The Top Trailer Sailers & Day Sailers for Sale in New England Under $10k - Get ready for summer fun!

[@SavingMaverick55]

I see a lot of really nice boats here. But only one is a wooden boat. Thats automatically my favorite. Plus shes nigh on 100 years old, sails on fresh water and is absolutely immaculate. Chef's kiss.

[@boatfools]

She is lovely!

[@Sailing58]

I had Typhoon and loved it. Up sized to 22ft Typhoon Senior for more room. Also came close to buying a Sea Sprite also a nice boat. I prefer full keel for stability

[@danielpothier9990]

​@@Sailing58agree like the car guys say no replacement for displacement

[@billlippincott3937]

Just found your channel. Nice!! Little biased here new HA 18 owner and long-time trailer sailor out of West Falmouth MA.

[@boatfools]

Welcome aboard! The HA 18 is a really pretty boat. Congrats!

[@tomv2302]

Thanks for validating my purchase of a typhoon last fall, you made my wife smile which in turn made me smile currently cheering up the bright work and I cannot wait to launch it this spring.

[@boatfools]

Love it! Thanks for sharing this. Have a blast with your new to you boat. You’re going to love it!

[@todddunn945]

I started out with a trailer sailer - Venture 21. Years later I bought a Canadian boat a Challenger 7.4 (~25') on a trailer. Now my current boat is still a sort of trailer sailer since it is hauled, launched and transported on a trailer. Yeah, it is a Brownell hydraulic trailer and I don't own it. So much for that, I do have a bit of a quibble about not having a mooring. Here on MDI it is pretty easy to get a mooring for a small, shallow draft boat since moorings for those boats can be in parts of the harbor where you can't get a bigger boat and they don't need much swinging room. Rigging and launching a trailered boat can be quite a chore. The hardest part is stepping the mast. Anything bigger than about 23'-24' will really require two people to step the mast. My Venture was also quite a chore to get properly lined up on the trailer when hauling since the swing keel had to land in a 4" wide slot on the trailer. Looking at your choices, the Dark Harbor 17 is not a boat you will want to sail off of the trailer because as a carvel planked wooden boat it will dry between sailings and will have to take up for a day or two after launch to stop leaking and stiffen the hull up. So it is a boat you launch, sail for the season and haul. Also launching and hauling that deep draft boat with the trailer will be a chore, particularly getting it back onto the trailer correctly and realistically you will need a boom truck to step/unstep the mast. Also, you will need at least a mid-sized pickup to tow this boat. but that applies to everything except the Macgregor. Also, except for the deeper draft boats you are going to need a pretty steep ramp and to disconnect the trailer to launch/haul the boats. Nice boats overall.

[@boatman222345]

The Cape Dory Typhoon is one of the nicest handling boats I have ever sailed...a real classic built by a quality builder.

[@boatfools]

Really sweet boats! Thanks for watching!

[@coldisle]

Another great video guys. My very first boat (1970’s) was a Typhoon…and many years later I owned a Sea Sprite 23. Both are beautiful and sail like they are scaled down BIG yachts…heavy, safe, beautiful, and incredible. ( Thank you Carl Alberg!) Unless they are being trailered to distant cruising grounds for new adventures, I ( my 2 cents) would consider neither to be a true trailer-sailor. These are heavy full keel boats and it’s no quick thing rigging them up to get out on the water. Other than that, both were not only beautiful, heart-stopping classics, and sailed like heavy weatherly safe yachts…but I was in awe of the build quality. Cape Dory and CE Ryder did NOT cut corners, and as a result corners ultimately did not stay in business because it was so expensive and labor intensive to build these timeless classics that were worth many times over what they were sold for.

[@jbbbda]

Dark Harbor is sweet. Like the Typhoon I once owned, full-keel boats are not easily launched nor retrieved with a trailer, I sold because of the cost of being lifted on the trailer. Trailerable, yes . . . workable on a ramp . . . not so much.

[@jasonthatcher9345]

hey there.. compac 23 owner down in Phippsburg.. so glad to see that you considered the compac for this video. They are pretty cool boats with a lot of positive aspects. Maybe we will come up to Camden for a visit one of these summers - take you for a sail! have a fun trip next week. jt

[@boatfools]

That would be fantastic! Cool boats. Thanks for watching!

