Hi all,
I am early in the process of selecting a sailboat to build. I'm eager for a day sailer that can hold two to four adults and is cartoppable. I don't intend to ever row the thing: it will be sails only. I have been very much drawn to the Northeaster Dory. At 17' and 800# load capacity, it is probably at the large end of what I need (but still cartoppable). At the opposite end of the scale, the Passagemaker at 11'7" and 650# capacity is probably the smallest I would consider.
As I said, I've been looking mostly at the Dory, however, I'm a bit concerned about its use as a daysailer:
First, the sail area on the dory seems quite small. At 68 sq. ft., it is only 87% of the Passagemaker. How does this impact its sailing performance?
The dory doesn't have any buoyancy chambers. If she capsizes, is she headed for Davy Jones' locker? Is that the reason for the smaller sails?
If not, is there any reason why the Gunter Sloop rig cannot or should not be mounted on the dory? In addition the larger size, I'm also concerned that the dory's boom looks a lot closer to the gunwales than I'd like.
Does anyone have experience with both boats? Which do you prefer?