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 By Tom Linskey
Coastal cruiser
What it is: A coastal cruiser, either a keelboat or a multihull, should include living accommodations (berths and a galley, head and dining area), auxiliary power, and the ability, via reefing systems, to get its crew safely through windy conditions. If you’re considering a coastal cruiser for you first boat, limit your choice to boats in the 22- to 30-foot size range; though larger boats are seductive, you’ll likely find yourself “overboated” until you can bring your skills up to par. Types of coastal cruiser include traditional, performance-cruising, and cruiser/racer designs; basic new-boat prices range from $17,000 to $50,000.
What it can do: We’re in the boat-as-a-sailing-home category here: daysails, coastal and short ocean passages, overnight, liveaboard, and cruising vacations, as well as entertaining at the dock.
Skills you’ll need: At a minimum, you should have intermediate-level sailing, navigation, anchoring, docking and weather skills, from which you’ll need to work toward self-sufficient seamanship. You’ll also need to develop maintenance and fix-it skills appropriate to the equipment and systems on your boat.
Money/time commitment: While the money outlay can be roughly quantified by calculating purchase, maintenance, and upgrade expenditures and berthing, haulout, and storage costs, the time commitment is more difficult to pin down. A used boat, especially if it’s more than about five years old, will require more of your (or a paid professional’s) time than a new boat. If you’re concerned about the amount of money or time you can realistically devote to a coastal cruiser, choose a smaller, simpler, newer boat rather than a bigger, more complex, older boat. On the other hand, upgrading and general tinkering can be a highly satisfying part of owning a boat – as long as your family is happy about this aspect of the experience, too.
Get this boat: If you want a boat for vacations or coastal explorations, or you want to move up to a bluewater cruiser or a flat-out racer some day, a smallish coastal cruiser is the right boat for you.
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