[@flynow5614]

I own one in FL. Love the boat.

[@boatfools]

Awesome!

[@kennethpaladino4948]

I also have a compact 23! Luv this little boat! My son & I can rig the mast & launch in about 30 minutes! And we also have roller furling! And trailer tongue extends about 12'! Only complaint is lack of head room below! This is our 2nd 1 of these! So good, regretted selling the 1st 1! So got another! 'Airtime' has been 2 the Bahamas also! ❤👍

[@boatfools]

Fantastic! And thanks for watching!

[@kennethpaladino4948]

My ComPac 23 has been 2 the bahamas several times! The 2’8” draft was great 4 finding private anchorages! Not a fast boat, but is seakindly in the rougher conditions! I have other much larger sailboats, but we think we’ll keep this 1 4ever! Perfect trailer sailor! We can have the rig up r down in a half hour on the trailer! I would recommend the ComPac 23 2 any1 getting into sailing 4 the 1st time!

[@boatfools]

Love this feedback on the ComPac! They are sweet boats, for sure! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for watching. Happy sailing!

[@captainhml3868]

I am a new subscriber! I have a Typhoon and love her so much. She is the best boat I have ever owned. I am in Rhode Island!

[@boatfools]

Welcome aboard! The Typhoon is such a classic. Great boats. Have a great season and thanks for subscribing!

[@airborneranger-ret]

Nicely done. I have a Macgregor 26X. Great boat.

[@boatfools]

I'm hoping to find one locally to check out. The are really cool boats!

[@NeilMartin-z7e]

All great boats! Think of these boats no yard bills no crane and pure fun. Cheers

[@boatfools]

Agreed!

[@RMJ3032]

The Com Pac boats (with a tongue extender), the cat boats and the Mcgregor are the only trailer sailers. I have a Allied Greenwich on a trailer and I need a travel lift to lauch and retrieve. Also, if everything goes as planned?, the boat will take the entire day or more to step the mast (I made a gin pole) & tune the rig and bend on the sails. You might be sailing the next day and another day+ to reverse the process. @@boatfools

[@ericjnelson6442]

I have a Compac 19, loved the video. My only thought about most of your choices are they are not exactly "trailer sailors." They are deep to launch and a pretty hefty to rig. I define a trailer sailor as a boat that can be easily launched with shallower drafts and rigged by one person. Maybe that is my own definition. I would call them trailerable sailboats.

[@liamstone3437]

Nice edit. Good job. And I love those typhoons too.

[@boatfools]

Did you see your name in the video?

[@liamstone3437]

@@boatfools no I will go look

[@boatfools]

Not a big deal but it’s on the image of the 26x

[@liamstone3437]

Yup I saw it. Thanks for the fame. The later models (X and M were the controversial ones since they basically have a motorboat hull instead of the displacement hull that most sailboats have). The beauty of the water ballast is you end up with a 26 foot boat with a trailer weight less than that of a Catalina 22. The downside is they tend to be more tender initially and stiffen up between 10 and 15 degrees of heel. Interestingly the company was started as a Master's Thesis about manufacturing at lower cost than traditional manufacturers.

[@ro4317]

You chose my favorite boat. I always wanted a Cape Dory Typhoon but had to settle for a swing keel Venture 17 that fit my garage and car. Today I belong to a sailing group on a Minneapolis, MN lake that has 17 buoyed Pearson Ensigns, another Carl Alberg design. Great boats.

[@AngusJohnson-ei1kk]

Glad to see a large number of long keel vessels. The # 1 pick I can go along with but surprised that the 26 footer was not even in the running , classic wooden hull ,she was my #1 pick . I'm just old school I guess.

[@boatfools]

We’re old school, too. She’s a beautiful boat! And made the top 6!

[@stevenpage8847]

New sub. Liked the video. Thanks. Looking forward to watching more.

[@boatfools]

Welcome aboard! Much appreciated!

