One Hundred Choices for the Best Small Cruiser

Fifteen Cruisers	Fifteen Cruisers for	Fourteen Cruisers for Easy	Thirteen Single-Masted
for a Family of Four	Around-the-Buoys Racing	Ramp-Launching and Trailering Character Boats
Montgomery 17* (46)	Capri 18 (25)	Peep Hen 14 (51)	Marshall Sanderling 18 (40)
Com-Pac 19 (27)	Cal 20 (89)	West Wight Potter 15* (64)	Blue Water Blackwatch 19 (21)
Jeanneau Bahia 23 (20)* (106)	Santana 20 (131)	Com-Pac Legacy 17 (69)	Menger 19 (43)
O'Day 22 (21) (118)	Ranger 22 (21) (124)	Montgomery 17* (46)	Skipper 20 (18) (57)
Jeanneau Tonic 23 (22) (180)	J/22 (179)	Precision 18 (17) (55)	Bay Hen 21 (85)
Precision 23 (245)	Catalina 22 Mk I (157)	West Wight Potter 19* (65)	Falmouth Cutter 22 (170)
Dolphin 24 (O'Day) (285)	Santana 22 (198)	Alerion Express Cat 19* (20)	Bluejacket Motorsailer 23 (222)
Freedom 25 (24) (291)	Tanzer 22 (23) (259)	ETAP 20 (98)	Stone Horse 23 (258)
Seaward 25 (24) (310)	Blazer 23 (221)	Jeanneau Bahia 23 (20)* (106)	Eastward Ho 24 (288)
Irwin 10/4 (25) (347)	J/24 (294)	Santana 21 (132)	Nimble 24/25 (361)
Cal 25 Mk I (327)	Olson 25 (24) (301)	S2 6.9 (21) (128)	La Paz 25 (353)
Catalina 25 (332)	Shark 24 (312)	Dehler 22* (167)	Newman Friendship Sloop 25 (360)
Beneteau First 26 (25) (323)	Morgan 24 (25) (358)	Sirius 22* (139)	Parker Dawson 26 (25) (364)
Ericson 25 Mk I (341)	Montego 25 (357)	Terrapin 24 (371)
O'Day 26 (25) (362)	Capri 25 (331)
Thirteen Cruisers for a	Twelve Bluewater	Thirteen High-End	Twelve Two-Masted Character
Couple	Cruisers	Cruisers	Boats
Corinthian 19 (20) (95)	West Wight Potter 15* (64)	Cornish Crabber 17 (31)	Nimble 20 (21) (116)
Sirius 22* (139)	Cape Dory Typhoon 18 (19) (23)	Alerion Express Cat 19* (20)	Parker Dawson Poacher 21 (121)
Beneteau First 235 (22) (152)	West Wight Potter 19* (65)	Cornish Shrimper 19 (32)	Sea Pearl 21 (136)
Ranger 23 (22) (193)	Golif 21 (99)	Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 (120)	Menger Oysterman 23 (237)
Nonsuch 22 (185)	Freedom 21 (22) (171)	Cornish Crabber 22 (164)	Rob Roy 23 (246)
Bayfield 23/25 (23) (220)	Allegra 24 (267)	Dehler 22* (167)	South Coast Seacraft 23 (368)
Capri 26 (24) (282)	Blue Water 24 (274)	ETAP 23 (22) (169)	Bahama Sandpiper 24 (272)
Pearson Lark 24 (305)	Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 (303)	Herreshoff Prudence 23 (233)	Sand Hen 24 (308)
Quickstep 24 (306)	Vancouver 25 (372)	Dehler 25 (23) (227)	Beachcomber 25 (322)
Elite 25 (24) (289)	Vertue II 25 (373)	Bridges Point 24 (275)	Nimble 24/25 (361)
C&C 25 (326)	Contessa 26 (25) (337)	Cornish Crabber 24 (284)	Fisher 25 (343)
Cape Dory 25D (330)	Cheoy Lee Flyer III (25) (334)	Eastsail 25 (340)	South Coast Marine 25 (380)
Com-Pac 25 (336)		New Moon 25 (379)

* = Seven boats appear in above lists twice.

* = Seven boats appear in above lists twice.

