Should I buy the 23/IV?

[Aunt Bea]

I just returned from the sailboat show in Annapolis.  I came to see the Eclipse, but fell in love with the 23.  I am looking for a "weekender" more than a daysailer, but am concerned with the launchability and amount of hassle involved with rigging the boat for use.  My questions for you 23 owners are:
How do you currently use your boat?
Do you have trouble finding suitable launches to accomodate the keel?  
Do you leave your boat in the water all the time?
Has anyone created a mast-raising system to make this easier?
I plan to trailer this boat all over the US, is this a problem?

Thanks for any advise, tips, etc.

[CaptK]

Hi, Aunt Bea, and Welcome to the forum...

I don't trailer my 23, so she stays in the water all the time, and I do love the boat. Weekenders and longer trips are certainly possible. Singlehanding the 23 is very easy, the boat is responsive and forgiving at the same time.

There is a member here named Ron Chappell who trailers quite a bit with his 23, and he also has a mast-raising rig he can share with you to help with that aspect.

[Bob P.]

My wife and I purchased a new 2003 23/3, which I think was a prototype of the 23/IV. It is sweet.

We leave ours in the water all year long on Galveston Bay. Seems to
be fine (highly recommend Epoxy bottom coat though). Most folks seem
to think that trailering is no problem. Only drawback is the mast raising time ~1.5hrs, which means you'd probably want to keep it in the water
a while after rigging (>1 weekend).

My wife and I are going to spend a week aboard her at the end of Oct sailing GB. Will report out when we get back.

BTW, the hutchins crowd are fantastic.

[Aunt Bea]

The more I read the more I think the best option is to leave the boat in the water, except for those times I want to travel.   I met Rich at the boat show and he was such a joy.  He said he has a mast system he can put on the trailer.   I don't know if this is new or not, but I want all the help I can get with the mast from my experience with other day sailers of the past.

Thanks for your responses.

Aunt Bea

[Bill]

Aunt Bea,
   I bought a used 23 about six months ago, and I have trailered it about eight times.  Lowering and raising the mast is something I think, that takes two strong people without some sort of mechanical assist.  The first couple times were crazy enough that I found the article about making a gin pole with tackle setup ( I believe it is Ron's, mentioned in another post on this thread).  The good news is now I can raise and lower the mast by myself, and it is really easy!!  I can lower or raise the mast in the water at the dock, but I usually do it on the trailer.  I can give you details if you want to try building your own.  Cost for me was about $150 in materials.
   The other issue, that I am still experimenting with, is the bunks, or wobble roller placement.  I strongly feel that the guides have to be set up properly to keep from having to dunk the whole trailer in the water.  I bought my setup used, so I don't think the guides are set up properly.  I now have some good ideas as to where they should be, so I think the guide issue is easy to fix with experience.  Seems to me, though, if you are getting a boat from the factory, that the guides would be set up pretty close to perfect.
   Those are the only two big issues I have run into so far.  The boat trailers better than other boats I have had.

Bill

[Craig]

Aunt Bea,

I feel like a broken record, but I will share my opinion (as a CP 16 owner) on trailering a 23.  I have sailed with a friend on his 23 and it is a nice cruising boat.  For weekending it is GREAT!  The actually launching is not hard.  The shoal draft makes floating the boat a snap on either a ramp designed for sailboats or with a tongue extension on the trailer.  Retrieving is a slightly different story.  The boat is big and heavy and really takes two to get it on the trailer.  For me, setting up the rigging and taking it back down and securing it for trailing is too much to designate this boat as a trailer sailor.  The 23 is a trailerable sailboat.  If you are going to rig a boat every time you sail buy an Eclipse.  If you are going to put the boat at a mooring and trailer it a few times a year to different cruising spots and for winter storage then the 23 is great.

Craig

[Chuck]

Hi Craig, I would like to see pictures of yourrig to help raise the mast. My e-mail is chiefchuck70/@hotmail.com if you don't mind sending some.  Thanks, Chuck

[Craig Weis]

A 19 is as big as I would care to trailer/sail.
A 23 has kind of a big stick to be hefting up every time I wanted to sail. If I'm on a dock on the water with the stick going up once in the beginning and down once at the end of the season [November 15th] then enjoy the 23. I heft up the mast and have one person on a safety line looped around the trailer's cleat. This allows me to let go the mast at any point while she is going up. skip.

[brackish]

Chuck, I'm in the process of building a derivation of this one:

http://www.tropicalboating.com/sailing/mastraising.html

Driveway test will probably be this week, have to finish the gin pole step.  I did not buy the MacGregor gin pole but made my own.  However, the Mac pole is a good deal, I think, after comparing it to purchasing the components and putting it together. Will let the group know how it comes out and if it is as good Tom Ray indicates in the article.  The key for me is that it can be done single handed and that it can be done on the boat in the water.  I'm sure calm water is a necessary requirement.

Ironically, it is on the boat previously owned by Aunt Bea.  She did buy the 23/IV back at the beginning of this thread and I bought it from her approximately six weeks ago.  When I asked her about the plan to long distance trailer the boat, she indicated that professional time constraints were such that it was difficult to do.  I don't think which boat would have mattered that much.  She bought a larger, non trailerable, which more more closely fits her needs at this time.  A very nice lady, she and her boat owning partner were of great help during the buying and particularly, the packing up for shipment process.

Frank

[Mundaysj]

Hi Aunt Bea,

I have to agree with Craig.  I keep my boat moored in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  I always say that it is the cheapest waterfront condo in NJ.  )  I spend every weekend aboard her from April through October.

My previous boat was a 16 ft Apollo that I trailered to various lakes every weekend.  I could pull the mast up and have her rigged in about an hour single-handed.  But I have found that I need at least 2 grown men to get the mast up on my CP23.  I would consider trailering her to a fun destination, but in general I like to keep her on her mooring ball.

Best Regards,
Sherie