[@mhub3576]

I own a Precision 23 and slip it on Mille Lacs Lake in central MN. I previously owned a MacGregor 25, with the cast iron swing keel. And an O'Day 20, which was nice. The Precision sails circles around the Mac 25, which is in the sailboat Hall of Fame, but it wasn't a bad sailor. It did tend to pound going to windward in heavier winds. It's progeny, the Mac 26S and 26D, for swing keel and dagger board respectively, are not controversial. It's the MacGregor 26 power sailor that is the controversial model, as it carries a 50hp and is basically a motor sailor. I'd never own one, but many do. I'm biased but P23 is one of the absolute best trailer sailors ever built. It's open concept interior is nothing short of awesome. No compression post to mess up the layout. It also sails extremely well. For my money, once you get up into the 19-20 foot range and beyond, they may be called trailer sailors, but for all practical purposes are not, at least if you want to sail it more than a few times per summer. Rigging, launching, retrieving and de-rigging is a pita. It's an hour each side ime. Unless you can dry sail it, you will want a slip. Otherwise it's likely the pita referenced above will mean you won't get nearly as much sailing in. So if you truly want a trailer sailor, stay under 20 ft. That Com-Pac 23 is a nice boat. I've always liked the model's lines and asthetic. But I bet my P23 outsails it, especially to windward.

[@boatfools]

I'm going to check out the Precision 23. Not familiar with it! Thanks for the comment and for watching!

[@beorbeorian150]

The cat boat gets my vote

[@robertscholz4486]

I've got to go with the Compac 23 for the win, always been a favorite of mine. My number 2 would have to be the Mac 26D for the interior space. My number 3 would likely be the Herreshoff 22, again for ease of set up with the tabernacle style mast. The full keel boats are pretty, but can be difficult to launch from a trailer, which is why I stay away from them in this category.

[@boatfools]

That Com-Pac is impressive! The previous owner had sailed to the Bahamas…and back.

[@jeremybaum1]

I’ve owned six sailboats (so far 😅) and the Typhoon is the perfect day sailer…she eats up the waves and wind like nobody’s business 💪 🌊 ❤

[@saabtech3510]

My heart is with the Dark Harbor. That's a classic boat. But it simply is not practical as a trailer sailer though. (Nice one can tow it home to work on though.) I bought a Precision 18 as a nice compromise and ease of launching, towing, reasonable performance and can overnight.

[@boatfools]

The Dark Harbor is a beautiful boat. Agreed. The Precision 18 is sweet! A fun, lively boat that is, as you point out, easy to use and enjoyable! Thanks for watching!

[@dmwi1549]

Began sailing on a friends Cape Dory Typhoon. Not fast but very stable and forgiving. He sold that for a very plastic and very tender Hunter. I’ll take a typhoon any day. But with that deep keel it’s wouldn’t be the easiest to trailer and self launch. Those Cat boats seem any easy choice for a day trip to the lake.

[@boatfools]

Definitely easier to trailer and setup the cats! More of a true trailer sailer. Typhoon’s are a really great boat to knock about in! Thanks for watching!

[@HoosierPete69.]

I would take the Com Pac over any of those boats, they hold their value, than the Typhoon and the Sea Sprite. Funny I made my picks before the end of the video we had the same boats different order besides the dark horse which would have been my number 4.

[@boatfools]

Awesome! Yes, the Com-Pac is sweet.

[@danielpothier9990]

Seasprite was my number one typhoon, which would be two and then the cat boat. This was fun to watch but a real edge of the seat nail biter at the end. I think I need to go sailing to calm down now 😂

[@boatfools]

Nail biter! Ha! Thanks for watching - and for the comment!

[@joshuacook3069]

the Herrschoff

[@davidparadis490]

Where are the O'Day trailer boats...made in Fall River and there must be a million of them out there

[@beorbeorian150]

Those deep full keels I think are transportable, I would not consider them a trailer sailer. Without a slip they are not going to be used much. Too difficult to get on and off trailer. And limited to very deep ramps. So need a much bigger towing vehicle. The trailer for the typhoon looks over matched. That’s a 2k plus boat before being loaded.

[@beorbeorian150]

Those deep full keels I think are transportable, I would not consider them a trailer sailer. Without a slip they are not going to be used much. Too difficult to get on and off trailer. And limited to very deep ramps. So need a much bigger towing vehicle

[@trad9178]

The whole damn time I was waiting for you to put up that chart that you showed at the beginning with the numbers and you never showed it I want to see the chart with all the boats scored you only showed it in the beginning! How frustrating

[@boatfools]

Sorry!