When I concluded my research, I had created a short-list of six, full-keeled, heavy displacement, affordable used boats from the 1960s and 70s in the 25-27 foot range: the Cape Dory 25D, the Pacific Seacraft 25, the Contessa 26, the Pearson Ariel 26, the Bristol 27, and the Albin Vega 27.
Cape Dory 25D |
Pacific Seacraft 25 |
Contessa 26 |
Pearson Ariel 26 |
Bristol 27 |
Albin Vega 27 |
As I described in my earlier posting, all of the above boats, with the exception of the Bristol 27, had ballast, displacement, and beams that were similar to the Ericson 25 that I eventually bought (with its 2,500 lbs of ballast, its displacement of 5,400 lbs, and its beam of 8 feet). The Bristol 27 was the exception, insofar as its displacement was over 6,000 lbs.
With this list of six boats in hand, my next task was to whittle down the list, so that I could, at last, arrive at my top choice, and thus begin a search for this particular boat. The length of the boat, the availability, and the affordability were my primary criteria in this whittling-down process. On account of these criteria, I was especially drawn to the Albin Vega 27.
Albin Vega 27 |
Albin Vega 27 |
Also I must stress that, at this time of my fixation on the full-keel, heavy-displacement boats, especially the Albin Vega 27, my sole guiding principle in terms of trailerability, was simply that the boat be legally trailerable. In other words, it had to have a beam no greater than 8.5 feet, the maximum legal width on federal four-lane divided highways and interstates.
Sure, I had detected, here and there, in the process of my search, some online chatter about the difficulty of trailer-launching full-keeled boats, but often, as many of you well know, there are frequent false trails that present themselves on all forums, as you try to distinguish the truly wise from the wise-cracks, and as you scroll endlessly through one thread or another, with some threads leading to treasure troves of helpful information, others leading to nothing more than dead ends. Sometimes it can feel like a road to nowhere with a dark cloud overhead, sort of like the way it feels from time to time when driving through the expansive stretches of desert land in the American West.
Big Bend area of West Texas, Summer, 2007 |
As I read more and more online, I continued to encounter references to a certain technique that some people had used for launching full-keel boats with some success - that of backing the trailer deep into the water with a chain or tow-strap serving as a trailer tongue extension, a long and flexible link between the tow hitch and the trailer. Curious to know more about this technique, I decided that the best person to consult was Carlton Poulnot, a seasoned mariner from a long line of Charleston seafarers. I had met Carlton aboard the Spirit of South Carolina, during her transit down the coast, from Charleston to Beaufort, SC in the spring of 2009.
Spirit of South Carolina |
My activity caught the attention of Carlton Poulnot, who, casually and confidently, would quickly correct any statement I might incorrectly make about a coastal landmark or our present location with regard to that landmark. As the time went along, a conversation developed, and I discovered that this Carlton Poulnot was not only a co-owner of Ashley Yachts, a Charleston-based yacht brokerage, but also a delivery captain, who had sailed up and down the coast and back and forth to the Bahamas for much of his life. He was an amiable and engaging man, one who would offer me lots of valuable advice from time to time over the years to come.
So when I had, at this point, decided that I needed some expert advice on whether or not this trailer-launching technique for full-keel boats was a viable option, I thought that there couldn't be a better person to turn to for some sound advice. Carlton confirmed that this technique was indeed a common one, and he said that he himself had used it at some point in the past to launch some boat that was in his charge at Remley's Point, a known deep-water ramp just upstream from Charleston Harbor. We didn't talk about the time of the year or the day of the week that he and his helpers performed this operation, but I would guess that it was on a weekday morning when the weather was cool. Otherwise, they would have inflamed the barley-fueled tempers of a lot of recreational boaters and sport fishermen.
