"The next boat" - Some trailer sailers considered , Princess 18

I was soon thinking of a boat with more capabilities than the Fatty knees 8.

Every boats a compromise they say, there are just so many different types of boats out there that to the uninitiated it could be very confusing. The main thing is to ask yourself, what and where will i be using the boat for?? I prefer to go slow, (a displacement hull) so that criteria alone cuts a huge number of boats and costs out. We like sightseeing, shallow and sheltered waters, beaches, tropical nights and snorkelling but still want to cross the rough stretches to get there. There have been allot of  "the next boat" conversations over the years, so this time the "next boat" was to be

• Trailer sailer
• Sloop rig (Jib and mainsail, nearly all sail boats in the 12-24 ft range are anyway)
• Big enough for a family of 3
• Not too expensive, economical to run, minimal maintenance (fiberglass)
• Have overnighting capability, ie bunks, cabin and basic amenities
• Shoal draft enough with swing-back centre-board to get a second chance with underwater rocks and groundings, plus access shallow creeks and anchorages
• Good cabin ventilation, cool in the tropics
• Stable, self righting
• Tow-able behind a 2.7 liter tray-back ute (pickup truck)
• About 18-20 foot long

It had to be big enough  but light enough to tow.

From online boat adds, It seems like the epicentre of present day trailer sailing in Australia is around the Gippsland lakes in Victoria, there's always more boats ( and everything else) in major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane

There are a number of trailer sailers that are a bit too heavy for my tow car and or too far away, they are noted for future reference.

• Sunmaid 20s, shoal draft swing centerboard keeled sloops. But all these were interstate and the cost was about twice that of the 18 footers below.
• Jedda 22 twin keelers online, they are designed for cold southern tidal conditions.They have nice clinker style fibreglass hulls and raised deck cabins. Some have internal diesel engines and look very seaworthy. 
• Boomerang 20s are another popular TS down south

Two small trailer sailers

1. Hartley TS18 but these nice boats are for the wooden boat fraternity. I often dream of going there again but the present reality is where is all the spare time gone?? So it had to be fiberglass in order to be of a yacht-like shape and reduce maintenance time.
2. Compass Careel 18 was a contender but most were far away, the older and cheaper Mark 1 versions had no sliding hatch, they had a mast support post and center-case in the cabin too. There are later mark II and III versions and the price went up for these popular boats.

3 trailer sailers for sale in Townsville

After much investigation and research, in mid 2013 i spotted several trailer sailers for sale locally.

1. A Comet 20  (aka Nomad 20) , 
2. Princess 18
3. Investigator 563. 

The Comet 20 was a bigger heavier boat than the other 2. It had a center case right in the middle of the cabin, it got in the way when you went below. i suspected the mast was a bit heavy as the owner had never raised it and used the boat as a cramped motor launch. 20 foot does give room for an internal cooking stove such as the maxi 2-burner meth-spirit one aboard.

PRINCESS 18

The Princess 18  is a very good lightweight design weighing in at around 500 kg. It won an Australian design award. Its a raised deck design with flush deck, very shallow draft under 12" and flat bottom for upright beaching. The cabin is roomy for such a small boat, because of the raised deck and the fact that there are twin centerboards each hidden in a bunk side casing. This feature along with a mast support arch opened up the interior greatly. The transom is narrow but somehow there's a huge storage lazarette in there. Three hatches   a main hatch, fore hatch and lazarette hatch opened into the interior creating almost unheard of cross ventilation - i think very important for the tropics. There was also room for a  portable-loo and small cook stove in the cabin, in the space between 2 fore-peak berths and 2 quarter berths.

The very shallow draft with boards up is a strong feature. It can be easily launched in very shallow water and dries out upright when cruising.

On a raised decker, the cabin sides extend out to the gunwales. This may make it look a bit too boxy for some tastes but the cabin is great for lounging around and the wide deck would be easy to walk forward on.
One feature commented on in a boating mag article was the lack of an anchor well on the fore-deck, the main anchor is stored aft in the Lazarette and carried forward with chain and rope. The Princess 18 magazine article is located on John Crawford Marines online boat library which is a great research resource. I'm not sure about the self-righting stability of the Princess 18, the hull and under water shape is based on the Finn dinghy. These are pics of a very good condition princess 18, not the one that was for sale in my area.

A Princess 18 takes to the ground nicely and the shallow hull would be easier to launch on any tide.

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Princess 18 roomy interior. Large fore peak berth and cooking area.

Prncess 18 layout - the quarter berths have about 1/4 in the the cabin, 3/4 under the cockpit seats. Large Lazarette has a small center-line hatch.

Princess 18 seemed like a good design would have gone for it but the boat for sale in my area had de-laminated foam core fore-decking over a sizable area, how hard or expensive foam core de-lamination is to fix i don't know. Also overweight homemade davits loomed large on the small transom and the standing rigging was in poor shape and would have needed replacement. The mainsail luff was on a bolt rope and i preferred luff sliders (to keep the sail on mast when lowered in strong winds).