As I set out to research small boats for the budget minded would be cruiser, I immediately became a bit overwhelmed. The truth is there are a ton of boats out there that would be great for a couple, or solo sailor to take bluewater cruising. Unfortunately many yacht manufacturers produced boats for many years, through a quickly changing market, and may have three or more designs all with the same, or similar designation, but vastly different attributes. What's more, one cannot take the reputation of one model and impose it on the rest of the line from that manufacturer; further still, changes in production of any one design may have fixed issues or introduced others, so it may come down to manufacturer, design, and hull number before you really know what you are looking at.

So, I have my list of a couple dozen boats that I have sailed, been aboard, or looked at, at one time or another, so I pull up Google to verify my thoughts, and I come to a webpage that I have previously spent many hours: Atom Voyages. I strongly suggest anyone who has read this far, set aside some time and drink in all you can, the information and insights here are invaluable. Anyway, my Google search lead me to a specific page on James and Mei's site: AtomVoyages - Boatlist. One thing that is very important in sailing/cruising is knowing when not to try and reinvent the wheel, and while my list of boats would have been more restricted to 26'- 30' range, there is good sense in looking at every boat on their list. As counter intuitive as it may seem, not all of the smaller boats are necessarily cheaper, for instance: a Flicka 20' will easily go for more than a Rawson 30' in similar condition. Some of this is going to be reputation, some of it design, some of it quality of manufacture, and in the Flicka's case there is the undeniable and hard to ignore cute factor. I have a short list of boats here that I think deserve special merit. There were a few others I thought to include, but I am sticking with a criteria of: having standing head room, having what is called a cutaway forefoot keel (sometimes referred to as a modified full keel), and generally can be purchased at or under $20k.

If you are going to really be living aboard your boat, not being able to stand up in your home is ridiculous. Quarters are tight enough on a small boat, and I consider having to stoop all the time down below to be just one inconvenience too much.

There can be had many a heated argument about how a fin keeled boat can be every bit a bluewater boat as a full keeled boat, all you have to do is open your mouth to find every sailor has an opinion on it. I am not going to go in detail about merits of either design, I will say however boats with a full keel are typically designed more suited to bluewater cruising than their fin keel design brethren. The cutaway forefoot is the best of both worlds, most of the strength, stability and tracking qualities of the traditional full keel, while still having the maneuverability of a fin keel.

While I set the limit of spending at $20k, most of these boats could be found much cheaper.

 

Alberg 30's

are in my opinion among the best bluewater boats, and the reason is the designer. You will notice nearly half of the boats on my list were designed by Carl Alberg (Alberg 30', Bristol 27', Pearson Ariel, Person Triton). They are pretty, they sail well, and they are proven bluewater cruisers, what more do you want? Well you might want a tad more room, but all things sailing are a compromise. I would have also included the Alberg 29' but they are a bit more rare, and being a newer design and boat, they typically go for more.  

 

 

    

Albin Vega 27's

are the real sleeper of this group. This Swedish boat when seen in person, it is remarkably forgettable; and to the uninitiated, might even seem a bit homely; the utilitarian, austere look however grows on you, and you soon will see the beauty of the simple lines of this boat. I have heard the early run of these boats had an issue with the compression post strength, if recognized this could be dealt with easily enough.

 

 

 

       

Bristol 27's

are so similar to the Alberg 30' and Pearson Ariel and Triton, that aside from length they could be easily mistaken for one another. The Bristol 27' actually shares both designer and manufacturer to the Pearson Ariel and Triton (Bristol Yachts was founded by Clint Pearson).

 

 

 

       

Cal 30's

are a strong well built boat as is the most the Cal line. There are two Cal's that are 30' the original which was built in the sixties, and the Cal 3-30 which is seventies and later model. Both are great boats mind you, but the older version in my opinion makes a more suitable bluewater boat.

 

 

 

       

Columbia 29's

are actually four different boats, the Columbia 29' 8.7, the Columbia 29' Mk II, the Columbia 29' Defender and the Original Columbia 29', again as with the Cal 30' it is the orginal sixties design that I am highlighting here. I have heard that Columbia's are a bit more hit and miss with the quality of their boats, however I have not heard any issue with the original Columbia 29' design.

 

 

 

      

Farallon 29', Bodega 30', Golden Gate 30'

are all the same boat. Two of my sailing buddies own Farallon 29's, and they are beautiful boats. These boats are heavier and more sturdy than the typical 26'-30', but have the sail power to make them fine sailing boats.

 

 

 

 

         

Islander 29's

were originally a wooden boat called a Wayfarer Islander 29', the hull was flashed (a fiberglass mold was made from the original wooden boat) and the Islander 29' was born, these fiberglass boats even still had the original wooden plank lines in the hull. These are strong well sailing boats, and my only complaint is the skinny decks. The original version Islander 30' shared the same hull as the Islander 29', but had a raised flush deck, and I have heard were not as robustly built, being intended more as a day sailer.

 

 

     

Pearson Ariel 26'

the baby on the list, and if i were to say the Alberg 30' was not exactly roomy, the Ariel is by any definition cramped. That being said, it is a boat with a lot of potential, and the price is definately right. I do not think a Pearson Ariel would be big enough for two, well two might leave on a trip, but I think only one would survive it.

 

 

 

       

Pearson Triton 28'

are so well known in the cruising community that people just refer to them as 'Tritons'. As with the other Alberg designs, space is at a premium. The Triton originally came rigged as a fractional sloop, however many have been re-rigged masthead sloops.