About small motor sailers

[wombat88]

I know this has been covered before but would like to revisit the topic with a little 'added focus'...

I'm looking for a small motor sailer. 'Small' means either up to 21' or up to 26' if I am prepared to spend a further £900pa in my marina. Anyway I don't think there are many, if any, motor sailers around 21' or under.

I know they are much loved but I can't afford a Fisher 25 and I don't want a Colvic or a Hardy.

I'd like a boat with 3' or less draft, an inboard, the ability to dry out upright or nearly so and helm positions both inside and outside. £5-£7k. That narrows it down a bit!

Inevitably performance will be something of a compromise but I'm ready for that (honest) and I also know that I may have to compromise on my list of requirements. It is also possible that the boat may not be the sleekest or prettiest device in the harbour...

I suspect that this sort of boat is not the most loved, consequently there does not seem to be too much info about.

What would you suggest? The one that seems nearest to fitting the bill is the Cox/Priorycraft Master Mariner which looks far better from behind...any opinions?

And yes, if I had won £25k rather than a measily £25 on the Premium Bonds this month I would have bought a Fisher...or maybe even a Haber.

 

[{151760}]

Halmatic 880? I don't think many were made, and I've no idea of prices, but they're certainly a small motor sailer, though bigger than you suggested you wanted.
Why not buy a Corribbee, and fit a bigger engine, a tiller extension and a sprayhood?

 

[Caer Urfa]

This ticks a lot of your boxes and and a solid build http://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=482910
They also sail surprisingly well

Mike

 

[VicS]

I know this has been covered before but would like to revisit the topic with a little 'added focus'...

I'm looking for a small motor sailer. 'Small' means either up to 21' or up to 26' if I am prepared to spend a further £900pa in my marina. Anyway I don't think there are many, if any, motor sailers around 21' or under.

I know they are much loved but I can't afford a Fisher 25 and I don't want a Colvic or a Hardy.

I'd like a boat with 3' or less draft, an inboard, the ability to dry out upright or nearly so and helm positions both inside and outside. £5-£7k. That narrows it down a bit!

Inevitably performance will be something of a compromise but I'm ready for that (honest) and I also know that I may have to compromise on my list of requirements. It is also possible that the boat may not be the sleekest or prettiest device in the harbour...

I suspect that this sort of boat is not the most loved, consequently there does not seem to be too much info about.

What would you suggest? The one that seems nearest to fitting the bill is the Cox/Priorycraft Master Mariner which looks far better from behind...any opinions?

And yes, if I had won £25k rather than a measily £25 on the Premium Bonds this month I would have bought a Fisher...or maybe even a Haber.

Steadfast 24 ?

 

[Seajet]

A Centaur with a sprayhood and an Autohelm 2000 with a remote control would give you a boat that sails well too; a few have been fitted with grp sprayhood / windshields.

 

[CalicoJack]

Island Plastics 24?

 

[oldharry]

Cox 22 (not the 22 Master mariner - nice boat but more expensive)

 

[Greenheart]

Steadfast 24 - very nice, If you can find one. (You won't).

Bemoaning the rarity of small motorsailers, I started a lengthy thread about the Cox Master Mariner, last month...it may amuse you... http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...A310-000-Bargain&highlight=cox+master+mariner

Why not buy a Corribbee, and fit a bigger engine, a tiller extension and a sprayhood?

Pretty little boats...I nearly bought one this summer, but cripes, they're tiny inside! About the last boat I'd call a motor-sailer.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Cox 22 (not the 22 Master mariner - nice boat but more expensive)

Cox - preferably the Master Mariner - is the best small motor sailer once you've removed the Fisher 25 from the list. Don't discount the dinky Colvic Watsons, bags of room and not shockers under sail either, probably a lot better than you're thinking and certainly the best under engine in a hatful of wind.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Why not buy a Corribbee, and fit a bigger engine, a tiller extension and a sprayhood?

I was under the impression that Pandoras were the preferred boat of this type to be fitted with an oversized engine

 

[Topcat47]

A workmate of mine had a Kent 22 motorsailer in Chi Harbour. He went over to the dark side with a Seamaster TSDY just before we lost touch.

http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/classifieds/kent-class-motorsailer/kent-class-for-sale.htm

This isn't "it" but it's the same class. I'm NOT endorsing it BTW. I was less than impressed with the one he had.

