Conference unifix::sailing

    Went yesterday later in the afternoon (had to work on the boat in that
    wonderful weather we had). The place was mobbed. Not a lot of selection
    compared to the Atlantic City show. Some of the toys there:
    
    Catalina 270,30, 320, 36
    Benetueau first 210, 310, oceanus 355, 400, 
    Caliber 35 or so
    Jenneteau 37
    Sable 365
    Corsair f-24
    Couple smaller j-boats
    Some smaller boats too (new ODay 192)
    
    Higham Yachts was letting anyone go anywhere. Made it tough to really
    look at a boat with 20 folks below decks, half kids running around. Go 
    thing this was not a in water show, or some of them would have gone
    down from the weight. The hordes also made it very hot down below. About
    6pm it finally quieted down a bit. The Catalina 36 is the same boat
    from N.J. Easy to tell as the sole varish is screwed up (shiney in the
    back, semi-transparent in the middle and front.
    
    The Sabre was just the opposite. About a 20 min wait, but it made it
    much more enjoyable to check the insides out with only 1 other couple
    on board.
    
    The Benneteaus were about in the middle, as was the Jenneteaus.
    Without the rigs on, it is not a exciting, but to show interiors is
    gets the job done.
    
    There were no Megles 24s, Ultimate 20s, or several other smaller sport
    boats that were the hottest thing in Atlantic City where it seemed
    every boat had a retractable spinnaker pole for asymmeterical kite.
    
    Lots of electronics, marinas, sail schools etc. Not sure how well the
    show went over. Most the bankers looked bored...
    
    The power boats were nice to look at, and they had a large cross
    section. the small boats are starting to look like watertoys than boats
    with bright colors and stripes, rounded fronts, sides, transoms etc.
    
    For $5 it was a better ticket that the movies and it sure helped those
    winter blues, but it just didn't have the excitement of Sail Expo.
    
    john

    The Caliber was a 40' and what an interior!!!
    By the way they were selling(electronics) the Garmin 50 GPS for
    $399.00.I also read in a west Marine advertisement that they also
    sell it for that price.I assume Diffender will be cheaper than that.
    Still I wait a few more months.

>    Couple smaller j-boats

>    There were no Megles 24s, Ultimate 20s, or several other smaller sport
>    boats that were the hottest thing in Atlantic City where it seemed
>    every boat had a retractable spinnaker pole for asymmeterical kite.

But, but, ... don't the new 'metric' J's which were on show qualify in this
category?  They aren't all out sport boats like the Zenda, but they are 
pretty close.  Both the J/80 and the J/120 which were on display sport a
retractable bowsprit and fly an asymmetrical spinnaker.

I sailed the J/105 at the Newport show in the fall and was definitely
impressed.  You could feel the boat leap forward when a puff hit it and
it turned on a dime.  They had spinnaker rigged with a snuffer and had
all control lines included the 'J-sprit' control lines led to the cockpit.
The skipper said that the spi could be set, jibed, and doused single
handed which was easily believable.

I thought the Corsair 24 (trimaran with fold-in amas for easy trailering)
looked like an interesting boat as well.  They claim that it can be set up
and ready to sail in 15 minutes from the trailer.

Tom

    re .3
    
       The smaller J-boats, maybe. But the costs soar quickly on this
    new generation of J Boats. To me (and what I have read), the Melges and
    Ultimate are giant skiffs, the j-boats are lightweight big boats.
    
       Plus the Zenda is Sailing World's all around boat of the year.
    
       If you think the J boatss acceleate in a puff ,you ought to try my sx-18
    catamaran with a asymmeterical kite. Same amount of sail area with only 400
    lbs of weight. In 12-15 knts, you best not have cartiac problems....
    
       The F-24 is the dog of the family and to me a real turn off. It was
    too bad they did not truck in the F-31. Still 15 min to put together,
    and the hull has a real interior similar to a 25ft monohull. Bob Gleason
    (Corsair East Coast rep, Westport MA) had all 4 in NJ (including the
    introduction of the f-41), so he could have had his choice. All I can
    think of is the F-24 was the only one that would fit in the space
    Corsair leased for the show.
    