Typical scene at Remley's Point on the weekends, and when the weather is nice. |
Remley's Point on the Wando River, with the Ravenel Bridge and Charleston Harbor downstream |
Nevertheless, not wanting to give up the fight, I continued to look around for some other way around this problem. It was about this time that I, at last, found a series of pictures that someone had taken for the purpose of demonstrating this technique. I include these two pictures here only as teasers, so that you will visit this site and see first-hand this excellent, illustrated explanation by the good folks at Schroth Fiberglass on Lake Travis, near Austin, Texas (www.schrothfiberglass.com). Schroth Fiberglass is a boatyard, and one of the services its performs is the launching of keel boats at a nearby boat ramp. The picture below, of course, shows them at the beginning of the process. They have backed the trailer down to the edge of the water, and they are about to chock the wheels of the trailer and then unhitch it from the truck.
The next picture I've included shows the truck at the top of the ramp preparing to lower the trailer into the water by means of a lengthy tether. Notice how desolate this ramp is, when we compare it to Remley's Point above. Although I've never been there, I understand that Lake Travis, just like Charleston Harbor, is a happening place on the weekends and in the summers. I would think that the fellas at Schroth Fiberglass performed this task on a weekday morning in the off-season. Notice that the hardwood trees in the background have no leaves, or perhaps just early springtime buds.
Maybe there are other well-pictured explanations that have appeared online since the spring of 2009 (I don't know), but at that time, this one, by Schroth Fiberglass, was the only one that I could find. If you've taken the time to read their web page on this subject, you've recognized the same thing that I myself recognized in 2009, that this can be a time-consuming and also risky process. Did you catch what they said about the person whose trailer broke free?
Taking what I'd heard from Carlton Poulnot, and taking what I had seen on the Schroth Fiberglass website into consideration, it seemed that my last hope for knowing exactly what it would take to launch a full-keeled Albin Vega 27 was to find someone who had actually done it.
An Albin Vega 27 |
Golden Gate Bridge with Sausolito in the Distance, Summer 2009 |
At this point, I began to reflect on where I was, and where I had come from, and I realized that I had allowed myself to be carried away and governed by appearances rather than by practical necessities. After all, I had started this search with the goal of having a cruiser that I could trailer to destinations far away from my home waters. We were a family accustomed to traveling long distances. I mean, dang it, we had just driven over 7,000 miles from Charleston to California and back, and that was just one of our many big journeys of this nature.
Waves of grain during our trip through the Great Plains, Summer 2008 |
With all of this in mind, I turned back to my original list and began to reexamine some of the smaller and lighter boats that I had considered before I had become engrossed with the full-keel, heavy-displacement boats I had found in John Vigor's Twenty Small Boats to Take You Anywhere.
I didn't return to those boats I had initially researched from Jerry Cardwell's Sailing Big on a Small Sailboat, or Gregg Nestor's The Trailer Sailers Owner's Manual - boats such as the Catalina 22, the Rhodes 22, or the Com-Pac 23IV. Those boats were too small for my cruising purposes.
Catalina 22 |
Rhodes 22 |
Com-Pac 23IV |
The MacGregor 26 didn't attract my attention a second time, because it's a motorboat with a mast.
MacGregor26 |
The Nimble 24 didn't get a second look, because of its flat-bottom, its light displacement, and its price-tag.
Nimble 24 |
Seaward 26RK |
Com-Pac25 |
Alberg 22 |
South Coast 23 |
Kittiwake 23 |
Cape Dory 22 |
No, instead of returning to all of the above named boats on my original research list, I turned instead to those two boats I had investigated in that little gap between my fascination with the 22-23 foot Carl Alberg boats and the full-keel, heavy-displacement boats. I'm talking here about those boats associated with Olin Stevens and George O'Day, the Dolphin 24 and the O'Day 25.
Dolphin 24 |
O'Day 25 |
I thought the Dolphin 24 was a beautiful boat, both inside and out, as I said in my earlier posting.
Dolphin 24 |
Dolphin 24 |
Dolphin 24 |
Dolphin 24 |
The O'Day 25, on the other hand, was not scarce but abundant. After all, almost 3000 of these boats were manufactured in the 1970s and 80s. Moreover, the fixed, shoal-draft keel of the O'Day 25 was much shallower than the Dolphin 24, and it appeared that it was designed more deliberately with trailering and trailer-launching in mind.
