This recreational lake -- Is there a suitable sailboat?

Question

Buckeye Lake has an average depth of about 6 feet with a maximum depth of about 14 feet. It has a relatively flat bottom without much underwater woody cover. It is a recreational lake of 2,847 acres located in a state park with many 4, 6 and 8 foot depths.

It seems to be more of a motor boat / fisherman type of place but due to it's closeness to home, I am wondering what is the largest sailboat (length, draft, interior space and anything that I didn't know to ask) that would be suitable for this type of lake, if any, sailing dinghies included.

Also, what concerns me is the depth of the water in the dry season of the summer time when boating would be most enjoyable for me in Ohio.

It's about 10 miles from home and the closest place to me for any boat.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/watercraft/tabid/2512/Default.aspx

This fishing map is the closest thing to a chart that I can find.

>>> http://www.buckeyelake.com/map/pub220.pdf

Any advise is welcome.

Thanks.

.

Answer 1

I used to sail on a lake in Ontario simalar to yours. It was a 21 ft. sloop with a movable keel. This type of keel allows it to be sailed in shallow water where you may hit stumps etc, which i did often! Dont use a large sail boat with a fixed keel unless you know the depth..You may consider a depth finder. Good luck.  PS...I never took any sailing lessons. I bought a boog on sailing and read it as i sailed down the lake. Pretty scary EH? LOts of fun!!!

Answer 2

I've been sailing  a 17-foot keel boat on a local lake with similar characteristic and under similar circumstances for the past 12 years or so.   As with you, the majority of boaters are not sailboats, but pontoon boats or small fishing skiffs.   However, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a sailboat.    Certainly there are some coves, I'm not going to venture into as far as a pontoon boat will, but most of the lake is still open to me.    It doesn't matter if there is 1 foot under your keel, or 100, to enjoy the lake as long as your boat floats.   Towards the end of the summer, there is  usually less than 6 inches of water under the boat when I pull into the dock, and in some really low years, the keel has even plowed through a bit of silt to get back in.  So what?

One of the things that helps me sail with confidence is that it is a swing keel boat. so I know that if I get stuck or the water goes down, all i need to do is crank up the keel and and I have an extra 2 feet to work with.

This boat is defiantly the best value I've ever had.  I bought it used with a trailer for 2.5K over a decade ago, and have probably put less than $500 into it since then.    However, it's still light enough to be towed with a mid size car and since it's a keel boat I can enjoy it when the water is too cold to even consider a dinghy.   Unlike a dingy, it will sail 4 comfortable and on a few occasions I've had 6 on board, yet its as easy as a dingy to sail on my own.  I store if for the winter and take it out and launch it in the spring with no thought in between.  It's only about 20 minutes to rig, launch and be off sailing.  I also feel confident to go out on calm days knowing I can just enjoy being on the water.

I think so many sailors miss so much because they get so paranoid about depth.    From what you've said the bottom is unlikely to hurt most boats if you should run aground and with a swing keel or centerboard, its so easy to deal with that if you do.    Even when I'm sailing in the Bahamas on a 33-foot boat, I'll often sail all day and rarely have water over 14-feet and find some beautiful shallow anchorages with nobody around.  Sure there may only be 1.5 feet under the keel at low tide but as I said earlier, as long as the boat is floating, who cares how much depth is under it.

From what you've said a boat similar in size  17-19 feet  might make sense for you, but you need to look more at what you'd like to do.    If you will not have a slip, you need something easy transport rig and launch.   Do you want to sleep out at night from time to time?  - then you might want to go with something a little bigger.   What's the towing capacity of your vehicle?  Do you want to take other people out?   These are all things to consider.

I had one year, that I tried a lake about an hour away, but I found the small lake similar to yours so convenient at only 20 minutes, that I used it so much more and have kept the boat there ever since.

There are a lot of used, small keelboats with trailers that are very affordible to purchase and will likely require little upkeep.  I teach a sailing class that uses the above mentioned keelboat and several small lazer-sized dinghies.    I'm thinking of getting rid of all the dinghies in part  because they are less adaptable, more expensive in the long run, are not as appropriate in many weather conditions.    

There are many boats to choose from including:  West Wight Potter, Catalina, Vagabond, O-day, Precision and Hunter

Buying a used keelboat is much like buying a used home.   Don't get caught up in curb appeal.    Don't get too worked up about the condition of the sails, paint jobs,  old tires, or trailer lights not working.  These are easy, cheap fixes.    Structural damage to the boat, an engine that needs replacing or major trailer work however, can end up costing quite a bit.

Answer 3

I wouldn't sail a keelboat at all.  You should look for a 20ish foot boat with a swing keel; most of them have a keel-up draft of less than a foot, keel-down draft of 3-4 feet, and you can control the amount of keel down, depending on depth.

Both Catalina and MacGregor have multiple versions in the 20-25 foot range.  

You could go with a smaller keelboat, but if you're going to be daysailing (not using a mooring or slip), a larger swing keel dinghy would be the way to go.  It's much easy to trailer and launch.

