Choosing Your 1st Boat
Choosing the right boat for you is a highly personal decision. Your perfect boat will depend on your
physical characteristics, your sailing style and your intended use for the
boat. We recommend that everyone delay
the purchase of a boat until they have been a
associated with the Club for a while and get an opportunity to try a few
different types of boats and meet the people who sail the different them. We
also recommend that you participate as crew in our weekend and Wednesday night
Club Races. However, most people are understandably
anxious to own and sail their own boat.
We have seen many new sailors make very big and expensive mistakes by
purchasing a boat that is inappropriate for their intended use or is
inappropriate for the inland lake conditions under which we sail. In order to help new members avoid such
mistakes we have made a short list of three recommended boats for use at
Privateer Yacht Club. All of these boats
perform very well in
Purchasing a boat that has an active fleet has several advantages. The fleet will help teach you about the boat
and how to sail it. They will also
encourage your participation in fleet and club activities.
All of these recommended boats can be purchased new or used at a
reasonable price and all have good resale value and a ready market if you
decide that you would like to move on to another boat.
MC Scow
The MC Scow is a very popular
inland lake boat. It is 16 feet in
length and weighs 420lbs. It is usually
sailed single handed, but is large enough to take along one other person. It is the newest fleet in PYC and at present
is the most active. Reasonably good used
boats can be purchased for around $2,500 and up. The list price on a new boat
is $10,975. The boat is very easy to
trailer and the fleet regularly travels to regattas around the region. The MC Class web site is http://www.mcscow.org/ . The MC Fleet captain at PYC is Chris Cyrul
332-3214 scowabunga@earthlink.net
.
Flying Scot
The Flying Scot is a 19 foot
boat usually sailed by two people, but sometimes in very strong winds is sailed
by three. It weighs 850lbs. It is large enough to carry as many as four
comfortably. It is a very stable and
very comfortable boat. The Flying Scot
is very popular in the Southeast and there are many regattas held around the
region. It is very easy to trailer. Used boats are available for around $2,500
and up. The list price on a new boat is
$13,400. The Flying Scot class web site
is http://www.fssa.com/ . The Flying Scot Fleet captain at PYC is Paul
Healy 892-1838 pfhealy10@cs.com .
Catalina 22
The Catalina 22 is the only
self righting keel boat listed here. It
is also the only boat that has any interior accommodation. It is 22 feet long and weighs 2,275 lbs. It is usually raced with two people, but can
carry four or more. Although not as easy
as the lightweight boats listed above, it is still relatively easy to trailer
with a pick up truck or other large vehicle.
C 22’s are actively sailed all over the