can the etap 22 and seal sinbad take the ground?

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nickbamber

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I currently own an alacrity 19 and am thinking of moving to a seal sinbad or etap 22 as my next boat as I need slightly more space and have limited budget. I notice the sinbad and the etap have a certain amount of keel protruding from the bottom of the hull even when the keel is retracted, does this stop the boat being abe to take the ground ? also any advise as to the advantages or disadvantages of these two boats would be gratefully recieved-the sinbad appeals as it is cheap, the etap seems very similar but the unsinkability factor is very appealing as I have a young family. If anyone can recomend any other lifting keel yachts between 22-26 feet I would be gratefull. Thanks for reading, Nick.
 
Welcome to the forum Nick. Our boat is an Anderson 22 lifting keel.The ballast part of the keel remains outside the hull so on hard surfaces we rig short legs to dry out,in mud she will settle fairly upright usually without legs.
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Hi Nick - welcome to the forums. We have several Seals in our sailing club in Plymouth all of them dry out on soft mud as our moorings are all drying (more or less). They seem to sit pretty well upright as the protruding bit sticks into the mud. Occassonally they will lean slightly if the ground is harder but not by much.
Steve
 
Nick

Welcome.

Our first boat was infact a Etap 22. we then went to a 28i and now have a 35i, yes I like Etaps!

Our 22 used to live on a drying mooring, in boat yard with a jetty. We used to dry out against a post, had various lines rigged so she always settled on the keel upright. Never did the boat any harm at all.

Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Hi Nick,

I have an ETAP22 and am extremely pleased with her.
I sailed her for three years around the German East Friesian islands, very shoal waters and on a half tide berth. Now she is in Brightlingsea, also on a half tide berth. Both cases are in mud and no problems. Drying out on sand was no problem, she would sit on the flat bottom of the keel if I let her, but as it wasnt very stable always heeled over which if not comfortable at about 30 degrees was no problem at all. I have pictures of ETAP22 with legs fitted and because the keel only protrudes about 30cm they only have to be short. I have looked into fitting them and will when I get round to it, but for now I just make sure I dry out on mud! An attachment point between the windows would be easy, there is an easily accessible space between the inner and outer skin there to insert a block of wood.

In terms of sailing the boat is very responsive and feels great, and its stable, no weather helm at all whatever you do, unsinkable, very well thought out for a small boat by Van der Staat, outboard in a well which is great, lifting keel lets you get virtually anywhere (0.7 to 1.5m draft).

Mine is the original ETAP 22, not the 22i, so it was very reasonably priced.

I have often been told that your first boat will be a learning instrument to see what you reaslly want, but I think I made agreat choice and dont see myself changing for many years.

If you pm me an email address I can send you some reviews and further info.

PS the only cons I have found so far are that the cockpit floor has a slight forward slope so the rain collects there and that it takes 340 turns of the handle to bring up the 500kg keel. But both of these are really minor, the second means it is easy to turn and as long as you plan ahead a bit when thinking of raising the keel no problems at all
 
As others have said the Seal 22 and Sinbad will sink into soft mud and dry out fairly upright. The hulls have pads moulded in for screw holes for legs and we have drawings for suitable legs so you can make your own to dry out upright on hard sand etc. www.sealsasc.org.uk
 
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340 turns of the handle to bring up the 500kg keel. But both of these are really minor, the second means it is easy to turn and as long as you plan ahead a bit when thinking of raising the keel no problems at all



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The winch on my Anderson takes 32 turns to raise the keel a similar distance. It is slightly hardwork but my 10 year old can do it (I usually take over from him though)

The Anderson keel is a steel plate with 900lbs of cast iron ballast attattched to the end.

I like the etaps but I would definitely want to modify or change the keel winch.It seems a crazy mismatch for the job it does.
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What makes the Etap keel such a long screw, if you know what I mean guv, is that the keel has a threaded screw running through the middle of it which terminates as a hex head just in front of the tabernackle. This raises and lowers the keel. But there are no cables to break or any other vulnerable parts.

But yes it is slow.
 
At least the etap system sounds strong and simple. Does that mean you raise the keel out on deck? When singlehanding I feel a bit vulnerable going below to raise/lower the keel on ours,especially if other boats are in the vicinity on moorings or underway but similarilly preoccupied lowering sails starting engines etc ........
 
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Does that mean you raise the keel out on deck

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That is so, the hex head is just in front of thr mast.
 
Mine is the mark 2 Etap22 which has a gear at the top of the screw connected to another on the side of the tabernacle. There is a winch type handle that goes into the side of the tabernacle.

It does take a long time, but is good excercise, and if you plan ahead a bit there is no problem.

The only problem is that there is no indication of how far up the keel is, so if you forget or loose count then you have to wind it all the way up or down to find out again.

But these are just small things.
 
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