You might think £30,000 sounds like a lot of money for a ‘starter boat’. But tracking down a comfortable and seaworthy yacht that’s 30 foot long, less than around 40 years old and capable of taking a crew on coastal cruising trips costing less than £30,000 on the second-hand market can be a challenging project.

It’s stating the obvious, but sailors who are happy with smaller yachts have far more to choose from.In the days before the ‘smallest’ new starter boat became a costly 30-plus footer, many builders used to offer popular ranges stretching from 20ft to 32ft.

But if you are looking for the best 30 foot boats within a £30,000 budget, you will have to start delving into the realms of older yachts.

14 of the best 30 foot boats

Westerly Centaur

Those looking for smaller GRP starter boats – myself included – often settled on the ground-breaking 26ft Westerly Centaur. Between 1969 and the early 1980s, 2,444 were built; outselling any other British production cruiser.

To a large degree its success stemmed from the exceptional space, headroom and comfort that it offered in its day. Three layout options were available and – more by luck than judgement – I bought the most popular.

It had a twin berth forepeak, enclosed heads compartment, L-shaped saloon settee with drop-down table, linear galley to starboard and twin quarter berths aft. Thanks to designer Laurent Giles’s thorough tank testing, the Centaur’s twin keels also broke new ground.

The Westerly Centaur Viento Seco

These tests showed a substantial loss in efficiency when keels were aligned exactly fore and aft. So the…