TRAILABLE CRUISERS
We pick four of the best boats you can hitch up to your car for more convenient adventures
Brothers Alek and James long to go coastal cruising in a yacht big enough to have their respective families along for a few days, but they can’t afford the boat and a year-round marina mooring.
They’ve decided the best way is to find a yacht that they can tow back to their works yard for the winter – saving storage costs and allowing them to maintain and upgrade her in the winter evening and weekends without having to travel to the coast.
They’d like a boat with four 6ft+ berths, a sea toilet and shower, a reasonable galley (although they’ll mostly eat dinner ashore) and a cockpit with plenty of space for four adults when sailing.
They also want good stability, so as not to deter their partners or kids, and want her to be light on the helm and easy to handle so that everyone can take control.
Finally, they would prefer an inboard diesel engine over an outboard, purely for the convenience, motor-sailing performance and the ability to charge a reasonable battery bank.
Their budget is £80,000-£100,000, but they would like that to include all extras such as safety kit, instruments and a good dinghy with outboard if possible.
Both versions are 9/10ths rigged with swept spreaders and an adjustable back stay. Under sail she performs like an overgrown dinghy. She’s fast off the mark, quick to tack and yet stiff enough not to heel excessively, especially with the deep fin. The jib sheeting angle is fine, allowing her to point well up to windward without losing speed. The Performance rig offers a flat-head mainsail with another 3m² of sail area, which really gets her flying.
Below, an inner hull moulding runs the full length of the boat and neatly forms all the furniture. With 1.7m saloon headroom, she boasts five full-length berths and a short (1.47m) sixth one on the starboard settee. Neither the fore or aft cabin have doors, although it’s an option aft.
The saloon table pivots out of the way when not needed and can be detached and moved to the cockpit. A compact L-shaped galley has a sink with hand-pumped cold water (70L tank) and a two-burner spirit stove, although hot/cold pressurised water, oven and fridge are all popular options.
The head aft has a portable loo as standard, but a sea toilet with holding tank is optional. Headroom is limited, so showering would be a sit-down job, but there’s a handy rail for wet oilskins. She comes with a 9hp Yanmar saildrive standard, 15hp upgrade optional.
The W8 is just about trailerable, and a mast-lowering system can be ordered if that’s an option you’d consider. However, she weighs in at 3.5T dry, meaning she will definitely require a powerful towing vehicle.