Battle of the heavyweight bilge keelers...

The Mac 27 is a good solid boat as many have said, they do sail well with a good wind, light winds they are pretty dam slow. The 28 has the same keel profile as the 26, so not sure if it would suffer from the same sailing sideways problems as it has.
 
I agree re. the Centaur, a much maligned boat which actually sails well in the right hands; one reason it gained a rep' as a non-performer was simply that a lot of novices bought them; in fact a lot of all types of sailors bought them.

As Tranona has pointed out before, there are also a lot of them, so shopping around for a good one becomes more likely to get results...
 
And with the Centaur you have an active association that do a great job of keeping the Westerly Marque alive which helps preserve your investment....
 
Nicholas123 said:
The OP just mentions a bilge keeler & in my experience with one that only drew about 2' it went sideways about as much as forward in a wind over tide situation.I am now looking for another bilge keeler but it will be about as deep drafted as I can get in my mooring.
A Sabre is on my list but a real sailing comparison with others in the field would be very beneficial.
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He also says (if you read all of it) that performance is not a priority.

From my experience - I learned to sail in a bilge keel Sabre on the East Coast when they were new (dates me! - I was only a youngish) it performs very well for its type - definitely better than the previous generation of twin keel but probably not as good as the later ones such as the Sadler, David Thomas and David Feltham designs.
 
alexrunic said:
The Mac 27 is a good solid boat as many have said, they do sail well with a good wind, light winds they are pretty dam slow. The 28 has the same keel profile as the 26, so not sure if it would suffer from the same sailing sideways problems as it has.
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No they don't, the 28 is the same as a 27 but with a foot added above the waterline at the stern. Very early 27's had shorter keels and mast but all later ones and all the 28's shared the same deep & high profile.

As for the Sabre mentioned earlier, I have yet to see a production cruising boat have less interior space per foot length than a Sabre. Really nice on the outside but cramped inside.
 
As for the Sabre mentioned earlier, I have yet to see a production cruising boat have less interior space per foot length than a Sabre. Really nice on the outside but cramped inside.

I didn't think the Sabre particularly cramped, unless compared with a modern AWB which at 27' would have at least 2 double aft cabins; no lockers and a transom like Fergies' though.

For cramped, try a Corribee or E-Boat !
 
The Lazy Kipper said:
As for the Sabre mentioned earlier, I have yet to see a production cruising boat have less interior space per foot length than a Sabre. Really nice on the outside but cramped inside.
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Are you sure you're not confusing the Sabre with something else? They're not for everyone, but space is one of their virtues. I've certinly been impressed by the roominess on a friend's Sabre, and PBO said of them 'Roomy cruiser aimed at potential Centaur customers'.
 
Kingfisher 30 - I haven't sailed one, but I've read they sail better than they look, which is just as well !

I'd think any examples going now must be quite seriously getting on in years ?
 
The Lazy Kipper said:
No they don't, the 28 is the same as a 27 but with a foot added above the waterline at the stern. Very early 27's had shorter keels and mast but all later ones and all the 28's shared the same deep & high profile.

As for the Sabre mentioned earlier, I have yet to see a production cruising boat have less interior space per foot length than a Sabre. Really nice on the outside but cramped inside.
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We have Mac 26's 27's and a 28 in our club, the 26 and the 28 have defiantly got the same keel configuration, they have fat stubby keels filled with ballast. The 27 has slimmer and deeper draft cast keels.
 
Tranona said:
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.
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Ooops! Sorry, I missed the £10k bit.

In that case I would vote for a Centaur.
 
Four of us chartered a boat from Plymouth some 20 odd years ago.
At the last minute literally, we had found that the previous charterers had not got back from the previous weeks charter.
We were therefore offered at half its normal price, a Westerly Discus twin/bilge keeler (Westerly 33 with centre cockpit and after cabin plus ketch rig).

It was dreadfully slow and would not go to windward well at all.
One of the poorest weekends ever spent getting nowhere.

My teasured Tradewind is a sprinter in comparison.
 
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