I grew up in Cairns and we used to go up to Mossman on weekends and swim in a beautiful sandy swimming hole on the river just north of the town

It was really popular with heaps of people there every weekend and as far as i know no one ever saw a crocodile there

Then someone decided to put up a sign saying 'crocodiles may inhabit this area' and all of a sudden the place was deserted with only the local aborigines continuing to swim there

The sign was enough to put some doubt in my mind and stop me from going in for a swim where i had been swimming for years

At the time the crocodile signs were put up everywhere around Cairns so i don't think it was triggered by sighting but it was just a arse covering exercise by the authorities in case someone got taken

Regards Don

The rl24 has a tiny cabin, but is fast.
Is, or close to the smallest cabin on a 24'

The Careel 22L as mentioned is the careel 22 you want to look at.
I have the C18. The best and most beautiful one that ever came out of the shed. Famous she is, on the front cover of Cruising Helmsman January 1983 (does anybody out there have a copy of that magazine?)

But is certainly not what your after in the sleeping department.

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Maxbicyclemax said..
The rl24 has a tiny cabin, but is fast.
Is, or close to the smallest cabin on a 24'

The Careel 22L as mentioned is the careel 22 you want to look at.
I have the C18. The best and most beautiful one that ever came out of the shed. Famous she is, on the front cover of Cruising Helmsman January 1983 (does anybody out there have a copy of that magazine?)

But is certainly not what your after in the sleeping department.

Checked out an RL24 yesterday and yes it is a quite tight cabin. Really designed for sailing rather than cruising. Do like the inboard outboard though...Seemed a bit high asking price for the lack of equipment anyway: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/pialba/sail-boats/yacht-rl24/1101023855

In trailer sailer talk it's called "the outboard is in a well (outboard well)"
A few have it. Like everything there are advantages and disadvantages, you often start them pulling start cord up, some people don't like fumes and you must steer with the rudder.
But they look nice and the weight is in a better spot.
Mine is transom hung. Which I think is my preference.
And a lot have an ob bracket.

Good luck.

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madmission said..

I also seem to recall that you need to be careful when wading at trailer ramps in murky water , there is a fish or something that can give you a nasty bite to the legs.

I am planning a trip up that way around june for 7 weeks or so and hope to be well informed by then.

Maybe qld should change to "dangerous one day , deadly the next"

Ahahh!!!

Found the reference but seems to be a resident of the whitsunday's ...Thomas The Terrible Toad Fish







www.whitsundaytimes.com.au/news/warning-be-aware-toadfish/2313409/

I will second that recommendation of the Careel 22 long cab (after about build number 20) as a spacious well-handling TS. I bought one about 6 wks ago after a long look around and am wrapped with it. Pop top gives a great feeling of spaciousness, though even with the top down it does't have a closed in feel, the swing down keel box is incorporated into a table with drop down sides and really doesn't get in the way of moving around. The price of a well cared for Careel 22 is also very reasonable ($9000- $13000)
Regards. Greg

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RigilKent said..

Maxbicyclemax said..
The rl24 has a tiny cabin, but is fast.
Is, or close to the smallest cabin on a 24'

The Careel 22L as mentioned is the careel 22 you want to look at.
I have the C18. The best and most beautiful one that ever came out of the shed. Famous she is, on the front cover of Cruising Helmsman January 1983 (does anybody out there have a copy of that magazine?)

But is certainly not what your after in the sleeping department.

Checked out an RL24 yesterday and yes it is a quite tight cabin. Really designed for sailing rather than cruising. Do like the inboard outboard though...Seemed a bit high asking price for the lack of equipment anyway: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/pialba/sail-boats/yacht-rl24/1101023855

Hello RigilKent

have you seen this RL on Gumtree? Might be a good starter boat just to get you on the water.

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/booral/sail-boats/rl24-trailer-sailer/1101543436

I sailed for a couple of seasons on an RL and, from a racing perspective, love the boat. They're simple, responsive, and still quick after all these years. Around the Fraser Coast area, there are heaps of them, and the Bay to Bay Regatta from Tin Can Bay, overnighting at Garry's Anchorage, thence onto Urangan attracts both the locals and plenty from up and down the coast.

As previously mentioned in this thread, some have capsized. They are very tender. The owner of the RL I helmed for that couple of seasons lost his previous boat 'pushing the envelope', as Cisco would say, sailing hard and fast across Moreton Bay during the final miles of the Surf to City a few years back. Happening all too quickly to identify whether they hit a submerged object or the boat just had enough, she sunk in just a few minutes.

Having also overnighted on the RL, they are indeed very cosy! A rainy afternoon and night prior to one B2B race made the cabin a very miserable place. Bit steamy to say the least.

