Can anyone give me an idea of a good trailer sailor to get? relevant strengths/weaknesses etc.
I want a boat that
- Can sail from Swan River to Rottnest for a few days holiday.
- 2 adults can comfortably sleep on
- Has very basic live aboard facilities such as ice box and stove.
- I can keep on a trailer in my driveway.
I am considering the Red Witch vs Red Eagle at the moment. I think a Red Jacket may be too small although I have not seen any of these boats recently so a comparison of those and any other suggestions would be helpful.
I am a competent sailor, having previously owned boats from 12 ft to a 45 ft yacht.
Thankyou!
In WA you are limited by what is on the market.
Generally, the Red witch was made for sailing on the Swan.
Try trailersailerplace. It specializes it TS.
gary
trailersailerplace.com.au/
There are several excellent WA built trailer sailers. One good choice is the Windrush Wildfire. 23 foot long with a largish centre cockpit. A boom tent over the centre cockpit would make an excellent place to sleep on hot, muggy nights. They are one of the better trailer sailers for sailing performance.
What's your budget? If you're looking at a Redwitch I'm guessing its on the sub-10k side? Otherwise there's a nice looking Flinders 7.8 for sale on Facebook for $35k
The Redwitch has the advantage of being able to sail under the bridges at Freo without dropping the mast, but it is a fixed keel boat - so not the easiest to launch and trailer. And then you won't be able to pull up on the beach at Rotto when you get there. You'll have to anchor off or pay for a mooring.
Have a look at a Court 650 - another West Aussie boat. Friends of mine have had these and cruised to Rotto several times. One guy even did it so much that he cut the mast down so that it was the same height as a Witches and was able to sail under the bridges. He was effectively sailing with a reef in his mainsail the whole time - but not too much of an issue in the sea breeze off Freo.
