How big of a sailboat should I buy for Cross Lake - NY

Question

I want to buy a weekender for my cottage on Cross lake - it's in NYS just west of Syracuse. The lake is approx 4.5 / 5 miles long, and about 0.4 miles at the narrowest part...but more like 0.7 miles wide. I am looking at 22 footers - can I go larger b/c I do plan on using it for weekend trips to the finger lakes or lake ontario. My lake connects to the Erie canal.....so I can get just about anywhere I'd like to go.

Answer 1

I am very familiar with the Cross Lake, also, the Finger Lakes and especially the Erie Canal. I kept my 36 footer at a Marina near Rochester on the Canal - for 7 years and then moved down to Buffalo on the Niagara at Lake Erie after that.

What beautiful country you have to boat in. My family and especially my kids (now grown) have very fond memories of boating down the canal to the "Basket Factory" and into the Finger Lakes with all the Wineries and Vineyards...

You are on the right track in regards to your concerns over size.  However, I believe you will be good to go in just about anything you want as far as "length" is concern.  Your real only limitation is going to be "draft".

If I were in your shoes, I would (and you may not like this) but, I would seriously be looking at a small catamaran. - open airy cabin on the bridge deck, no measureable keel to speak of, and very shallow draft - (you can even beach them).

Course, I don't know how your wife takes to sailing - (I know the dog will love it. lol)

However, in a catamaran you also have no heeling, so, the wife can fix your lunch on the boat without having to stand at a 20 degree angle - and you can eat it without having to set at one. (just a thought).

So, if your question is actually how big can you go - WOW!  I would say you just don't want to go so big you dewarf the lake... lol

Your "draft" is really the only concern.  I ran those waters in a 36' with a slightly less than 6' draft for almost 14 years total, and never had a real problem (moments of absolute panic - and times of extreme concern - yes!) but never any damage.

WOW!  What wonderful memories - and what wonderful boating!

Who knows - with the right boat - you and your two crew may decide to take off and make the tour of "the Great Loop"... someday...

Happy & Safe Boating!

My place:   http://boatwrights.org/

Something to think about:   http://www.multihull-maven.com/Multihull...

Answer 2

Given all the information you have provided, I'd go with a larger boat than you're thinking of right now, but I'm thinking used as opposed to new.  First I think a swing keel will serve your needs better.  Secondly I considered a 22' Catalina but since you have access to Big water, I'd go bigger, say 25' or even 27'  depending on your budget.  I learned to sail on a similar size lake in a 24'Kittwake and it was not to big.  There are a lot of Catalinas on the market and are trailerable, so you can pull it out for tha winter and park it in the yard.  Good luck, and may the wind be at your back, Happy Sailing!

Answer 3

Personally I'd look at the Hunter 27.  Sweet ship huge cabin, fairly nimble and fast and still trailerable.

Answer 4

the one bit of information not provided is the depth of the lake and this would be of extreme importance with a sail boat. I just saw a chart that shows the mean depth at 5.5m and the maximum around 18m so you should be good to go...

the others who have provided you with info seem to be on the right track but for those who of us have power boats all I can honestly say is...what the heck do we now about sailing!

you'll enjoy the time spent on the water at least so welcome to the wonderful world of boating and don't forget to take a safety class!

Answer 5

at least a 10 footer

I would not recommend a sailboat in a lake because the Keel will hit bottom, a Houseboat would be better

Answer 6

Jason,

I would recommend a Catalina 27'.  You can pick up one quite reasonable, in either an outboard or inboard.  The older ones are still quite reliable.

I would go for the fixed keel, they will draw 4 1/2 to 5 foot of water, plenty of room for weekending or even a week's vacation.  Anchor out, and dinghy ashore as needed.

Lot of fun to be had out there, enjoy.

Answer 7

i would not recommend getting a Hunter! I know several families who had huge problems with these boats. Our slip neighbors owned a hunter 35 and it sunk in the slip, our other slip neighbor's rudder cracked, and another slip neighbor's mast fell off. They are built very poorly =(

My family owns an Island Packet 37 which is a great boat!!!

I would recommend a Beneteau or a Catalina:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/b...

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/b...

These previous two links are older models, which are more budget-friendly. I'm not sure how much you want to spend on a boat.