O'Day 25 |
O'Day 25 |
What I discovered when I turned my attention more fully to the O'Day 25 was that there were indeed some people out there who had used the boat in a manner that accorded with my coastal cruising interests. For example, I found somewhere online (I neglected to record the sources in my notes) where two different people, Stan Wyllie and Lee Huddleston, described their sailing of the O'Day 25 to the Bahamas. I also discovered a website by a fellow named Michael Caldwell about this trip to the Bahamas and elsewhere. I present these findings below.
O'Day 25 Owner Number 1, Stan Wyllie
O'Day 25 |
O'Day 25 Owner Number 2, Lee Huddleston
"I have owned and
sailed an O'Day 25 since January 1980. I have also
sailed in theBahamas and
parts of the Caribbean , among other places.
The O'Day would be excellent for sailing to and in theBahamas . I
have the keel/centerboard version which would be outstanding for all
the shallow areas in theBahamas .
Especially in areas such as the
Abacos, the O'Day would be better than a lot of larger boats.
That being said, I cannot recommend the O'Day for the rest of the
Caribbean . The boats were built stronger than
many other brands at
the time, and her design is much safer than others of the same size
(e.g., full bridge deck rather than companionway extending to the
cockpit sole), but I feel that she is just a little too small for the
larger seas of theCaribbean . The O'Day 25
would handle the heavy
stuff better than you could, but it would be an uncomfortable ride.
The O'Day 25 was/is a very good boat. Designed well, built strong,
good accommodations for her size, reasonably fast (I just won a
regatta in my old O'Day 25 two weeks ago), and can be trailered around
the Country to lots of great lakes, bays etc. She was designed for
lakes and coastal sailing, but theBahamas are just next door.
I you have any specific questions about the O'Day 25, just ask."
Lee Huddleston
s/v Orion (O'Day 25)
s/v Truelove (Mauritius
43)
sailed in the
The O'Day would be excellent for sailing to and in the
have the keel/centerboard version which would be outstanding for all
the shallow areas in the
Abacos, the O'Day would be better than a lot of larger boats.
That being said, I cannot recommend the O'Day for the rest of the
the time, and her design is much safer than others of the same size
(e.g., full bridge deck rather than companionway extending to the
cockpit sole), but I feel that she is just a little too small for the
larger seas of the
stuff better than you could, but it would be an uncomfortable ride.
The O'Day 25 was/is a very good boat. Designed well, built strong,
good accommodations for her size, reasonably fast (I just won a
regatta in my old O'Day 25 two weeks ago), and can be trailered around
the Country to lots of great lakes, bays etc. She was designed for
lakes and coastal sailing, but the
I you have any specific questions about the O'Day 25, just ask."
Lee Huddleston
s/v Orion (O'Day 25)
s/v Truelove (
O'Day 25 Owner Number 3, Michael Caldwell
The above testimonies by Wyllie and Huddleston were good pieces of evidence, but even more helpful was the website I discovered by Michael Caldwell at www.knotink.com. Caldwell documents a lengthy single-handed cruise that he made from Long Island, New York, down the New Jersey and Delaware portions of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), through the Chesapeake Bay, and then down the ICW through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida all the way to Key West. He also documents a separate branch of this cruise where he takes his O'Day 25 to the Bahamas and back. Of additional help is the detailed inventory that Caldwell provides. All of this made it clear to me that the O'Day 25 was capable of carrying large amounts of equipment necessary for cruising.
All of the information provided by Wyllie, Huddleston, and Caldwell appeared to me to support the claims that had been made by the O'Day Company itself in its promotional literature for the O'Day 25 in the 1970s. This was a capable boat that was suitable for coastal cruising. Moreover, it was the largest truly trailerable cruiser that was available. I'll include here three of the several advertisements that I found (along with the transcriptions that accompanied them).
Promotional Advertisement Number 1, 1974
A week aboard still won't convince you it's only 25'
The new O'Day 25 … sleek and
stylish.
