About small motor sailers

[Jim@sea]

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.

Although I have owned a Nauticat 33, I have also owned a Colvic 24, And note what you say about not wanting a Colvic. But when my Colvic 24 was on the hard in a cradle it was parked next to a Fisher 25 and I noticed that at a distance the Colvic 24 did not seem 1 foot shorter than the Fisher 25.
So as both boats were out of the water I measured them. Although I did not have a tape measure I put some rope on the waterline of both and the Colvic 24 is longer than the Fisher 25. Reason. the Fisher has the rudder hung on the transom and the 25ft included the width of the rudder whaereas the Colvic 24 has the rudder underneath which is not included in any length measurement.
Personally I would consider a Colvic 28 as long as it is well sorted. Unfortunately these Colvics were originally powered by BMC Diesels and and engine parts are virtually unobtainable. Some people have re-fitted ISUZU engines and if you can find a re-engined one you could get a decent boat at half the price of a Fisher 25.
PS I saw a Fisher 25 at Liverpool Marina in a cradle and the whole hull under the water line looked as if it had smallpox, whereas in this case it was Bigpox, being osmosis. On the Colvic 24 there were about 10 "blisters" easy to treat.

 

[LittleSister]

As this thread has taken on a new life I should mention the LM24 and LM26.

The LM24 is the smaller sister of the LM27, and very similar - good sailing performance for a motor-sailer; excellent build quality; can be steered from the wheelhouse (some open-backed but most in the UK enclosed) or by tiller from the cockpit; Scandi style decor below; myriad clever little touches and features; cockpit canopy as standard creates an additional 'room' (and yet more berths if required) of the cockpit, but rolls away in moments; canoe stern, shallow draft long keel with separate rudder; usually Bukh 20hp motor (ample).

The key difference from the LM27 is there is no separate forecabin (but does have separate heads). The saloon table slides up the mast support post to lie flat against the 'ceiling', leaving the saloon clear to provide a surprising number of berths (can't remember exact number).

There aren't as many of these around as the LM27, but prices seem very reasonable, perhaps partly because they're not well known, and also that people wouldn't be expecting the amount and quality of accommodation it provides from a 24 footer.

In the pic below there is a LM24 in the foreground (2 cabin windows) and an LM27 (3 cabin windows) a couple of boats along (and another's canoe stern in the background).

The LM26 is a more modern version of the LM24 - a bit longer (26.6ft); snappier styling; a more 'yacht' shaped hull; fin (a few bilge) keel; and saildrive. Pricier than the LM24, and not many of them in UK.

 

[Refueler]

Searider Yachts of Poole took a workboat hull and created the Searider 24 and Sunrider 25 ... both mistakenly said to be the fore-runner of the Colvic 26 ....

But you can pick up a SR24 or 25 for such money as quoted and usually they have a decent sized engine and they do actually sail quite well.

Here's my SR25 :



You can have fin or bilge keel. Mines bilge keel and draws 90cm ...... weighs about 3.7 ton full on cruise.

This is her at back of my house :



She's tough ... hull is 50mm solid GRP ... I know - cutting for speed log destroyed 3 hole cutters getting through !!

I have no worries sailing anywhere across / around / in Baltic ... back in UK - she crossed channel ... its a real seaboat ...

Even if I buy another larger boat - she will stay with me ...

 

[Refueler]