Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
Hi Guys & Gals Super excited to have made my first purchase on a C250 never sailed before so I’m thrilled to be on a big but fun learning curve... when I started looking at the sailboats I was thinking I would live aboard one day to do the passage of time, however I think I got ahead of myself the big 42f ers were so expensive, I looked and looked, had my heart set on a Catalina kept looking between 30-42f took me about 6 - 8 months of trotting around Australia back and forth to Sydney... Over here the market I would say is flat boats tend to hang around a long time unless well priced. I looked at boats in the 30-40f range $50k - $150k borrowing more money put me off especially since I was still busily working and time was a huge factor as I’m not quiet ready to pack my house yet, I finally came to a decision partly because what you get dollar value for a boat just was not weighing up for me, by chance I had been glossing over Catalina’s under 30f never really looked at them but I did keep seeing a few time and time again as I trolled through the boat pages for sale there were 2 x 270 older 1994 and this 250/2005 model. Well I kept going back looking at them on the net after viewing a few at $80k C34MK11 inSydney. I thought on paper/internet this little boat ticks all my big boat lists of what I want on a boat at the present moment (big boats had some things and not others) After returning from Sydney keen on a couple of bigger boats I thought heck I’ll just trot down to Brisbane and check this C250 out .... Well I have to say Wow a whole lot of boat for not big dollars which I was super happy about , actually delighted #128513; So after I pottered around on it I signed my life away and bought it pretty much on the spot! 23k I was more than pleased... BTW that’s a good price in Australia it’s so expensive here for everything. I still did a survey a week later she passed with flying colours It has a diesel 9.9 in-house steering, Daviits for a dingy, a 3.3hp Merc outboard for the dingy and a little dingy blow up thing that hangs on the Davits Shower on the transom and I’m putting one in the head Engel 35l fridge 12v set up Solar Tick tack wind , Raymarine depth, Garmin GPS Rigging 2015 Antifoul 2019 Other bits and pieces Bimini princess seats hood cover etc Well my first Sail was epic I’ve been doing you tube lessons and I’ll take myself off to the sailing club to do join in with some crew I’m doing the long range VHF radio course too I’m just loving this it’s so much fun Anyway happy to meet you all and sorry for the long winded story #128513;
Wow Donna--you jumped in with both feet! But happily, not in the "deep end", which a 30-42-footer would have been for an inexperienced solo sailor. The smaller the boat, the more quickly you get the feel for using the wind, maneuvering (especially around a dock), handling the sails and lines, avoiding unintentional jibes, etc. Everything is very much the same on a bigger boat, but the learning curve is steeper and the costs of mistakes much higher.
On that subject, I can hardly recommend strongly enough getting a few lessons from an actual person--ideally a certified instructor (I don't know who in Australia). You'll pick up things that aren't so intuititive, get some important feedback, and cover topics on safety and handling unexpected conditions (including anchoring). Youtube is great, but the personal touch adds a lot.
That's an impressive C-250, with davits, an inboard, etc... "Good on ya" for getting a survey. I'm curious about how you plan to rig a shower below...
Welcome to the community! You have a few Ausie mates who have participated here recently--Graeme Bishop (Boomeroo) for example. We in the USA are always excited to hear from other parts of the world!
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Ditto on the Congratulations...you found yourself a beautiful boat...just be prepared to fall in love with her all over again every sailing season. Also as you seem to have discovered, there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum so don't hesitate to ask questions or examine mods that others have explored to improve handling, ease of use, storage, etc. And never apologize for being long winded....some of us in the northern latitudes facing the upcoming long winter months rely on the input from those in the more southern climes to get through. So please keep us posted of your adventures. Best to you.
Donna, ditto on the congrats. We followed a similar course to yours. Two summers ago we chartered an afternoon on a sailboat while visiting the San Juan islands in Washington State. It turned out it was more of a "learn to sail" than sitting back and watching someone else do it. After that, I couldn't get it out of my mind, and by the next spring we had found a 1995 250 in fantastic shape (right here in the Swap Meet) and bought her. We took a formal 2-day course closer to home and haven't looked back. The 250 is well behaved, although we have managed to scare ourselves occasionally. She is perfect for us, allowing us an overnight stay once in a while and fun day sails from our home port on the Columbia River and (via the trailer) back in the San Juan islandns. Like Gerry said, feel free to be long winded. Our sailing season is starting to wind down so a good story or problem solving helps during gray winter months. Enjoy!!
Just noticed your link to photos in the gallery....nice.
So first question...there are no registration numbers on the bow as is common for this sized vessel here in the states. How is registration handled there or is it a documented vessel with your Federal "Coast Guard"?