       You compare the F-31 to the 148,000 dollar Dragon 1000 (sailing worlds
    multihull of the year), and you scratch your head thinking how the
    Dragon 1000 won. I tried talking the wife into thinking about a week's
    rental of an F- Class boat, but she doesn't ever want to ride a boat
    that goes faster in Knots than the waterline length again. ;>(
    
       I already mentioned at the winter confab that the $175,000 f-41
    looks to be the biggest turkey this side of thanksgiving. A couple of
    folks I have talked to concur. Too wide, too slow, too expensive, and
    zip of an interior (two seat cushions and marine head) for the expense.
    In it's defense, I did like the fibreglas wrapped foam they used for a
    tiller. Weighed about 4 ozs. Man, it felt nice.
    
       I also liked the semi-rigid inflatibles. When the stock hits $300 a
    share and I buy that "real" boat, I intend on getting one of these
    with a 30 hp outboard as a tender. Hey! I can dream can't I ????

    	My take on the multi's and a comment ont comparing boat shows.
    Boston does not have a reputation of a real great sail boat show. Sail
    Expo is in a totally differnt class of boat shows, from what I've read.
    I wouldn't compare the two, but I can't travel 10 hours south in the
    winter when spectacular skiing is only two hours to the north, or in my
    backyard. That's the problem with having two lives, but man I can ski!
    
    	The Fs. As a consumer the 24 holds an apeal to me because I can
    almost concieve of affording it. I think ultimately the 27 would suit 
    me better, maybe please me better. The 27 has better interior that the
    24 and is still reasonable to take home and store in my yard. The 31,
    whic my girlfriend like for the enclosed head, is a large enough that
    if I wanted to trailer it, above the HUge (to me) price tag I would
    also need a bigger truck. As for the 15 minutes from trailer to sailer,
    I can't prove them wrong, but it ake me more than 15 minutes to get my 
    boat on a mooring ready to sail and I've already parked my car. 
    	The Dragonflys look very attractive the more I look at them. One
    feature I really like is the kick up centerboard on a release cleat.
    COnsider that I'm going to sail my tri, above 10 knot often into 
    water I haven't been to before. The unfamilar water might have a rock 
    I don't know about. Slamming a board into that rock at over 10 knots 
    is going to smash the leading edge to bits. A dagger board is going to 
    want to move back into the hull and create potentially serious damage.
    If a centerboard kicks up, my board is still busted, thought perhaps
    less than a dagger, but my hull is preserved. 
    	The Fs appear a lot more conveniently trailerable than the
    Bragonflys. But I really don't like trailering my boat. I am always
    nervous, traffic doesn't have a concept for the value, not monetary,
    of my boat and trailering is a pain. I endanger my boat more by pulling 
    down the road than by sailing it in heavy weather. 
    	The more I look at them, the more I like the Dragonfly. It's got a
    little more interior, I am not highly inclined to trailier my boat a
    lot and doubling my speed will be enough to keep me happy. 
    
    	As for the little sport boats, I want a more all around usable sail
    boat for my 50K bucks. An ocean is a mountain turned upside down and my
    boat is the tool I need to hike it. 

    For the last 2 summers I have crewed on an F-27 in the Black Dog Dash.
    One race the wind blew over 30knts.  Wet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everywhere!
    The second summer, no wind.  Last summer an F-24 beat all the F-27s.
    Interior Space-wise the F27and 24 are both cramped. But the cockpit on
    the F-24 is larger.  My vote is for the F-24, same performance, less
    money, and not too much lost in cabin space.  One family with 3 small
    kids spent the week on their F-24.
    
    Speed varied from 8 knots up to 16knots.  We hit an unexpected sandbar,
    pulled up the board and just kept on going. I never watched one being
    put up, but I did see an F-27 on a trailer.   It's a sight an a half,
    fiberglass and wires everywhere.  If I saw one on a highway, I would
    definitely give it wide berth.  Also, most boats are pulled by the
    largest available vehicles short of a Mack Truck, i.e. large station
    wagons, top of the line vans, Chey Wagoneers, etc.
    
    Paul