Listed on the opposite page are one hundred choices for the "Best Small Cruiser." There are, of course, many more than one hundred choices for the "best" small cruising sailboat. In fact, there are 360 choices reported in this guide alone, and at least a few boats beyond those, on which we failed to find sufficient data to include here. In any case, as the saying goes, one man's meat is another man's poison. That is, a sailboat that one person does not like at all can be one that someone else likes very much.

One of the main reasons for this is that different boats are designed for different purposes: boats best for cruising in shallow bay waters versus deep ocean waters, for example. Styles vary to suit different tastes: traditional versus modern design, for example. Boats that do well in around-the-buoy racing may not be so well suited to cruising. A boat built to the highest standards of quality may not suit the pocketbook of the casual weekend trailer-sailor. And the range of choices goes on and on.

To help narrow the field of choices for the reader who is eager to find the right boat to buy, and doesn't have the patience to wade through all the facts and figures on all 360 boats presented in this guide, we have (somewhat arbitrarily)

devised a hundred choices, broken into groups of a dozen or so. Are you looking for a single-masted character boat? We list thirteen of them here, from 18 to 25 feet on deck. Do you yen for a two-masted yawl or ketch? We list every one of the dozen covered in this guide. Do you prefer a custom-built boat or at least very high quality construction? We show thirteen "high-end" choices, though you could find others in these pages. We also list fifteen good cruising boats for a family of four, and another thirteen for a cruising couple without children or guests aboard. We choose fifteen round-the-buoys racers for your consideration, and a dozen blue water cruisers, including a 15-footer that has sailed from California to Hawaii (though some may not agree that such a feat qualifies such a boat for offshore work).

Although there isn't space to include photos of every boat in this book, or even the one-hundred choices listed as "best," we have dug up representative sample photos from our vast collection of boat sales brochures to include on the following pages. They are arranged in roughly alphabetical order. If you don't find a picture of the boat you're interested in, try searching Google. There's a huge cache of photos there.

Alerion Express Cat 19 (details on page 20) is a high-end cruiser designed, among other things, for easy trailering and ramp launching.

Bay Hen 21 (page 85) is a character boat that's easy to launch and trailer.

Beneteau First 26 (25) (page 323) will nicely accommodate a family of four for cruising.

Bluejacket Motorsailer 23 (page 222) is a character boat with great comfort for cruising two.

Beneteau First 235 (22) (page 152) is a good boat for a cruising couple.

Blazer 23 (page 221) is a competitive racer. The author (trimming jib) is sailing here with other writers John Rousmaniere (steering) and Freeman Pittman, tech editor at Sail magazine.

Bluejacket Motorsailer 23 interior (also see to left) is particularly comfortable when cruising in rainy weather.

Bridges Point 24 (page 275) is available either as a finished boat or a kit.

Cape Dory Typhoon 18 (19) (page 23) has enough ballast to stand up well in a blow.

Cal 20 (page 89), produced from 1961 to 1977, is still raced in several fleets around the country.

Cape Dory 25D (page 330) comes close to being the ideal trailerable cruising boat.

Capri 26 (24) (page 282) features a cabin big enough to "drink ten."

Capri 18 (page 25) was introduced in 1985 and is still being sold today.

Cheoy Lee Flyer III (25) (page 334) has a Folkboat style hull.

Catalina 22 Mk I (page 157) wins the all-time popularity prize for cruising boats.

Catalina 25 (page 332) came in a great variety of configurations.

Com-Pac 19 (page 27) was drawn by Island Packet designer Bob Johnson.

Com-Pac 25 (page 336) has an unusual volume of interior space for her length.

Cornish Crabber 17 (page 31) is elegantly finished on deck and below. Cornish Crabber 22 (page 164) sports a gaff cutter rig.

Cornish Crabber 24 (page 284) is a well-built gaff-rigged character boat.

Cornish Shrimper 19 (page 32), a character boat, has an elegant finish, but is short on headroom.

Dehler 22 (page 167) has a number of high quality features.

Dehler 22 (page 167) has a dolly, a.k.a. "floating slipway trolley," that is an unusual aid for launching from ramps and tidal flats.

Dolphin 24 (O'Day) (page 285) was available either as a kit or as a finished boat.

Dehler 25 (23) (page 227) also uses a "slipway trolley."