I sail a Hunter 170 on smaller lakes (in area, not depth) with plenty of success.  Haven't had the cojones to take it up to Winnipesaukee yet...it's like playing on the freeway... 8D

Answer 4

I have fished and sailed on Buckeye Lake before, and it has its good and bad points.  I had a 19' Lightning class sailboat at the time that drew almost 6 feet with the centerboard down.  I found a lot of stumps in the lake with that boat!  It is slightly un-nerving to smack a stump in the middle of the lake.  Many sailers have a spring arrangement on the c/b cable to prevent it from slamming back down hard after it hits an obstruction.  Small dagger board boats won't have this problem unless they are in noticably shallow areas.  Week ends can be very crowded, with some real idiots out there.  Guys with more money than brains like to race their big power boats from bar to bar.  They really churn up the water, and make for some anxious moments.  Some (not all) don't have any respect for sail boats, and certainly don't know the rules of the road.  Mid-week isn't too bad, less people there.

I seem to remember some cabin sailboats on the lake, but most are day sailers types.  I'm planning on taking my Snark there this spring and check things out.  I sailed Deer Creek last fall, and had no problems with water levels.  I would think any boat drawing less than 4' would be fine year round.

Answer 5

I have sailed a DS-16 on Lake George in the Adirondacks.  It is a 16' centerboard daysailer equipped with a cuddy that has a small v-berth.  Drafts just about 4' +/-.  Easy to rig & launch, handles nicely.  Tows like a dream behind my pickup.

Sailing w/ 4 adults is too cramped, a couple w/ a small child works very well though.  At LG the girlfriend and I load it up & take it to an island for a weekend of tent camping (sans kids).  

I just got the B343 which is 4 hours closer to home.  (Kinda makes the tent obsolete also).  But my sister & brother-in-law are planning on taking the Diller Schwill from the north end of the Lake to the south as a way to celebrate their 25th anniversary come August.  About 30 miles from end to end with innumerable places to stop, hike, camp & fish.  3 or 4 relaxing days I would imagine.

Anyway, check out DS-16 group on yahoo for more on  sailboating for the minimalist.

(Actually, sis just called from the lake house.  Today the Lake is hard, skies are sunny & blue, and people are snowmobiling & ice fishing.  Not too many ice boats anymore.)

Answer 6

My Suggestion is a MC Scow...it can be single handled, has bilge keels for shallow draft,can take a crew of two more for playing around the lake. I have sailing in Ohio for years in several lakes with similar qualities as you described. The plus of the MC Scow is that it is an actively raced one-design, which insures marketability if you decide to change to a different boat.  Indian , Cowan lakes have MC sailors. I am sure they would take you for a check ride. .

http://www.mcscow.org

Answer 7

The Melonseed by Crawford Boats is the way to go. 14 feet, incredibly beautiful, a centreboard, very stable, lots of storage for gear including tents and coolers, etc, very fast, easily trailerable, can handle whatever the winds want to give you, in heavy or light airs. Other boats will be heading for shelter while this one will keep going. The beauty of the boat, though, inspires awe and its handling confidence. Google the Melonseed and see for yourself is my advice.

Answer 8

I would think a 10-12 foot sailing skiff or dinghy would be appropriate for this kind of lake.  Fairly lightweight, quick and easy for one or two people to transport and launch/recover. Perhaps even something like this 11 foot sloop rigged boat...  http://www.glen-l.com/designs/sailboat/g...

Answer 9

I would say a Catalina 22 with a center board would be a good choice to use on Buckeye Lake as it can be trailered and can be a cruiser or a racer and is a very responsive boat that still has room to rest in. Also there are a lot of Catalina goups in Ohio and if you get adventursome  and travel North to the big pond (lake Erie) the Catalina 22 can hold her own up here.

Answer 10

I recommend the O-Day Mariner. It is 19 ft long and comfortably sails with four adults. It sleeps two in comfort.

It also has a great following and National class.

www.mariner.org

A great boat well equipped should be about $3,500.00      Do a little research. You will not find better for less.

Answer 11

Hmmm...

There is a pretty huge list of boats with shallow or "Shoal" draft.

Lots with swing keels too...dinghys such as Wayfarer or CL16

DS20...Halman..small Irwins...

I have a C&C Mega 30, I can pin my keel at 1ft, 3'-6" and 5'

so one of those would work as well.

Try an internet search for

"Sailboat" + "Shoal Draft"

"Sailboat" + "Centerboard"

see what comes up.

Good luck.

Answer 12

There is one thing you really want to consider here: if you run aground what are the damage levels going to be?

Any Keel boat carries a lot of momentum and an impact can cause untold damage to the structure of the boat.

A dinghy is much lighter, if it's made of fibreglass you may not have to much damage, I've seen timber daggerboard dingies written off by one rock though.

I would seriously recommend a plastic hull if possible, very light and virtually indestrucatble, maybe a hobie or something? after that it's personal preference.

But heres what you really want:

A centreboard.

A centreboard pivots on a bolt located in its casing. This means that should you run aground (presuming your moving forwards..!) the centreboard will simply slide up into the hull.

This means you can spend more time enjoying yourself and less time worrying. One thing to note, you should fair te centreboard to get a reasonable level of friction so it will stay down without any lines, but come up upon impact and not cause structural damage.

I'm not sure you can get one of these, but I seriously recommend a GP14 as perhaps the best all purpose dinghy around.

Hope that helps

Peter