Today's biggest trailerable
cruiser. Broad beamed for live-aboard comfort. Wide, flat decks invite
sunbathing, provide racing safety. Two separate cabins.
Her galley is aft under a spacious
companion-way hatch. She sleeps 5. Generous stowage space. 5'6" headroom
in main cabin. Enclosed head.
C. Raymond Hunt Associates designed
the O'Day 25 sailboat for family sailing enjoyment. Safety and performance,
too.
Her keel is molded with the hull.
1,500 lbs. of inside ballast. With her centerboard raised she draws only
2'3". Her tabernacle makes stepping the mast a single-handed job.
Here's a 25 you can take with you
on vacations, or trailer to far away regattas for some exciting racing.
Balanced outboard rudder, too. She sails … just as good as she looks.
It's the new O'Day 25 … backed by
O'Day's 2 year Gold Medal warranty.
Length: 24'10"
Beam: 8'
Draft: Centerboard up 2'3"
Sail Area: 270 sq. ft.
Designer: C. Raymond Hunt Associates
Beam: 8'
Draft: Centerboard up 2'3"
Sail Area: 270 sq. ft.
Designer: C. Raymond Hunt Associates
O'Day
A BANGOR PUNTA COMPANY
O'DayFall River
Massachusetts 02720
A BANGOR PUNTA COMPANY
O'Day
Today's best built sailboats. Safe.
Easy-to-sail. Backed with a 2-year warranty.
Now … manufacturing facilities in California , Indiana and Massachusetts for
shipping economy, parts availability and improved service.
The O'Day Gold Medal Fleet … 10
Great Boats from 12' to 32'. Send $1. for Catalogs plus 38-page book "Have
Fun Learning to Sail" to Dept.
Y104
Promotional Advertisement Number 2, 1976
O'Day 25 Yacht: Five Critical Things To Look For When You Buy A Compact Cruiser
(And how the O'Day 25 measures up)
No matter how sleek she looks, how opulent below, no cruiser is worth considering if she won't perform under sail. Will she go to windward in a chop? Will she sail at all if the wind is light? Is she a stubborn monster when you want to tack?
Here's how the O'Day 25
measures up:
- We
built the O'Day 25 with both a centerboard and a keel. There's 1525 pounds
of lead in the keel to keep her on her feet. And make her sure and
seaworthy.
- The
centerboard gives her six foot draft. Which makes her fast and close
winded. And helps her track when the waves build up.
- But
she's a gunkholer too. With 2' 3" draft (board up), for slipping into
secluded coves. Or exploring shallow bays and rivers.
- We
fitted her with a powerful outboard rudder. So the O'Day 25 doesn't
hesitate when you want to come about. She handles with unusual precision.
- She
has what offshore sailors call a "forgiving" hull. She
compensates for the little errors even expert skippers sometimes make.
Look for a cabin that works
A spacious cabin is important, but what really counts on a cruising boat is the way the space is used.
Privacy is essential. For people who must live in each other's company for days on end. Warmth is welcome, when it's wet and forbidding outside.
You must have decent space for
cooking. Space for keeping clothes and bedding dry. Space for plotting a course
in comfort while the boat's heeled over.
Here's how the O'Day 25
measures up:
- Raymond
Hunt and Associates designed our boat. They insisted on a galley usable under
sail. They put it at the cabin's after end. Close to amidships, where the
pitching of the hull is the least. And close to the companionway, so the
cook can keep in touch with the cockpit crew.
- We
layed out galley storage where you can get at things without having to
crawl into the bilges or reach over boiling pots on the stove.
- Our
designers also insisted on a cabin table stable enough to use for
navigation. Big enough for four at meals. Four full-sized people.
- We
built in bunks for five. You may not use them all. But we know how handy
an extra bunk can be -- when you need some place to quickly stow a sail.
Or spread out a series of bulky charts.
- The
bulkhead between the cabins makes the O'Day 25 an honest, private,
two-cabin boat. And the passageway between closes with a solid door. Not a
flimsy curtain.