 

[{151760}]

I was under the impression that Pandoras were the preferred boat of this type to be fitted with an oversized engine

Good idea!

 

[{151760}]

Pretty little boats...I nearly bought one this summer, but cripes, they're tiny inside! About the last boat I'd call a motor-sailer.

My tongue-in-cheek point was that you can motor in comfort in almost any boat. A large sprayhood with lots of transparent material allows for a sheltered steering position.

 

[rotrax]

I know its not about SMALL motorsailers, but First Mate and I changed to a 12 metre one last May. It is 4 feet longer and a little wider than our previous aft cockpit yacht.

There is ABSOLUTLY no comparison to being in a draught free pilothouse to an open cockpit no matter how good the sprayhood.

We have only put our oilies on once this year while sailing our new boat, berthing in the rain in Chi Marina. We spent 117 nights on board and covered almost 1500 NM.

My direct experience, for what its worth!

 

[LadyInBed]

If you can't find a Steadfast 24 then a Swin Ranger 22
http://www.topsail.co.uk/boat.php?refnum=1559
I don't know where they get Cox from, as far as I know Cox never had a hand in them.
I had one for 15+ years
http://montymariner.co.uk/photos/puffin/

 

[Jcorstorphine]

I have a small hand knitted Motor Sailer called a Seafairer 21 which is basically a motor cruiser with an added keel extension and Bilge Keels plus about 500 kgs extra ballast and a 40 HP Ford 1.6 l diesel. The total sail area is about 170 ft sq.

I would never try to sail to windward but with the wind on the beam it makes good progress and makes the boat steady even in with a beam sea.

Here is a link to a video with a good breeze with the Genny set and the engine running very quietely at 1500 rpm and the wheel on Autopilot.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/schiehallion-ii/30798032830/in/dateposted-public/

 

[catmandoo]

why not try a catfisher 28 ?

 

[ghostlymoron]

Why not buy a Corribbee, and fit a bigger engine, a tiller extension and a sprayhood?

A Corribee is about as far from the required spec as its possible to get. Cramped, no engine, very wet in a seaway only popular because Ellen McArthur owned one as a youngster.

 

[wombat88]

Many thanks, interesting responses indeed!

I wonder...it is as if the market for small motor sailers falls into two groups. The first are comparatively inexperienced and see such a boat as a solution to all sorts of problems, like getting wet, cold and even making passage. The second group are more the 'done it all before' mob who now accept that their ambitions (restricted by age) are best served by a floating caravan which they can motor down to their favourite beach for a glass of wine or two and then drift slowly back under sail...

The key to the choice of a boat may lie in deciding whether one wants a MOTORsailer or a motorSAILER. I suspect I'm after the first. As we all know there are some great boats at this size but I'd suggest that motor sailers don't really get into their own until they are much bigger. I have some experience of a big Nauticat but that is another world entirely.

The combination of shallow draft, inboard, wheelhouse and a mast within 20 something foot is not necessarily a happy one.

 

[rotrax]

Many thanks, interesting responses indeed!

I wonder...it is as if the market for small motor sailers falls into two groups. The first are comparatively inexperienced and see such a boat as a solution to all sorts of problems, like getting wet, cold and even making passage. The second group are more the 'done it all before' mob who now accept that their ambitions (restricted by age) are best served by a floating caravan which they can motor down to their favourite beach for a glass of wine or two and then drift slowly back under sail...

The key to the choice of a boat may lie in deciding whether one wants a MOTORsailer or a motorSAILER. I suspect I'm after the first. As we all know there are some great boats at this size but I'd suggest that motor sailers don't really get into their own until they are much bigger. I have some experience of a big Nauticat but that is another world entirely.

The combination of shallow draft, inboard, wheelhouse and a mast within 20 something foot is not necessarily a happy one.

Wombat-PM me if you would like information on a very nice Steadfast 24 motorsailer which is for sale by a member at our club in Gosport.

The boat is very well presented and AFAIK ready for use. It is NOT expensive.