Bilge keel less than 30ft.

Sailing against them, not sailing them myself, the sadler 26/29 seem to do relatively well. Certainly far better than Centaurs.

Ther is a bilge sadler out on a drying mooring here at the moment (not it's first winter left afloat) and it must therefore be robust!
To be fair, there is also more than one centaur too...

My Swallow lift keeler wouldn't take that kind of beating, imho.
Sails a lot better tho!
Against a fin keel sadler however, I can struggle 😉

I have a boat buddy who knows his way around boats and sails, who is very happy with his Moody 30 bilgey. Stays on a deep water home mooring tho....
 
Ther is a bilge sadler out on a drying mooring here at the moment (not it's first winter left afloat) and it must therefore be robust!
To be fair, there is also more than one centaur too...
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My Sunrider 25 has stayed in water during winters here where we regularly get ice up to 20cms thick in the channel where she sits. One year - she was lifted with the ice up onto the bank ,,,, ice was near 50cm thick ....

Ice wall 27 Mar 2010 (25).JPGIce wall 27 Mar 2010 (15).JPG

Those old BK boats are stronger than you think !!

A wall of ice had come downriver .... pushing and breaking up the ice not only in the river - but also my boat channel ..
 
The Westerlys of the Centaur generation came from the Laurent Giles design office, with the exception of the Cirrus and Tiger, and were designed to have good sailing qualities. They had long waterlines for decent speed, and were specifically designed to handle well and to have the ability to heave-to. Although not the most sparkling boats, they are at least a safe bet in terms of sailing ability. I only ever had a Cirrus, which also sailed well, in fact, very well.
 
johnalison said:
The Westerlys of the Centaur generation came from the Laurent Giles design office, with the exception of the Cirrus and Tiger, and were designed to have good sailing qualities. They had long waterlines for decent speed, and were specifically designed to handle well and to have the ability to heave-to. Although not the most sparkling boats, they are at least a safe bet in terms of sailing ability. I only ever had a Cirrus, which also sailed well, in fact, very well.
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I always liked the Westerly 28 and its extended sister - the 30 ..... (before they gave each model names) ....
 
The advantage of the centaur(and other westerly of this ilk) is the vast numbers produced and given where they were built the strong presence on the island. The owner of the Bembridge chandlery Alan C had one for many years which was hauled up into his yard . With his passing I don’t know if it’s still there and sailed by his descendants but just one xample of an island centaur. One of the early ones with a blue hull was called Vesper of Quarr presumably due to some religious involvement of a previous owner(a sailing monk maybe) but given the OP is located on the island he might find speaking to those at say the Brading Haven will find owners who are retiring etc. it would seem to me if you can find a r engined version with ideally a roller headsail and a stack pack it’s a great boat for the Solent. I recall our test sail on a breezy day off Portsmouth with I think a salesman called John who frighten the life out of our family but my dad still bought one which he ultimately sold for around 10k having I think paid 7k originally. Clearly lots of others out there -macwester ? But if looking I’m sure many budget ones to be had on south coast for less than we now pay for annual berthing.
 
Westerley built a lot of bilge keel boats in the 26 to 30 ft range. Have a look at www.westerly-owners.co.uk, then click on boats, then all boats table on wiki. This shows all the boats made in that size range and their keel patterns. These will lead to web pages for each class for more information. The go to adverts and boats for sale - there are plenty to choose from.
 
The old Westerlies were build like brick outhouses and I can tell you from experience that they can cope the drying harbours.
As others have said find one that someone else has really sorted out and has been in commission recently.
 
Have a look at a Legend 306 or 290 bilge keelers, which have great accommodation for the size of boat……I owned one for 6 years and had no problems drying out, when necessary.
 
My old Kingfisher 30 sailed across Biscay last year and is now in Portugal. The owner is living aboard and has done a lot to make her a comfortable cruiser for him. They are able to take the ground well, and he is moored in shallow water where he regularly dries on every tide. They shouldn't be very dear, but not many about for sale.
 
Kwik Decision said:
The Sadler 290 is an excellent boat, but only 50 were built, so rare, and as they are relatively modern, they are expensive. I'm biased as we've got one!
If the budget is more modest, the original Sadler 29 is a very good boat; sails well, and double skinned so well insulated and possibly unsinkable. About half those built were bilge keel, and there are a few on the market currently from £10k.
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Another bonus of the Sadler double skin design p, in iur experience, is the complete absence of any black mould developing in the interior. …at least during our ownership of some years. Couldn’t say the same about the Centaur that we had previously owned.
 
Kwik Decision said:
The Sadler 290 is an excellent boat, but only 50 were built, so rare, and as they are relatively modern, they are expensive. I'm biased as we've got one!
If the budget is more modest, the original Sadler 29 is a very good boat; sails well, and double skinned so well insulated and possibly unsinkable. About half those built were bilge keel, and there are a few on the market currently from £10k.
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Those would be my first 2 choices.
 
dgadee said:
I viewed a Sadler 29 and bought a Seawolf 30. Much more space. Much sportier.
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I bought a twin keel Seawolf 30. I sailed it back to my home port and put it straight back up for sale the next day, we hated sailing it. Way too much weather helm for the 1st mate to pull against, even in 12kts of wind on the beam with 2 reefs in the main it was still almost dipping its extremely beamy toe rail.
It was lovely inside though, loads of room and a modern layout with aft double and heads.
 
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Dellquay13 said:
I bought a twin keel Seawolf 30. I sailed it back to my home port and put it straight back up for sale the next day, we hated sailing it. Way too much weather helm for the 1st mate to pull against, even in 12kts of wind on the beam with 2 reefs in the main it was still almost dipping its extremely beamy toe rail.
It was lovely inside though, loads of room and a modern layout with aft double and heads.
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Yes, sporty, though not sure 12kts of wind and two reefs ever had me in that position.

I may know who bought it and he is happy with it.
 
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