Question:
best Compac sail boat for novice in tampa?
have had powerboats in midwest, but moving to tampa and want to try
sailing. what is a good boat. not a "14 foot learner" but something
that willing get me there and back, and have fun on?
Answer:
- In my opinion, a 22 foot boat is the perfect size to learn on, more forgiving
than smaller boats but easy for a newcomer to handle and has the right shallow
draft for the Tampa area. Any of the older Catalina, Hunter, O'Day, etc. 22
foot models should be perfect for you.
- Precision sailboats are made in the area, the Hen line of boats was made in
New Port Richie. Compac is also local.. Between them you have a dozen
models to choose from...
I agree and disagree with Larry on boat size. I think that getting a
throwaway 10 -12 footer to learn/swamp/play in is the best/fastest way to
learn about sailing (no motor, oars.)... After just a little while, you'll
know much more about what you want and can go buy a boat that is a bit more
of an investment.
Now I'll agree with Larry.. A 21' - 23', or so, sailboat gives you a lot of
latitude. Easy/fun to sail, more forgiving (but the little boat should have
gotten you mostly past the need for that quickly), big enough to take
friends/picnic/overnight/cruise, but small enough to be economical and to
trailer.
The Precision 21 and 23 are great locally built examples, as are the boats
that Larry mentioned. Add Southcoast to the list too. I'd stay away from
beat up Hunters and any MacGregors though, they were not very well made and
if beat up tend to fall apart.
I've owned a Schock Santana 21' and a BayHen 21' and they were both a blast
to have and to sail. BayHens, becuase the are a sharpie design that draws
as little as a foot of water are great for gunkholing, and there is a lot of
shallow water to play in around Tampa Bay