Dolphin 24 (O'Day) (page 285) was available either as a kit or as a finished boat.

Elite 25 (24) (page 289) is fitted out in France, and features the French style of careful interior design.

Eastsail 25 (page 340) is generally built to a customer's specifications with extended offshore cruising in mind.

ETAP 20 (page 98) is built to a high standard of quality and is unsinkable.

ETAP 23 (22) (page 169) like other ETAP boats, she is double-skinned in a foam sandwich for flotation.

Freedom 21 (22) (page 171) has a patented "gunmount" for handling a spinnaker.

Golif 21 (page 99) from France has an unusual cabin ventilation system.

J/22 (page 179) has many active one-design fleets.

Irwin 10/4 (25) (page 347), as the saying goes, can drink ten, eat six, and sleep four.

J/24 (page 294) is said to be the world's most popular one-design keelboat.

J/24 (page 294) a second view.

La Paz 25 (page 353) features an open cockpit for deck chairs and berths for six below.

Jeanneau Bahia 23 (20) (page 106) features a clever cabin table design.

Jeanneau Bahia 23 (20) (page 106) features a clever cabin table design.

Menger Oysterman 23 (page 237) Montgomery 15 (page 71) and is a character boat based on the Montgomery 17 (page 46) both have molded

Chesapeake Bay Skipjack. lapstrake hulls.

Marshall Sanderling 18 (page 40) has been in production for almost fifty years, and continues to be popular.

Morgan 24/25 (25) (page 358) is fast and weatherly, especially in light air.

Newman Friendship Sloop 25 (page 360) conjures romantic memories of Maine fishermen.

Nimble 24/25 (25) (page 361) was produced in several configurations, including both a sloop and a yawl rig.

New Moon 25 (page 379) can be fitted out to the customer's specifications.

Nimble 24/25 (25) (page 361) is available as a pilothouse with six feet of headroom, great for cold weather cruising.

Nimble 20 (21) (page 116) features a yawl rig, rare in a boat so small.

Nonsuch 22 (page 185) was designed with the idea of elegant simplicity.

O'Day 26 (25) (page 362) is a near sistership to the O'Day 25.

Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 (page 120) is generally considered a very high quality product, commanding a premium price in the used boat market.

Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 (page 303) is solidly built to cruise in a bay or an ocean.

Parker Dawson 26 (page 364) has two separate cabins, and a center cockpit enclosed in canvas can be a third.

Quickstep 24 (page 306) was built by several firms, giving a choice of several accommodations plans.

Rob Roy 23 (page 246) has the makings of a classic small yacht.

Sand Hen 24 (page 308), with lightweight spars and no shrouds, should be easy to trailer and launch.

Santana 20 (page 131) was a very early entry in the "sport boat" market and is still popular.

Santana 21 (page 132), with a D/L ratio of only 86, is classified as an ultralight.

Santana 22 (page 198), an ageless design, is still popular after over 40 years.

Sea Pearl 21 (page 136) is simple, light, and shallow draft, perfect for casual beach cruising.

Seaward 25 (24) (page 310) has a sleek and salty look and is well built.

Sirius 22 (21) (page 139) is roomy for her length.

Shark 24 (page 312) has done well in racing over the years.

South Coast 23 (page 255) was converted to a yawl from a sloop (see photo bottom left).

South Coast 23 (page 255) Stone Horse 23 (page 258) is a classic shown here was built from a kit. designed over 75 years ago.

Tanzer 22 (23) (page 259) has a strong class association that promotes both one-design racing and cruising get-togethers (two views, left and right).

Terrapin 24 (25) (page 371) ^ |ike her Vancouver 25 (page 372) is well namesake, slow but comfortable. equipped for extended cruising.

Tanzer 22 (23) (page 259) has a strong class association that promotes both one-design racing and cruising get-togethers (two views, left and right).

Terrapin 24 (25) (page 371) ^ |ike her Vancouver 25 (page 372) is well namesake, slow but comfortable. equipped for extended cruising.

Vertue II 25 (page 373) is a no-nonsense heavy cruiser made for ocean passages.

West Wight Potter 15 (page 64) has made some long distance cruises, including one from California to Hawaii.

West Wight Potter 19 (page 65) is still selling well after over thirty years of production.

Was this article helpful?

0 0