advice for buying a Seawych?

[gavinr]

i'm considering buying a well used seawych and would welcome any advice from people who know the boats or have experience of them on what to look out for or areas that could cause future problems?

 

[NickRobinson]

I had a Seawych as my first ever sailing cruiser. Lovely intro to sailing.
Try for roller reefing on the jib (Sails off an Enterprise fit well BTW)
Check the keels for grounding damage. Any swelling or rust stains raise alarm bells as the ballast is mild steel stampings (in mine at least.) Look for staining in the lockers above the keels too.
You can lower the mast on your own without gear, just extend the forestay and lower from the cockpit.
You can tow behind a mid-size car using a flat bed car trailer.
The engine is important- probably worth more than the boat! Hear it running.
VicS may be along in due course-

 

[VicS]

i'm considering buying a well used seawych and would welcome any advice from people who know the boats or have experience of them on what to look out for or areas that could cause future problems?

Almost without exception sold as kits for home assembly and fit out so standard of of original assembly and interior fit out are very variable, but generally very sturdy with good deck fittings etc

Check condition of the rig in general... many will have been modified from the original swept back spreaders and cap shrouds with 1 pair of lowers to squared off spreaders and two pairs of lowers.

Original Barton roller reefing boom leaves a lot to be desired but it is easily converted to slab reefing.

Original Cooney furling spar with halyard returning down the spar rather than back down the mast was not the best design.

Look very carefully at the "beam" across the cabin top for signs that the wooden reinforcement inside is giving way ( rotting) allowing the whole lot to sag. Replacing the wooden beam is possible but an unenviable task.

Also look at the rudder. They, maybe only a batch or two, appear to have been assembled with mild steel screws, which rust, and glue which is not adequately waterproof. Although the transom pintle and gudgeon appear adequate the rudder fittings are a bit flimsy and can fail if the rudder starts falling apart or the screws rust away. There are published designs for better rudder fittings

Look at the keels for signs of damage. The ballast is mild steel and will rust with disastrous consequences if water gets in. Replacement protective keel shoes are available

Lots of advice always available from the Owners Association. There is an owners manual which is available in hard copy or by down load from the website. Also a modifications manual. Fibreglass locker tops to replace the original ply ones are also available.

Dont end up chucking too much good money after bad on a bad boat. From time to time good ones appear on the market. I know one , still owned by the original owner, that will probably be on the market this year complete with private Chichester harbour mooring due to ill health.

Mine: .......................................

Me on mine:...............

 

[gavinr]

thanks for the info, much appreciated. i'll let you know how I get on.

complete with private Chichester harbour mooring

don't tempt me! I grew up on Hayling sailing and windsurfing in Chichester harbour out of MRSC, I still miss it very much, an amazing place to sail.

 

[NUTMEG]

Great first boat. Fond memories of mine, now sadly cut up. The chap I sold her to left her unchecked on a swinging mooring, she broke free in rough weather and battered herself to bits on a sea wall. Sad end to a good old boat. Snapped a keel off and sunk.

Have fun, got me hooked on this silly hobby.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

a seawych was my first yacht. i found it quite roomy inside and cosey. I redid all the headlining when i had one and replaced the electrics. the mast came down twice because the forstay kept failing. i found it a forgiving sailer so a great starter but it was very slow which is why i sold it, then moved onto an intro22 now jeanneau sundream. at least the seawych was substantially cheaper to run compared to my other boats. Vic and the Seawych owners association were very helpful during my ownership

 

[peteK]

It was my first sailing boat had it for 15 years everything what every one else has said including being slow.I fitted a skeg which stops it tipping back and gives it more directional stability when on a swinging mooring.
Powered it with a 5hp Mariner and the small charge current was enough for frugal use of the battery.

 

[gavinr]

Thanks for the advice all, it would seem that I’ve now become an owner of an early mk1 seawych.

 

[Teko]

Looks like a very tidy boat, there's a very 'tired seawych at fareham that never gets sailed

 

[VicS]

Thanks for the advice all, it would seem that I’ve now become an owner of an early mk1 seawych.

Congratulations

Sail number ?

 

[peteK]

Thanks for the advice all, it would seem that I’ve now become an owner of an early mk1 seawych.

The mark 1 was grey and white with slightly less ballast than the mark 2 which was red and white.

 

[VicS]

The mark 1 was grey and white with slightly less ballast than the mark 2 which was red and white.

All but the very early boats ( up to about sail number 78 or 79 when the ballast and sail area were increased ) are Mk2 but it was not a distinction made by John Sadler. Rather an informal distinction made by the Owners Association

The red and white boats came much later. I beleive the first had just been completed when I bought mine, which is SW408, in 1977

 

[Tranona]

All but the very early boats ( up to about sail number 78 or 79 when the ballast and sail area were increased ) are Mk2 but it was not a distinction made by John Sadler. Rather an informal distinction made by the Owners Association

The red and white boats came much later. I beleive the first had just been completed when I bought mine, which is SW408, in 1977

Yes, mine was 404 and was, I think the second red hull. When I ordered mine they were still grey and I seem to remember John calling me to check if it was OK for the boat to be red.

 

[gavinr]

picked up the boat today, she came with a very comprehensive folder of old paperwork including the original build plans which I was delighted to find. her sail number is 48, Wych-Craft seems to be her original name and from what I can gather she was built in Bristol in 1973.

...and now the fun and learning begins! ; )

 

[thepadd]

I have sail number 323, grey top and white hull (now painted blue). Great cheap entry to sailing, people love the red sails!

 

[conks01]

Mine is sail number 513, a red and was also called Wych Craft but now named Dolly. I bought her in 2016 as my first boat and have enjoyed cutting my teeth on her. She's moored at Burnham-on-sea.

I'm ashamed to say that I finally went down river to see her today for the first time in over 6 months, the pandemic plus a back problem curtailed earlier jaunts.

She's holding up well. I purchased a Westerly pageant 2 years ago and have been slowly refurbishing so the Seawych hasn't had much attention but hopefully will be used more this season.

 

[Gixer]

There was a guy in our club who sailed one from the south coast of the uk to the Med and back via the french canals. Now there’s a challenge!

 

[UK-WOOZY]

my first cruiser too was a seawych before the intro 22 and current boat. I had the seawych called Bewyched for about 3 years. found it quite roomy inside, cosey with everything you need for a weekend away. i did the club races in mine a few times but was always last of course. they are cheap now and forgiving for learning in, i had sailed dinghys before and so not much bigger.

oopsies, just realised i replied to an old resurrected thread that i had replied to before already lol, sorry

 

[Praxinoscope]

I would echo those who emphasised checking the keels, a friend had a SeaWych a few years back, it was a nice little boat to sail, but he failed to repair some damage to the bottom of the encapsulated keels, the ballast rusted and expanded eventually cracking the hull apart.

 

[Tranona]

Exactly what happened to mine, many years after my ownership. Then owner repaired successfully, but a horrible job, even worse than the original ballasting of the keels.