- There's
plenty of storage: under the bunks, in cockpit lockers, on main cabin
shelves, and up in the forepeak. For the endless anchor lines and sails,
spare batteries and tools, fittings, gadgets and gear that make a cruiser
self-sufficient away from home.
A sailboat has to stand
extraordinary punishment. The pressure of rushing waves. The heavy stresses on
her rig. The corrosive power of salt water.
Only uncommon materials will
survive. But they're expensive. Stainless steel. Tempered Dacron sailcloth.
Braided lines. Solid teak. All are specified for the O'Day 25.
Painstaking construction is also
costly. Our hulls, for example, are made with hand layed up fiber glass. Others
spray in chopped up fiber. Our way is stronger. Longer lasting. But it's more
expensive.
Promotional Advertisement Number 3, 1979
O'Day knows that if adventures
aren't limited by shorelines, good times can't be limited by poor performance.
So we built a maxitrailerable 25 footer that can hit the road like a Greyhound
scenicruiser, and still hit the water like a scolded dog.
The performance standard that John
Deknatel and the Hunt Associates' designers created for the O'Day 25 Sailboat
has been a rude shock to many a hot MORC racer. Yet the interior squeezes every
inch of usability out of a very big space.
Whereas some 25 footers are
designed to sleep five, the O'Day makes five feel right at home, and stows
their gear as well. The forward cabin is a double.
The head, sink and vanity are
enclosed. The galley is sensibly aft where air is plentiful. In a pinch, the
cockpit can hold eight.
But big as it is, the 25 Yacht
retains a clean and classic yachty look. And popular as it is in the
centerboard model O'Day also offers the 25 Sailboat in a fixed keel version for
those who would sacrifice easy trailering for ultimate performance.
Put the O'Day in the hands of a young cruising family an will seduce them into summers of controlled indolence. Put it in the hands of a young hotblood, and it will startle the local MORC and PHRF racing fleets.
So if you and your family are ready
to push back a few horizons, the O'Day 25 Yacht is right behind you. Because
O'Day has been building affordable trailerables, daysailers and yachts for 20
years, and we know what you want.
The O'Day 25 Trailerable Yacht
Bangor Punta
Marine
The O'Day 25 Trailerable Yacht
Additional manufacturing facilities
in Costa Mesa , California
Conclusion
By the time I had finished reading the testimonies of the three O'Day 25 owners, Wyllie, Huddleston, and Caldwell, and by the time I had read all of the old promotional literature by the O'Day Company, I was convinced that the O'Day 25 was the largest and the most suitable boat for me according to my definitions of what a trailerable coastal cruiser should be.
At this point, therefore, I was ready to move forward with an active search for an O'Day 25 in the vicinity of the Carolina Lowcountry. We had returned from our farthest and final family camping trip out West. We had made it all the way to California and back, and now my wife and I were ready to take our adventures in a new direction. Now was the time, we figured, that we should at last buy that sailboat we had been talking about. The summer was waning. If we acted now, so our thinking went, we would have enough time to secure a boat, make any repairs that were necessary, and set off on a family cruise the following summer, perhaps to the Florida Keys.
I searched here, and I searched there, and at last I did indeed find an O'Day 25 in the area, not in the immediate area, mind you, but at least in our area of the country. Much to my surprise, and my delight, it was listed in Oriental, North Carolina, a small town on the Pamlico Sound known for its concentration of sailboats. I was familiar with Oriental, because we had spent two summers in the area of the Outer Banks and the Pamlico Sound while my wife conducted research on a beautiful coastal bird known as the oystercatcher. Everything about this O'Day 25 in Oriental, NC seemed to be right. Yes, it did seem to be right, and with that I picked up the phone and made the call - the call that would lead me not to the boat that just seemed right, but the one that truly was, the Ericson 25.
That phone call and the trip I would make to Oriental that would lead me to purchase this truly right boat are the subject of the fourth and final part of this posting, "Why I Bought the Ericson 25."