Is this a good first boat?

[Don C L]

OK, It's a very pretty little boat, but I'll play devil's advocate here too. $69,000 for a 24 foot boat is a lot of money, not just relative to most folks' budgets, but relative to the quality of boat you can get for the same money IMO. As for a first boat, the one issue that jumps out at me is that this design is not very responsive and so does not teach you as well, while you are learning, which inputs generate which outputs. And 24 feet is a small platform (I had a 24' for 10 years) on which to put all the bells and whistles. It is far better to keep as much stuff OFF the boat as possible. I have seen Nor'Sea 27s and Flickas with arches, and solar panels and wind generators and dinghies and propane tanks etc. all attached and I think one will find that is not that tenable once sailing. But people do it, so what do I know?

Now, would I MIND having a Dana 24 for singlehanding? Not at all, as long as someone else bought her for me.

[malbert73]

Well, there is merit in spending more $/foot of boat if:
1. It’s a premium build quality
2. It’s in true turnkey condition
Both 1 and 2 can save you much more money in the long run that buying a cheaper boat (build quality or condition) is often false economy.
The Dana may be both of those. It is a bit small for long distance cruising but Robin Lee Graham circumnavigated on a 24 footer and John Kretchmer did a lot on another small boat (contessa 32 I think)

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Well, there is merit in spending more $/foot of boat if:
1. It’s a premium build quality
2. It’s in true turnkey condition
Both 1 and 2 can save you much more money in the long run that buying a cheaper boat (build quality or condition) is often false economy.
The Dana may be both of those. It is a bit small for long distance cruising but Robin Lee Graham circumnavigated on a 24 footer and John Kretchmer did a lot on another small boat (contessa 32 I think)

Those are all good points. But again, you can buy other boats. A bit larger and more maneuverable to learn on and less than 1/2 the price.
What if the op spends $69,000 and decides it's not for him/her? At $500 a month for slip rent the chance of recouping the original money goes down.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Well, there is merit in spending more $/foot of boat if:
1. It’s a premium build quality
2. It’s in true turnkey condition
Both 1 and 2 can save you much more money in the long run that buying a cheaper boat (build quality or condition) is often false economy.
The Dana may be both of those. It is a bit small for long distance cruising but Robin Lee Graham circumnavigated on a 24 footer and John Kretchmer did a lot on another small boat (contessa 32 I think)

The Contessa 32 is so far above Robin Lee Graham's boat and a Dana 24, it's not even in the same conversations.

That Contessa 32 is one awesome boat with it's rating of around 180 and a Bal/Disp of over 47 plus an AVS of around 158 degrees.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Those are all good points. But again, you can buy other boats. A bit larger and more maneuverable to learn on and less than 1/2 the price.
What if the op spends $69,000 and decides it's not for him/her? At $500 a month for slip rent the chance of recouping the original money goes down.

I was about to post about the first time buyers that sail their "new" boat for a couple seasons then park it and that's about it besides the slip fee and insurance figuring they at least paid cash for the boat.

This is why even though I had lots of boating experience I went for a lower priced boat as I knew it would be an adjust sailing a slow monohull. (and I'm still adjusting after 10 years sailing/cruising the thing locally)

But my first sailboat was a Hobie 16 which I paid just $300 less than what I paid for my Good Old Bristol 27 Bluewater Cruiser.

Both have been fun but sailing/racing a fast boat when you are in your 30's is a blast especially with your favorite female crew

H16's can hit speeds of around 26 knots so wipeouts/pitchpoles can really add to the fun....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIZhNviIar4

[gonesail]

that is a beautiful boat. built tough and able to take to the wind.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by gonesail

that is a beautiful boat. built tough and able to take to the wind.

But probably not too good going to windward whereas that Contessa 32 mentioned earlier can go to windward in heavy weather....

[JPA Cate]

Whiteoil, in the boat buying business, it is rare to find an example of a boat that is cherry, and really ready to do whatever you want it to. According to the blurb you referenced, the owner's care for her in the past is shown by some of his/her choices: the flex-o-fold prop; the chain anchor rode; she was outfitted for lots of exploration. She is a pocket cruiser, and as such, if you like cosy, she's a little gem. She may be over priced, but her owner may be the kind of person who will be glad to help you with questions over time. She just oozes cruising aspirations to me. It will be you who will decide if she will be your all time cruising boat. The pocket cruisers wind up being little darlings of the fleet, and the bigger boats invite them over for luxuries like ice cubes and more space. If you're the kind of person who has seriously considered a "tiny house", it will probably be a good fit. And she probably doesn't need a furler. At sea, you will have already come down to the staysail before it gets lumpy enough to worry about going forward. Reefing the main can be done hove to on starboard tack, and will stabilize the boat.

