# chrysler boats



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Does anyone have any info on chrysler sailboats?


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

In the 1970''s, quite a few large corporations went into the sailboat business. (I''ve always figured they needed the tax loss.) Chrysler was one of them. Chrysler built a widely diverse line of daysailors and small cruisers. Build quality on the daysailors was quite good and for the most part they were nice little boats. 

The small cruisers were not as well built and relied on some poorly constructed proprietary parts for some key components (rudders for example). They also did not sail as well as some of their contemporaries being a little tender and ''corky''. 

Jeff


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello,
I believe the history goes a little more like;
When Chrysler decided to get into the boat building industry in the 1960''s, Chrysler bought out a company called Lone Star Boats and took up production of these under it''s own name after a while they started producing there own line of boats. Jeff is quite acurrate on tthe smaller boats. 
On the larger sail boats they engaged Halsey Hershoff to design them and i would be willing to wager that you can''t find a breathing soul that owns one who isn''t head over heals in love with it.
I will agree with Jeff that the rudders were there weak spot, that could have been a better design, I made my own rudder out of steel and glass and it worked very well. In my humble opinion they are no more tender than any other swing keel boat and probably a lot less than most. They are 38% ballasted 
and thats pretty uncommon in swing keel boats. I had a 26 and i can speak from experience here. When i first bought the boat i was not pleased with how tender it was, then i bought new sails and learned how to trim the sails in heavy air and the problem went away. As with most swing keel boats you can expect to reef the sails a little ealier than you would a boat that has a fixed keel. 
These boats are not race boats by any stretch of the imagination. There PHRF rating is 290, this means that if you can see the fleet finish you will correct over them. On the other hand they feel very solid on the water. She''ll plow throw the largest of power boat wakes and you will hardly notice. 
If you are looking to daysail or weekend or perhaps a week or two, these are good boats. If you are looking to go around the bouys with the fleet they are not good boats.

If you go to www.trailersailor.com and do a search for Chrysler, then go to the Chrysler Sailing Assoc. They have a wealth of history and other information on these boats.
Good Luck
Dirt


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## jharrison (Nov 12, 2001)

I just bought a ''77 Chrysler 26 last fall and i have really enjoyed it thus far. It is by no means a racer and it is really slow in light wind. I do like it large cockpit and floorplan below. It sleeps 6 which is a lot for a 26. It makes a great party barge for a good weekend out!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

thanks for the responses, I visited the Chrysler sail website and found it very informative.
I have been looking at a chrysler mutineer boat and was wondering about its stability. I now own a 16'' bombardier invitation sailboat. It is fun to sail but tips very easy. Dumped it six times in one day last year. My inexperience probably has a lot to do with it.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello Pallon,
I have a friend at our club who has a Mutineer and another who i race against With a Bucaneer. From what i can gather watching them, the Mutineer seem to have about the same sailing characteristics of a Sunfish. They don''t apear to be tippy at all, but they don''t have a lot of room. The Bucaneer appears to be very stable, has lots of room and apparently sails quite well as he has given us a hard time on several occasions on the race course.
I can tell you first hand that if you want a daysailer that isn''t even a little tippy by a Flying Scot. Thats what i sail now and i love it. I can hang of the rigging over the edge of the boat and it wont tip over. For me that would be a swimming lesson on any other dingy.
Good Luck
Dirt


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I think that the Bucaneer and possibly the Mutineer is still being built by a company in Virginia called Cardinal Yachts. Their phone number is (804) 693-5928.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I HAVE BUCCANEER 488, BLUE AND WHITE ABOUT A 70 MOD. I HAVE A ORIGINAL CHRYSLER (on name plate) TRAILER FOR L.S.13 UP TO A BUCCANEER. I WOULD LIKE TO SALE IT AND I HAVE A NEW JIB FOR A BUCCANEER. I RE RIGED MINE FOR A TRIDITIONAL JIB . THEY ARE GREAT BOATS,LOTS OF ROOM , FAST, STABLE, I F YOU ARE INTERESTED CALL 817 341-1950 TRAILER 250.00, NEW JIB 175.00 THANKS JAMES COFFEE


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I HAVE BUCCANEER 488, BLUE AND WHITE ABOUT A 70 MOD. I HAVE A ORIGINAL CHRYSLER (on name plate) TRAILER FOR L.S.13 UP TO A BUCCANEER. I WOULD LIKE TO SALE IT AND I HAVE A NEW JIB FOR A BUCCANEER. I RE RIGED MINE FOR A TRIDITIONAL JIB . THEY ARE GREAT BOATS,LOTS OF ROOM , FAST, STABLE, I F YOU ARE INTERESTED CALL 817 341-1950 TRAILER 250.00, NEW JIB 175.00 THANKS JAMES COFFEE


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I had a Bucaneer for about a year. It was fast but we turned turtle several times. We had a lot of fun lake sailing. It was a mountain lake and usually we lost it when sailing by a cove where there was a sudden wind shift. It was fairly easy for me to right by standing on the daggerboard. It would balance well in high winds by dumping the main in gusts. I had been sailing a laser and it handled simularly though I couldn''t single hand it in high winds. We bought a larger boat so that we could sail in winter. During the summer turning turtle just gave the kids something to talk about. It would be a different experience in January.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I am looking for a Chrysler 26,. preferably west coast.

Thanks,

Richard


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