Article By Shorty ... A boat that easy and quick to use turns 1 hour into 50 minutes of sailing. Like most board boats, she can take the waves and choppy water very well. Some times I leave the sail rig at home, put a beach umbrella in the mast step hole, and row my kids around the lake.
Micro preowned sailboats for sale by owner. Micro used sailboats for sale by owner. Home. Register & Post. View All Sailboats. Search. Avoid Fraud. ... 22'-6' Chesapeake Light Craft plans Norwegian Faering Cruiser Salem, Oregon Asking $4,500. 14' 2024 Sunfish - SOL by Sero Innovation & includes 2023 Yacht Club Trailer Rochester, New York Asking ...
RoG was designed, in some part, for the 300-mile Everglades Challenge, a Florida thin-water endurance voyage, but for less grueling adventures the RoG is a charming miniature cruiser. It is just 15′ 3-1/2″overall, 5′ 9″ in the beam, yet it has a deep, comfortable, private cabin with built-in bookshelves forward, obviously designed for a ...
From its twin rudders aft to a retractable bowsprit, the Beneteau First 27 is a race-ready sled or capable weekend cruiser. Jon Whittle. Simple but ample interior accommodations include a V-berth and settees that could sleep four. Jon Whittle. With its kite set, the First 27 hauls the mail in a brisk breeze.
Enigma. The Enigma 360 is one of Matt Layden's newer micro-cruisers. She differs from some of his earlier boats like Paradox and Little Cruiser in that she is considerably lighter in her construction. Tipping the scales at only 180 pounds empty and without ballast, she is ideally suited for solo coastal cruising as well as portaging over land ...
The Pardeys are icons of small sailboat cruising. Having sailed over 200,000 nautical miles and circumnavigated both east and westbound on their home-built, engine-free, sub-30-feet cutters, they are among the most recognized sailors in the world. They're also known as "America's first couple of cruising.".
The Cape Dory 25 is a daysailer and weekender boat designed by George Stadel. The Cape Dory 25D is one of the best pocket cruiser sailboats designed by Carl Alberg. The Cape Dory 25D features a large head in the forward area instead of a v-berth. The salon is comfortable and spacious and features a 5'11" headroom.
Alcort Sunfish. The Alcort Sunfish and other popular "wet" boats: The Sunfish and the Laser have a lot in common. They are identical in length (13' 9") and nearly identical in beam, draft, weight, sail area, price, and popularity. Today they're even made by the same company, LaserPerformance, but that wasn't always true.
The latest news we've heard as of 9-10-02 is that he has now left Australia and he is on his way to South Africa. BRAVO! This 8' micro-cruiser was photographed cruising in Turkish waters. Lt-Ray Bishop and his wife cruised the Florida Keys aboard their 14' modified Peep Hen. Rt-Leonard Satz's handsome 14'9" x 5'6" x 2'6" micro-ocean cruiser.
The Scamp is a seaworthy 12′ sailboat that can handle a good dose of adventure. Just under 12 feet in length, Scamp boasts an unusual combination of features that give her the unique ability to explore waters too shallow for a larger boat, while retaining most of the bigger boat's comforts and capabilities. An offset centerboard opens up ...