Paul Thompson wrote: Jeff,

....
I do have one query. Why would Gloria need standing headroom in the head? I mean all the ladies that I know do it sitting down and the geometry seems to support that.
....
Gloria's somewhat claustrobic. Whatever makes this work for her is fine with me. I'm pretty stiff and creaky too so she partly just gives me an excuse.

Jeff McFadden wrote: Here's the reason I had decided on the Buccaneer: Gloria is absolutely adamant that our boat must have standing room in the head.  I am absolutely adamant that it must be sufficient for weekends or weeks, and trailerable.  Given the two absolute requirements, I don't know of another sailboat that will fit the bill.  

The Buccaneer is short and fat, portly and slow.  Alas, I too am all those things.  I am afraid that we may be well suited to one another.

Well, it does sound like you have thought out what you want in a boat, and that increases your odds of liking what you end up with immensely!

I have very limited experience with trailerable sailboats big enough to have a cabin, let alone one with standing headroom in the head.  I am sure you have looked at many more than I have by now.

Our prior sailboat was only a bit outside your size range.  The Northern Crow was a Coronado 25 (I think ~5000 pounds, and the 4 foot fin keel wouldn't make for easy trailering). But what is more interesting about her is that she was originally a boat with a HUGE sliding cabintop / companionway hatch, and the prior owner had rebuilt her.  I suspect that lots of rotten plywood cored deck in the area was likely the start of that project.  What he did was increase the cabin height to make a small section with standing headroom, and the result was quite elegant.

So consider where the cabin height can be jacked up without harm--it often works better with a junk rig, as the boom cants upward aft.  Also think about various pop-up, hinge-up, or slide-open roof options to add headroom where (and when) you need it.

Well it sounds like you have some time to spend thinking about how your Buccaneer rebuild will work....and keep an eye out for other possible boats.

And I must say that the Nor'sea sounds like a much better boat for somebody else.  It is far better suited to one person wanting to sail across oceans than for two people wanting to trailer across Missouri!

Good luck!
Barry

Jeff McFadden wrote:I could actually swing 11 grand if it was absolutely the right thing for me, so Gloria, formerly referred to as "my wife," and I did some serious thinking. She wasn't going to stand in my way if I was sure this was right.

On the other hand, I already own a scruffy and gutted Bayliner Buccaneer 24, sitting on a high-dollar trailer. If I'm willing to spend ten grand or more to have a junk-rigged cruiser this will make a better boat for me.

Sounds like a wise starting point.  But do make sure you are realistic about the cost to get a boat out sailing as you wish it--not just the cost of buying it.  Boats that are scruffy or gutted can easily cost 2~3X their purchase price to get ready to sail.  Don't rule out "free" but it may not be as much cheaper as you thought at the outset!

(I personally found nothing to attract me to the Bayliner Buccaneer I once saw, from either aesthetics or engineering/construction details, but I'm sure you want different things from yours.  I think the one I saw was larger than 24 feet.)

Jeff McFadden wrote: We still live dead in the middle of the US and own two small farms, one apiece. Parking a Nor'sea in, say, Chesapeake Bay would still leave us about 18 highway hours away from it, and selling two small farms im Missouri wouldn't buy a shack on the Atlantic seaboard.

I figure if we become skilled enough for the US Great Lakes and Atlantic coastal cruising we will never get to where we stop learning. And in between times we can haul her 2 or 3 hours to that 25,000 acre lake and snoop up coves. Jeff

I would suggest that you have some much more fundamental questions to answer before you embark on your junk rig sailing / conversion plan.  Here is where I would start:

• It sounds like you aren't dreaming about selling/renting the farm and sailing your little junk rigged boat across oceans.  That sort of usage calls for a very sturdy boat, and can be done with a heavy boat.  (The Nor'sea is probably a good choice for that if you can fit onto her.)
• If you have a specific (other) sailing dream, it would lead you toward a specific boat that suites your plans--big enough for the stores you need for your cruise, small enough to get where you want to go, capable of handling the waters you wish to sail in, etc.  Each of these examples would want a different boat in my estimation:
  
• • Keeping a boat in "big water" a day or two's drive away from you
  • • The Caribbean
    • The Great lakes
    • Chesapeake Bay
  • Trailering a boat to "big" waters in different cruising grounds for week-long or month-long sails
    
  • Sailing in smaller (closer) lakes for weekend trips
    
  • The "Great Loop" (down the Mississippi system, around the Intra-Coastal Waterway, and back to the beginning; probably a year's journey, and more trawlering than sailing.)
    
• Some people like sailing boats.  Some people like working on boats.  Some people like both.  Don't start a 5-year refit on a boat you really want to sail this summer!
  

I hope you have already decided which one(s) are the dreams you want to follow, but just in case, here's my two bits and then some pushing you to make your choices well before you buy the "wrong" boat.  Most all boats are very good for some purpose, and if you know what your purpose is, you can see pretty clearly that 99% of them would work better for somebody else.

Annie Hill wrote: Hi Maxime

I know the Colvin pinky and they are great boats, but heavy to sail.

I've sailed over a hundred thousand miles with junk rig and over fifty with gaff.  As far as I'm concerned there is no choice.  Not only is the gaff rig much more work, it is also much more frustrating because the sails only work well for such a small proportion of your sailing, after which everything has to be boomed out, vanged down, etc, etc.

Of course, if she's a really lovely boat and bearing in mind you've never sailed a junk rig so don't know what you're missing ... it might be worth it.

Having been involved with boats for more than fifty years I have found that the best boat is the one that you can afford and are passionate about. I've  had boats and rigs that I remember quite fondly but my personal preference is the Junk Rig. It has its limitations but generally is a great cruising boat. While in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia I met a number of sailors that are equally passionate about their gaff rig boats. Watching them race is certainly beautiful. We are certainly biased towards Junk Rigs in this forum. For an equally biased opinion on gaff rigs visit http://www.nsschooner.ca/

Maxime Camirand wrote:

Jeff McFadden wrote:

Maxime Camirand wrote: Ok, so I'm convinced; a gaff rig is out of the question!

Jeff: Nice model of boat, but what happened to the poor thing's interior? No wonder it's listed for $16k... 

Listed for $16k and not moving. But it seems that he prefers it. Nothing's perfect. I think Annie's lived in worse!

Now 11k!

Oh Lord, oh Lord! I'm waiting for an answer on a money issue and the right one might bring that within my reach. I've lived in worse on land. My wife, alas, never has and I'm not sure she wants to start now.