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keensailor said..Planter said..
? Cygnet 20,built here in Cardiff NSW ?
See one on the Lake,with gaff rig = manageable spars .
thanks, looks much the same
The Baycruiser 21 is a direct competitor to the Cygnet 20. although they are built on different sides of the planet.
I own a Cygnet 20, but have not seen the Baycruiser 21 in the flesh, although I have looked at it on-line.
If I can avoid a my-boat-is-better-than-your-boat death spiral online, here are some of my thoughts ...
* I genuinely hope the Baycruiser 21 is as good as the review says
* You would expect the principle of competitive pricing to even out the costs between the Baycruiser and Cygnet. Buyers should watch out for "extras" that are really essentials (e.g. does the price of the Baycruiser include the trailer or the outboard?), and taxes (VAT in the UK and GST in Australia). The Baycruiser needs transport costs and it might also attract import duties
* I am very impressed by the build quality of the Cygnet, which is a really solid boat. I hope the Baycruiser is as good.
* For me, the "sweet spot" for trailer sailers is around 20ft, which is where both boats sit. When you have launched and retrieved dozens of times, you'll want something smaller. When you have slept on board, you'll want something bigger.
* Both boats have water ballast, which makes towing easier
* Both boats have spacious cockpits, which is nice for when friends and family come along for day trips
* Both boats claim easy rigging and de-rigging, but its not easy to make a comparison. The Cygnet is a gaff rig with carbon spars, which are nice and light and mean that you don't hoist the (heavy) sail with the mast. When I started, it would take me over an hour to rig and de-rig, but I have reduced the time to, maybe, 20 minutes with practice (and packing it away properly). Even so, I usually allow an hour to do all the odd jobs for preparation, parking the trailer, using the local toilet etc etc. The Cygnet is certainly much more ergonomic than my old, worn out Bermuda-rigged Austral 20, which had an impossibly heavy mast and a mess of stays to get snagged on something during rigging
When you put these factors together, you realize that the target demographic is the older male, with some money to spend on a nice new boat, owns a good towing car, can't be bothered to weight-lift things into position, doesn't need to win every race, has other interests and commitments away from the boat, will probably spend more time sailing alone than with company. Which is where I sit, along with many other Cygnet 20 owners.