Re: Questions about Snapdragon 26,West.Pag.simillary bilge k
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:17 am
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Hi Ralf,
Welcome to the forum.
Choosing a small effective live-aboard boat on a limited budget is always going to ionvolve compromises. Here's what I think are essentials:
~ Standing headroom at least under the hatch and by the cooker. If you are short like me and my wife you ahve a much biger choice of boats. (We lived aboard our 27ft Albin Vega very comfortably for just over a year)
~ Seaworthiness. Once you realise the freedom of your chosen lifestyle you may want to take your home across oceans. You need a boat you can trust, so check to see if your chosen vessel has made any deep sea voyages.
~ Ease of maintenance. Don't choose a boat that has anything unusual or complicated or expensive about it.
When you are a liveaboard on a budget speed is not important, neither is close-windedness. You can adjust your plans or your course to suit the weather.
Many people will tell you that you need a fin keeled boat for deep water, that they are more stable and will sail closer to the wind. This is true, but if you are a liveaboard on a budget you can 'park' your bilge keeler on the mud anywhere suitable for free. This is a difficult deciksion, but I see that the boats on your list are all bilge keeled so maybe you have already made this decision.
Re. Westerlies over the Snapdragon - Westerlies have a reputation for being very strong and well-built (though not the fastest sailers). MacWesters are also very solidly built - we met a man in Madeira who had been to Brazil and back in a MacWester 28, and he had no previous sailing experience!
The Pageant looks like a bit of a Tardis and was built to Loyds A! standard - she could be a very good choice on your budget, with thte emmphasis on liveaboard rather than sailing performancve but with the strength and capability to make long if slow passages in the future. The Snapdragon has a reputation for being a bit slow for a 26 footer, so I don;t think from that point of view there will be much difference between the Westerly and the Snappie. There are some reviews HERE
Keep in touch and let us know what you eventually purchase. I am sure you will get many more useful opinions and comments from BlueMoment members.
Hi Ralf,
Welcome to the forum.
Choosing a small effective live-aboard boat on a limited budget is always going to ionvolve compromises. Here's what I think are essentials:
~ Standing headroom at least under the hatch and by the cooker. If you are short like me and my wife you ahve a much biger choice of boats. (We lived aboard our 27ft Albin Vega very comfortably for just over a year)
~ Seaworthiness. Once you realise the freedom of your chosen lifestyle you may want to take your home across oceans. You need a boat you can trust, so check to see if your chosen vessel has made any deep sea voyages.
~ Ease of maintenance. Don't choose a boat that has anything unusual or complicated or expensive about it.
When you are a liveaboard on a budget speed is not important, neither is close-windedness. You can adjust your plans or your course to suit the weather.
Many people will tell you that you need a fin keeled boat for deep water, that they are more stable and will sail closer to the wind. This is true, but if you are a liveaboard on a budget you can 'park' your bilge keeler on the mud anywhere suitable for free. This is a difficult deciksion, but I see that the boats on your list are all bilge keeled so maybe you have already made this decision.
Re. Westerlies over the Snapdragon - Westerlies have a reputation for being very strong and well-built (though not the fastest sailers). MacWesters are also very solidly built - we met a man in Madeira who had been to Brazil and back in a MacWester 28, and he had no previous sailing experience!
The Pageant looks like a bit of a Tardis and was built to Loyds A! standard - she could be a very good choice on your budget, with thte emmphasis on liveaboard rather than sailing performancve but with the strength and capability to make long if slow passages in the future. The Snapdragon has a reputation for being a bit slow for a 26 footer, so I don;t think from that point of view there will be much difference between the Westerly and the Snappie. There are some reviews HERE
Keep in touch and let us know what you eventually purchase. I am sure you will get many more useful opinions and comments from BlueMoment members.