Battle of the heavyweight bilge keelers...

James W

James W

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Just pondering the future on a cold day and, for 10K ish, what would you go for?

Macwester 27
Macwester 28
Mirage 28
Snapdragon 890
Snapdragon 27
Leisure 27

Looking for solid, seaworthy, safe, roomy and able to take the ground....I know these don't often come fast as well but that doesn't much worry me.

Thanks all, looking forward to your thoughts!
 
I'm afraid from that list I'd only even think about the Mirage & Leisure but each to their own.

I'd also suggest the Centaur, and the Cobra 750 or 850, Sabre 27, Trapper 500 / 501.
 
chinita said:
and the Konsort.
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But you would only get the front half or the back half for £10k! As usual expand the budget and a whole new world opens up.

BTW Sabre would be top of my list, but too many home finished ones to be confident of finding a good one.
 
Mirage 28 would be my choice or the M26 same internal with a smaller cockpit. Neither of these have not been reviewed in sailing mags and so are good value.
 
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James
The range of boats you have quoted will be fine but in my view one of the most important considerations will be the state/age of the engine. A tired 30 odd year old engine is going to need replacing and is likely to cost you £5000, maybe more, half the amount you might have spent on the boat.

My preferance would be the Macwester 27 or 28 whose original engine had been replaced. Get a solid bilge keeler and she will be ideal for the Essex and Suffolk waters.
 
MrCramp said:
James
The range of boats you have quoted will be fine but in my view one of the most important considerations will be the state/age of the engine. A tired 30 odd year old engine is going to need replacing and is likely to cost you £5000, maybe more, half the amount you might have spent on the boat.

My preferance would be the Macwester 27 or 28 whose original engine had been replaced. Get a solid bilge keeler and she will be ideal for the Essex and Suffolk waters.
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Great point, there's no way i'm going to mess around with engines next time around. Lesson learnt there.
 
I like the price of the Macwester, it's solid and seaworthy, but the Mirage certainly looks like it would be faster. Has anyone experience of the Mirage?
 
Out of that list Leisure 27 or snapdragon reason: easy on the eyes and best looking.

Not on the list: but i would chose a Sadler or Hunter although your looking at more then £10K.

I would like to upgrade from our hunter to a Sadler 32 maybe 29 in a few years time. Just to see what the sadlers have to offer.
 
There are a few bilge keelers to choose from; I have a Macwester White sloop which is the bigger version of the Macwester 28. Plenty of room and very seaworthy boats. If you know how to sail bilge keelers, you can make them go fast.

Actually, the bilge keelers will go very close to wind, as close as fin keel boats, the sails will fill perfectly well, but it will struggle to make progress, therefore, coming off the wind by a few degrees will give good performance.
 
James W said:
I like the price of the Macwester, it's solid and seaworthy, but the Mirage certainly looks like it would be faster. Has anyone experience of the Mirage?
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Mirage bilge keelers sail well, are solidly built and look pretty. Macwesters on the other hand look like old fashioned tubs and sail like them. (The small bilge keels are flat plates and do not generate any lift and are poor at resisting leeway - you'll sail much closer to the wind with a Mirage)
 
Nicholas 123,

just to be clear, although the phrases are often used incorrectly, the proper definition of 'bilge keeler' is a boat with a central, possibly shallow central keel carrying the ballast, with side 'bilge plates' to keep her upright when drying.

Usually a recipe for incredible drag & poor perfomance, I'm not talking about racing just going anywhere !

The Trapper 500 /501, Mirage 28 etc are proper twin keelers, moulded with stubs to which iron streamlined shaped keels are bolted.
 
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