Good landings

A boat that takes the ground provides greater freedom and opens up more safe havens

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The first sailing cruiser I owned had a fixed fin keel which was great while at sea, but I only wanted to mess about around the coast and, of course, I was very restricted as to where I could land.

I needed a marina, mooring buoy or anchorage and a tender to get ashore. The beaches were not available to me to land on. Can you imagine the Vikings sticking a fin under their boat or Captain Cook trying to land on tropical islands with a fin keel to careen and attend to his hull?

And what about the Thames sailing barges that, with no engine, would deliver goods all around our coast?

These would land on beaches in places like Broadstairs and Hastings to deliver coal and get off again with the next tide.

Unless you're a serious ocean passage type of sailor, I'd suggest that having a boat that can land safely on a beach is the best option if you want to experience the freedom that small boat owning can give.

I've recently seen a beautiful long keel Rival 32 with a newish engine for sale on eBay for just £6,750. That's less than I paid for a used Drascombe Lugger. The Rival is very tempting, but I'd never use her full capabilities and she'd not fit my intended use, so is not the boat for me.

Logistics

Landing on a beach is not without its problems, however. You need to know what the ground is like before landing, but how do you do this when the tide is high and you can't see the beach? Then there is the matter of surf. How do you avoid broaching? Once you've successfully landed, what will the conditions be like when you want to float off on the next tide? And how do you get off when the incoming tide is pushing you further onto the beach? But all these things can be overcome with good seamanship, patience and experience.