I can imagine your teenagers are quite sizeable? The quarter berths on an RL are very much coffin berths, with little space to turn over. Not comfortable

The outboard well? Not sure about others, but on the RL I sailed on, for racing, the outboard leg was lifted up and a plate put in the hole for better performance. Was a bit of a hassle.

That RL is cheap, though! And B2B is just around the corner

RigilKent and any others interested in Trailer Sailers
I don't know if anyone has suggested this site in the past but I have found it to contain a wealth of information about Trailer Sailers. Google John Crawford Marine Trailer Sailer Library. This site gives anyone free access to everything like copies of original brochures, price lists, specifications, magazine reviews/articles etc of literally dozens of different Trailer Sailers, collected over what looks to be many years from a great diversity of sources. I found it invaluable for comparing the features of the many different types of trailer sailers out there when I was looking for one, the site is not there to push any sales as far as I can see (I don't think there is even any link to their commercial activities). Anyway, happy browsing.
Steady breezes to you...or however you like it.
Greg

Madmission: Yeah that'd do it!
Greg: thanks for the feedback - yes I'm feeling like it is narrowing down to the Careel 22L and the Sabre 22. I do like the bulkhead/concealed loo arrangement of the Sabre. But am yet to set foot inside either. And yes I have downloaded maybe a third of JCM's document library. So useful, and very helpful guy there too.
Selkie: yes those were the impressions I got of the RL24 too. A lot of fun while moving, but not really that comfortable once stopped. And I can see from discussion why the local sail repairer warned me that they can be prone to stress problems from being sailed too hard...

Mind you, I've been contemplating just biting the bullet and going to a 40'+ and living aboard permanently. Forget the rent and mowing... :)

RigilKent
If I had a slightly more powerful vehicle (old Ford V8's are pretty cheap) I would have jumped at a South Coast 25, these look to be scaled-down yachts rather than scaled-up dingies, look them up... separate f'ward cabin, separate loo, great little galley arrangement, space, space, space!. There is an immaculate one down in Vic on one of the popular sites like Boatpoint or similar, I think its name is 'Tranquility'. Wish it was mine.
Greg

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GKandCC said..
RigilKent
If I had a slightly more powerful vehicle (old Ford V8's are pretty cheap) I would have jumped at a South Coast 25, these look to be scaled-down yachts rather than scaled-up dingies, look them up... separate f'ward cabin, separate loo, great little galley arrangement, space, space, space!. There is an immaculate one down in Vic on one of the popular sites like Boatpoint or similar, I think its name is 'Tranquility'. Wish it was mine.
Greg

That is a lovely layout. I can't find anything about the total trailered weight...
Tranquility has sold.

They is a trailer Sailor identified in the forum (with pictures) as a windrush wildfire....I seriously doubt that is one...as the hull shape is incorrect. The WW would be an ideal boat. Add a boom tent and you have all the space in the right spot....easy to tow, easy to sail and and is a fast boat to sail. In cruising configuration would be less than 1500kg......

There is a one is WA with a modified deck that weighs 1035kg empty....

They tend to be good value for money but dont over provision them as with any of the TS's as they are designed only to carry so much,

Always look at budget, your experience, what you are going to do at the end....If you go to sell it...never expect to get back what you paid.....People overvalue boats....

Cheers

Tandem trailer look at a minimum of 600kg.

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RigilKent said..
This one lists displacement as 1723kgs. But how does that relate to the overall weight of the boat? Then I imagine a tandem trailer would add 400?
http://yachthub.com/list/boats-for-sale/used/trailer-boats/southcoast-25/150066

Mega tonne.....fatty bombah.....fat slug.....nightmare ..check for early onset type 2 before buying

RigilKent
Maybe check out Boatpoint.com and look up Aloora MkII (last page), 23footer, standing 5'8ft headroom, separate loo, nearly separate v berth, nice galley, 12V fridge, good sense of space. Made by Ozzy Whittley for his daughter (think: all those lovely Whittley Cruisemasters…and beaut large powerboats) got to be carefully built!. Would be 2T towing so same desire for a cheap old Ford/HoldenV8 (fuel is cheap and likely to be so for a few years at least) The price came down from $23000 and is now $19000 Negotiable. I considered it before I bought my Careel but at the time the dealer was reluctant to drop below $23000. On John Crawford library site.
Cheers
Greg

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madmission said..

madmission said..

I also seem to recall that you need to be careful when wading at trailer ramps in murky water , there is a fish or something that can give you a nasty bite to the legs.

I am planning a trip up that way around june for 7 weeks or so and hope to be well informed by then.

Maybe qld should change to "dangerous one day , deadly the next"

Ahahh!!!

Found the reference but seems to be a resident of the whitsunday's ...Thomas The Terrible Toad Fish







www.whitsundaytimes.com.au/news/warning-be-aware-toadfish/2313409/

Thomas the toe cutter