"an attractive bilge keeler"

dancrane said:
Have you seen one in its party-hat?

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The party hat (conservatory? shed?) does have the advantage of drawing the eyes away from the hull!

Seriously, though, I don't think the Buckler is the sort of thing the OP is looking for, but I dare say one could have a lot of fun in one. It's probably quite a practical boat (if you can live with the withering looks from other boaters!).
 
MikeBz said:
Sadler 25 if you can stretch your length limit by a foot...
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Romeo said:
funnily enough one of my other friends got one of them in a similar situation. Great boats. But I don't think the extra foot will be tolerated.
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The Sadler 25 is actually only 24' 4" LOA, so if the powers that be could be persuaded to accommodate the extra 4 inches. . .
 
Surely the Sandhopper is an open keelboat? I thought the OP was looking for a yacht, whose accommodation isn't very important? Open keelboats are charming and capable, but they're really dayboats.

D'you have a Buckler, oldmanofthehills? I'm really not back-pedalling desperately when I say that I've often envied people on these boats. There are plenty of modern designs which have abandoned slick lines in order to improve comfort, but not one of them ever achieved any style or character by so doing. I think the Buckler looks comfortable and versatile.

I'm intimately acquainted with a 40y/o racer of conventional design and the same length, and her cabin space is deplorable.

The Buckler is great! :encouragement:

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Kukri said:
Sandhopper (bilge keel Squib).
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Best looking boat suggested so far?

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Bit on the short side though. Accommodation really should not matter too much at all. So if there was sucha thing as a bilge keeler between 21 and 24 with a cuddy and plenty of room for the crew to sail her out side, that would be fine. Cannot believe how cheap some of these boats are. Thanks for all the suggestions. Especially the Buckler.
 
Romeo said:
Best looking boat suggested so far?

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Bit on the short side though. Accommodation really should not matter too much at all. So if there was sucha thing as a bilge keeler between 21 and 24 with a cuddy and plenty of room for the crew to sail her out side, that would be fine. Cannot believe how cheap some of these boats are. Thanks for all the suggestions. Especially the Buckler.
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The sandhopper, as a Squib derivative is a racing boat, so if one is looking for a responsive boat that's enjoyable to sail, it might be a good choice. Downside of an open boat is obviously they can be very wet to sail and also the complete lack of security ,which is more of an issue when your boat dries out and people can walk up to it. compared to a cabin boat where you can at least lock outboard, sails etc out of sight in the cabin.

Boats this size are cheap because they cost nearly as much to moor as something bigger and/or cheap moorings are nearly as scarce. It's nearly as much commitment as a bigger boat, but in return you only get sailing range which you could mostly do with a good dinghy. However open boats of this size deliver excellent racing, which means some people get a lot of value out of them.
But few racers are bilge keelers, not just because of the performance compromise (which may not be that great nad many boats of this size are raced 'one design' anyway) but because a boat that's aground half the time is no use for racing unless all the scheduled races can be at high tide.
Hence the bilge keeler market is mostly about boats which will be cruised. On our drying moorings, it makes much more sense to go sailing over low tide, leave with the ebb rather than fight it etc, and therefore you're looking at trips of 6hrs + not a two hour potter at HW. That won't be true everywhere of course.
 
Why mustn't the boat have a lifting keel?

Romeo said:
Because the harbour dries out, and he will be in the middle of a row of bilge keelers......and more significantly because that it what he has been told to get by the people who have the power to decide who gets the mooring (for which there is a 15- 20 year waiting list!). Hence the (impossible?) quest.
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I'm not being suspicious or scornful, but I get the feeling your mate didn't fully understand what options will work on a drying mooring, so he's observing the only aspects of specification that he can remember being told.

It's very hard to imagine a group of boat-owners who permit bilge keelers but jealously prohibit similar-sized lifting keelers.

There might just be good reasons - such as an uneven rocky drying beach which may hole a hull lying unprotected by keels.

But since we started looking for a cabin boat above 21ft with bilge keels, and the most attractive boat so far has been a Squib, I reckon the buyer needs to fine-down what the options (and the real limits) are, and why. Otherwise it's a very vague question.
 
dancrane said:
Why mustn't the boat have a lifting keel?



I'm not being suspicious or scornful, but I get the feeling your mate didn't fully understand what options will work on a drying mooring, so he's observing the only aspects of specification that he can remember being told.

It's very hard to imagine a group of boat-owners who permit bilge keelers but jealously prohibit similar-sized lifting keelers.

There might just be good reasons - such as an uneven rocky drying beach which may hole a hull lying unprotected by keels.

But since we started looking for a cabin boat above 21ft with bilge keels, and the most attractive boat so far has been a Squib, I reckon the buyer needs to fine-down what the options (and the real limits) are, and why. Otherwise it's a very vague question.
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The first post gives you the accurate parameters. So it is a pretty specific question, not vague. And the Squib is the prettiest boat, not the boat that is going to fit in to the mooring best. The reason is the nature of the harbour, and the nature of the boats already there. The mooring is in the middle of one of the rows of bilge keelers in this pic, I think where the blue Newbridge Tub is sitting:

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Quite an old pic that one, but not as old as this one....... my boat is the only one that is in both pics:

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Cox 21 with bilge keels?, if you can find one. Sails well, sleeps 4 at a real pinch and has done a transat.

No disclaimer, my old man designed it and I had some input:o
 
A photo certainly beats a lot of words.
I don't think it was clear before, how tight-packed these boats would be.

Is that blue boat a Newbridge? It may be my phone's small screen but it looks like a triple-keeled Achilles 24.

Which, as was said here earlier, would be ideal.
 
Hurley 22 and Trident 24 (3 keel) both look like proper yachts and sail well, IMHO the Hurley a bit faster. Corribee very pretty but as others have said tiny cabin - I once looked at a varnished wooden one which was really lovely. Having once owned and loved a Mk 1.5 ply Caprice ( Mk I hull/deck with Mk II keels). The Mk I hull/deck is far prettier than the later Mk II and GRP GRP versions, at the time I hoped to upgrade to a Capriccio, which was a stretched version to about 23 ft and really rather attractive. Doubt if may 1960s ply boats are still in good order though.
 
I have a kingfisher 22. Twin keel, lives in Ryde on a drying out berth. Sails well and can sleep 4 very cosy. All depends what people looking for. Mine has good headroom and sails well single handed.
 
pij27 said:
I have a kingfisher 22. Twin keel, lives in Ryde on a drying out berth. Sails well and can sleep 4 very cosy. All depends what people looking for. Mine has good headroom and sails well single handed.
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attractive?
 
The RYA used to use a fleet of Hunter Duettes for their "Young Skippers" program back in the '80s. I used to encounter them sailed by four teenagers, with no engine, just a scull. Their boat handling was exemplary and the boats sailed very well. I'd not knock them they are fine for what they are and have much more room below than the Corribee.
 
What a lovely little harbour, where is it ?

I sail a Jaguar 24, not many about but might do very nicely ....
 
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