Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve ordered the Pretty Gee. She’s a Telstar 28 trimaran, like the ones I had a chance to sail this summer. She should be ready in mid-February, which is very fitting, as my late wife Gee, who the boat is named for, was also born in mid-February. I’ll be picking her up in late-April, and putting her in the water in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.
Last week, I took a trip down to Maryland to pick up a load of things I had stored at a friend’s house. While I was there, I stopped in Annapolis and ordered the boat. There are a few changes I want to have made to the basic boat, to make it more suitable to sail shorthanded. The main change I want to make is having the halyards and reefing lines led back to the cockpit of the boat.
The builder is Performance Cruising, Inc. They also make the Gemini catamaran. My friend Paul told me his parents had a Gemini. The Gemini is a bluewater-rated catamaran. I think the Telstar 28 is also capable of bluewater passages, and I’ll find out next year.
The anchor I’ve decided to get for the Pretty Gee is a Rocna. I’m ordering the 15kg model. It should be enough to hold in even the worst conditions.
One thing I’ll have to decide is whether I want to drive down and pick up the trailer, and then bring the trailer up to Boston first, and then fly down and sail her up to Boston. Or I could load her on the trailer and trailer her up to Fairhaven. Right now, I’m leaning towards sailing her to back to Fairhaven. More on this later.
I’ll post more about her as I can. Will Hershfeld, from Performance Cruising, has a video he took sailing a Telstar down in Florida. You can see it here.
Hi Dan:
I have read your comments on the T28 with great interest. I purchased hull 320 in Nov 2005 and am currentlly sailing her out of St. Marys GA. I trailered down from Annapolis and it was an experience. I think sailing your boat to the Boston area in May will be a test. I assume you have had blue water sailing experience. If you decide to trailer it I recommend getting a load leveler anti-sway hitch. Will purchased the Equal-i-zer hitch for me and he and Tony installed it for me. They were able to buy it cheaper than I could and having them install it was a blessing. Even if I never use it again it was worth it, but if you decide to take the trailer up without the boat on it and only plan to use the trailer for short hauls or storage then you wouldn’t need it. BTW, I got the 50 hp motor because I felt I needed it to deal with the tides and currents in this area. It may cost me a half a knot of speed under sail but so far I have not regretted it. It would be nice if we and other T28 owners could form a network to share experiences and ideas. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have based on my limited experience with the boat, but hasten to add that I am still learning..
Tragically we have something else in common. I also lost my wife to cancer.
Regards,
Jerry
Hi Dan,
I too, am very interested in the Telstar. I first got to see the Telstar at the Miami boat show last year. In fact… after seeing the boat, I ordered one. However, after having time to think about it, I got cold feet and backed out. At that time they hadn’t sold any boats and it just didn’t seem like they had all the bugs worked out. Anyway, I ended up buying a much smaller mono hull. That was a big mistake and…. it’s for sale . I’m back thinking about the Telstar. My wife and I are retired and we want to do some extended cruises. We are trailer sailors and I think that the Telstar with the mast raising system would make trailering to new sailing areas possible. I see that you ordered yours equipped with a dodger and bimini. Have you actually seen a Telstar equipped with the dodger? The last I heard, it was still in the designing stage. If you have seen one I would be interested in its design. Does it attach to the bimini and does it have a removable skirt? I have enjoyed your writings and your reviews on the Telstar and look forward to hearing more.
Regards.
Terry Poling
Havana, FL