Ann

[JPA Cate]

If your real question is, is this a good first boat, well, it depends.

Thomm225 has made a good case, I think, for a much less expensive boat, and there is much that he wrote that I agree with, including something implicit in what he wrote, but not actually spelled out, which is that if what has drawn you to sailing is sheer excitement, that is probably found more in light, high speed catamarans, and not in short waterline length monohulls.

The question of initial expenditure is really tricky, because you do want a together enough boat to be able to sail the heck out of it, because that is how you'll learn her, and about what you want, if you decide on a cruising lifestyle. It might be edifying for you to see why the current owner put her on the market. They clearly had cruising aspirations.

In our case, my Jim had come up through various trailer sailers (and I still think that is a good way to approach the situation). When I met him, he had a Yankee 30. We took her to HI and back from SF, and he decided that sailing all the time at 15 degrees of heel was too tiring for a cruising boat, that he wanted a boat that was initially stiffer. But by then, he'd been sailing and racing the trailer sailer (a Cat. 22) for a number of years. IMO, it takes a solid basis of experience to decide what you want for the type of sailing you would like to do.

This Dana is small enough you could trailer her to the Great Lakes and do some wonderful inland cruising, too. She may even have enough stowage space for a trip to HI from WA.

In our early cruising years, we met a number of young couples cruising on boats under 24 ft. in length. And just a couple of years ago, a couple on a French Django, a modern 24 footer, in the go-fast tradition. It and the Dana are as different as chalk and cheese!



Ann

[letsgetsailing3]

Another way to go that would cost you a LOT less would be to get something like a Catalina 30 to learn on.

Bigger boat, a LOT cheaper, if you break some things on it you can fix it, and you could likely sell it in two years for the same thing you pay for it.

Then you have some money for expenses and the inevitable upgrade you'll want in two years...

[Kd9truck]

Go for it! You will figure it out, we all do, I would say look for bigger, I like the between 33- 38 ft size for the big enough to be your forever boat and small enough to be a great first timer, But I bought a 28 footer than after 2 years jumped to 45 feet. So there’s that.

[Jim Cate]

I will add my opinion: I too think that it is a huge price for a starter boat, especially a very small one (in long term consideration). The Dana is a sort of cult boat, perhaps similar to the BCC. The upshot of the cult is an exaggerated price for what you get. A beginner shouldn't IMO be joining a cult group, for he knows not what he is getting into... in so many ways!

There are heaps of suitable boats to choose from. Others have mentioned the Yankee 30, an S&S design produced in the late 60s through the mid 70s. I owned one for 7 years and did around 25,000 miles in her. Racing in the SF bay and nearby ocean, crewed and single handed, lots of coastal cruising and as Ann mentioned upthread, a SF to Hawaii and back round trip. A sweet sailing boat with no bad habits (like most S&S designs), reasonable accommodations, a simple but powerful sail plan (at least in the Mk III like mine), and off shore capable as evidenced.

And usually available, for there were some~150 of them produced... and a really nice one with a diesel upgrade usually goes for <20,000 USD. I would take one in a heartbeat over the Dana and reserve the balance of your funds for the future.

The above report does reflect some prejudice, of course, for I really liked Dominique, and had some great adventures in her as I learned my trade as a sailor. You could do a lot worse!

Jim

[AKA-None]

A good first boat sails without major repairs and costs no more money than you are willing to [emoji91] burn

[Celestialsailor]

I would highly recommend the Yankee 30 also. They were built on the west coast and were active sailors. S&S design and built strong. They can be had for $8K to $18K. Just have it surveyed first and look for deck problems.

[Don C L]

When first starting out I think it is easy to be enamored with the way a boat looks without much concern for sailing characteristics. As nice as a Yankee 30 is from a sailing standpoint, it is probably the look of this Dana, and reputation, that is capturing your heart. Which is ok, and if you don't mind spending that kind of money, if it makes you happy then it is the perfect boat. It is really hard to love a boat that doesn't capture your heart in some way. As you sail more, what captures your heart may change. And that is ok too, if you can afford it.