Hi All thank you for your warm welcomes and sharing your experiences With regards to a few questions the shower I was thinking of trying to rig up my hot water camping shower the aqua cube mount it somewhere on the side and run a long tube into the water tank to pump the water will have to see the plans to check out how far the water tank is away from the head Interesting with the registration here motor boats display their numbers on the side however yachts just display the ship name you just put like a small car sticker on for rego in the cockpit We were thinking of sailing her this weekend back to Mooloolaba from Scarborough it’s been fab weather however it looks like the forecast is saying it will blow 15-20knots swell 1-2m so I’ll reassess that tomorrow Speaking of weather our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been affected by Dorian it looks like a huge atrocity, frightening ,... I hope everyone stays safe as possible Thanks again for all your kind wishes I’ll post some more on the weekend hopefully #128522;
By the way, is she the wing keel or water ballast (centerboard) version. (I'm guessing a wing.) If you add "WK" or "WB" after the "C-250" in your profile signature, it could help with answers to some future questions. You'll see that in other people's signatures.
Wine bottle on the bridge deck... Nice touch!
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Hey guys heck went to Sail from Scarborough to Mooloolaba 25-40 knots stayed on the boat Overnight it was crap no sleep bang bang ting ting x 100 of other boats at the Marina wind shocking but happy to be at the Marina and no roiling just squeezing of fenders - hey this is gooood compared to some I was happy! Just not in the morning when it was full of dust and smoke from bush fire ... so I read today it’s a catastrophic stratospheric Antarctica condition at the moment causing majors westerlies melting our ice ... claiming that the ozone hole is apparently getting smaller however this is the warmest temp recorded in Aus this time of year since 2002- Man we need to help do our thing to preserve this beautiful native world #127758; we have- everything helps even if super tiny it’s all good... so long and short is I’m going to see how tomorrow is ... might get to Sail tomorrow however fam comittments like birthday school parties for my son heck one must do... I’ll get back.... I’m loving these challenging not so challenging times compared to health gold! So until next time love you and leave you fingers crossed I get this boat home too Zielke have so man6 plans that I want done tomorrow lol!
I don’t know the last sentence it was mumbled by my spell check it plain looks weird! It definitely would of been something profound at the end like ... live well stay safe and do what life presents without hesitation .... ( except sailing in 30-40 knots in the Pacific Ocean save that tiill your an amazing sailoress)
A night on the boat and your first mod....off to a great start.
Just looked at your intended journey to Mooloolaba (great name)....looks like a beautiful area but 80+km in open waters...plan carefully and have fun, but stay safe...AND keep us posted.
quote:Man we need to help do our thing to preserve this beautiful native world
30-40 kts?? I hope you have a couple of reef points and you're using the 2nd. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, oh my.... This is not the conditions for a novice. Please stay put until things settle down. Things break and people get hurt (or worse)...
Rule #1 of cruising under sail: Do not do it on a rigid schedule! (That also applies to cruising under power.)
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Hi All Well happy to report we did the passage on Sunday it was crazy on Saturday super gusty so when we woke up Sunday and the wind had dropped to SE 10-15 knots we thought right let’s go! So up at 5am for final set off from Scarborough at 7am .... it was glorious! A couple of scary gusts 25knot came through which shunted the boat sideways and no control over the rudder but as we worked out they were coming we only had that happen a few times. Luckily no swell. It’s a glorious little passage stuck close to the coast line headed out from Scarborough bay over to the southern tip of Bribie island close enough to see the nippers at woorim beach doing their thing on a brisk Sunday morning.. in retrospect the thing I would do different is get further away from the coast lines I feel like that’s when you cop big gusts from the land. As you travel north cruising the coastline of Bribie Island you can see the gorgeous glasshouse mountains, in due time your nearly at the southern pumistone passage/ pelican waters which you can now see the buildings of Caloundra the water is a beautiful emerald green blue and the sails a riding on a close reach with this southerly wind pushing us along. It was not long till we went past Moffat beach and you could see point Cartwright ahead that’s when things got hairy we were close but heck the wind picked up to 20-25 knot and a couple of reefs in the mainsail helped but it was not long when we aimed up to point Cartwright bar and crossed pulling down the sails. Made it! 2.45pm and we were entering Mooloolaba now just to find a free camping spot for Atica wind 25-30knots now but it was not long till the sunset came and the wind backed off, cracked some bublbles after anchoring up and making sure she was safe and packed away, sat on the deck enjoying what was a remarkable day what a feat! So exciting and that sunset rewarded us! I’ll attach a few pics
Fantastic! What a great sea trial for your new (to you) boat. How many of us can claim having sailed in the Coral Sea? And... (after googling it) I now know what a nipper is...
...And... (after googling it) I now know what a nipper is...
So what did you find? (Google gave me nuthin’.)
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Ahh... as in “little nippers.” I was thinking of some sort of shore birds...
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.