24 ft. c&c sailboat

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C&C 24 1983 Review: My experiences after sailing her for two weeks.

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Very beginner friendly for inexperienced crews which means it is easy to teach how to handle all the lines and instruments to newcomers;
Spacious and comfortable interior;
What I feel are good sailing attributes, I could hit and maintain hull speed without too much difficulty;
She can deal with pretty much any wind and has a really good turning radius, if necessary she can tack almost as tightly as a dinghy;
Worry-free outboard;
Good air circulation when the hatch is open;
The big ice box; and
Significantly under budget.
The head setup leaves a lot to be desired in terms of it being a porta-potty under the v-berth but the 1983 can be modified so that you can empty it without removing the holding tank;
The galley is a bit tight and I am personally not a fan of the alcohol burners setup, I do not think I will ever use it while under way;
The winch system for the sheets is a bit difficult to use and can be tiring over long periods of tacking if the helmsman is not careful, I could see it being problematic for a day of hard sailing single or short handed;
The hull can get really hot;
The owner's manual is really sparse in useful information (but I would recommend it nonetheless for what there is);
Limited electrical power (space for two 12 volt batteries unless you want to modify the setup) and the electrical systems are really not accessible; and
Limited storage, once all the safety and sailing equipment is secured, I would say that there might be 100 liters of storage across multiple spaces left, maybe 150 if you are better at Tetris than I am.
Make a new companion door;
Make a new dinette table;
Upgrade the winches;
Install a second 12v battery;
Install a 'cigar' type plug; and
Modify the head setup so that it can be emptied from the outside.

What have you got for a 6 month update? I am looking at purchasing a 'starter boat' and the CC 24 is on my list (mainly because there are some for sale here in Nova Scotia). Thanks

Congratulations. One wrap on the jib sheet and over sheet hauling it in by hand. Set your course and ease until the main is full. No winch needed on a 24. Not needed on the C&C but on the short cruisers with a fuller keel over sheeting to the wind ward side once you get the bow past the wind will speed your tack.

Deluge said: Hello everyone, This spring I bought my first sailboat after doing quite a bit of research and came across this forum quite often. I noticed that while searching the internet, the most recent reviews of the C&C 24 were between 10 and 20 years old. I figured I would post my experience here so future buyers might stumble upon this information in their own search. Now enough of this preamble. Who am I? I am 31 years male. I started this boat buying journey about 7 years ago by taking a dinghy course (with my wife). I always rented and over the years the biggest boat I sailed was the Surprise 25 but most of my time was spent on Ynglings for the past 4 years as I was living in Geneva at the time. Prior to that I had sailed with my grandfather when I was a child but I would not call this 'experience,' other than learning to love the water and respect the boom. To me it was important to demonstrate to myself that I enjoyed this hobby and to learn the ropes on other people's boat before becoming an owner. What was I looking for? A boat in the 12,000-20,000 CAD (Canadian Dollar) range, which would allow me to make three to four day trips and day sailing on my local river as well as up and down the St-Lawrence. Because it was my first boat, I wanted something that was well-taken care of and hoped to avoid an inboard engine as in my price range I was always going to be looking into 25 years + boats and I just did not want to have to worry about maintaining an old engine. I looked at Tanzers and Hunters in the 25-31 feet range. I liked quite a few of them but there was always a hanger up, I also was buying in the 2021 Winter and so many people were willing to buy boats without visiting them (I assume because of the pandemic's effect on demand) which meant I could never get a survey or even see them. Eventually I found my C&C 24 for 7,500 CAD. It included a custom-built trailer, a relatively new 4hp outboard in good condition, an autohelm 800, radio, brand new cushions, head, solar panel, and all the rigging and sails. The boat was extremely well taken care of by its previous owner but had suffered a crack in the gelcoat after a collision 20 years ago which deterred many buyers. After inspecting for no internal damage, we agreed on the price and here I was with my first boat. She received quite a bit of modifications over the years (for example a traveller was added) so I am unsure what is entirely stock and what is not. She no longer has her dinette table and the companion door is long gone, having been replaced by a sheet of plywood. How is she? I put her into the water using the trailer and raised the mast using a lever system in the parking lot of the club. It was... interesting and involved me diving under the boat to free the keel. Let's just say it will be the last time I do that and the only reason I did so was because of my eagerness to get her into the water but it is feasible if you have an appropriate ramp (even with mine we hit the rocks and mud, so the trailer got stuck but luckily there was enough water). Next year, the club will have the cranes to do it in a less janky fashion. The transition from rigging a dinghy to the C&C 24 was really good. There were a few points of differences, but overall I felt I had the knowledge to do so myself along with use of the internet. Putting her in the water and rigging her took one weekend. Since then I have sailed her about 8 times, in winds as low as 4 knots and all the way to 16-18 with gusts of 22-24. I did so with crews of 2 and 3. What I like: Very beginner friendly for inexperienced crews which means it is easy to teach how to handle all the lines and instruments to newcomers; Spacious and comfortable interior; What I feel are good sailing attributes, I could hit and maintain hull speed without too much difficulty; She can deal with pretty much any wind and has a really good turning radius, if necessary she can tack almost as tightly as a dinghy; Worry-free outboard; Good air circulation when the hatch is open; The big ice box; and Significantly under budget. What I like... less (she is perfect in my eyes!): The head setup leaves a lot to be desired in terms of it being a porta-potty under the v-berth but the 1983 can be modified so that you can empty it without removing the holding tank; The galley is a bit tight and I am personally not a fan of the alcohol burners setup, I do not think I will ever use it while under way; The winch system for the sheets is a bit difficult to use and can be tiring over long periods of tacking if the helmsman is not careful, I could see it being problematic for a day of hard sailing single or short handed; The hull can get really hot; The owner's manual is really sparse in useful information (but I would recommend it nonetheless for what there is); Limited electrical power (space for two 12 volt batteries unless you want to modify the setup) and the electrical systems are really not accessible; and Limited storage, once all the safety and sailing equipment is secured, I would say that there might be 100 liters of storage across multiple spaces left, maybe 150 if you are better at Tetris than I am. What upgrades will I make over time: Make a new companion door; Make a new dinette table; Upgrade the winches; Install a second 12v battery; Install a 'cigar' type plug; and Modify the head setup so that it can be emptied from the outside. Discussion None of the areas of improvement are show-stoppers for me and I do not foresee them being a problem while daysailing. Over 4-5 days, I might get worried about crew fatigue if we are doing upriver, upwind sailing. The C&C 24 is, in my eyes, a lot of boat for the money and the areas she is lacking in are a by-product of her size (from my point of view). As a daysailer I would consider her the ideal starter boat. For anything longer than a weekend, I will have to update this post when I try it. So there you have it, a bit of my experience with purchasing, fitting out, and sailing the first sailboat that I have owned. Other more seasoned owners might have different opinions and mines are invariably tainted by my rose-tinted glasses but I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is in average physical shape, has some sailing experience, and enjoys both the sporting side of sailing as well as it's more leisurely side. Going out with the C&C 24 always involves a bit of both. Signing out for now, there is good wind and I am going sailing again. I will take a few pictures to share in this post. Best, Deluge Click to expand...