Contessa 26

Moonshiners

Moonshiners

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20 Feb 2008
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590
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Solent-ish
www.speedandstrip.co.uk
Were just thinking about the possibility of trading up from our 20ft bilge keeler which we sail in the solent year round.

The contessa 26 seems an obvious progression for us and a probable bench mark for comparison (26/27ft being our maximum mooring length).

Budget is anywhere from 5.5k - 10k (ish).

Could anyone offer any advise, on the 26's or any other manufacturers that should be concidered of similar style/value.

We do also appreciate our current bilge keelers value as we are often creek running, so would be happy to sacrifice the performace of a finn for a bilge if a suitable one should be taken in to account.

Any constructive advise appreciated.

I am aware of Jeremy Rogers and the Contessa 26 Ass.
 
There are loads of 26ft boats out there. You need to decide what you are after and then choose as for example the Contessa is a great sea boat but headroom / comfort is compromised by narrow beam and low headroom.

A good compromise is Halcyon 27 / Cutlass / Verl 27 etc

Then you have more spacious Westerlys. Someone will be along soon selling the virtues of the centaur no doubt!
 
Nice to hear that people are still buying small and moving up. The Marieholm International Folkboat is a beauty, a tad smaller than the Contessa but faster and the prettiest GRP boat there is. Ken Endean seems to go everywhere in his bilge keel Sabre 27, then there is the long keel Cutlass, also 27ft. A fin keel Varne is about the same size but you may struggle fo find one.
 
You should also look at a Seawolf 26, they come in fin or bilge keel and with low or raised coachroof. Sails well by all accounts and is undervalued IMHO.
 
What about a cobra 750? You get a bit more space down below and she has good seakeeping qualities.
 
Could also consider an Elizabethan 29. Little bit longer but due to long overhangs at the bow and stern, only 20 foot at the waterline. So averages 25-foot, why not take a look :-).

The Elizabethan Owners Association is www.eoa.org.uk and they have a brokerage section. The Elizabethan 23 got a write up in PBO this month, and there are a few for sale on the website too.
 
My impression is that Contessa's are a bit pricey cos' of their name - some good alternatives already mentioned.

I will add the Invicta 26:-

s45806-sailing2.jpg


This one has been for sale for a while (whether that is a good thing or not I know not!).

Yachtsnet - Invicta 26 - £6,750
 
I sail an Invicta 26.

I almost bought a Co26, but decided they were overpriced and the Invicta has the advantage of being a tiny bit bigger internally. (Only just enough room with three sleeping aboard, OK with two, spacious for one)

Great sailing boat
 
[ QUOTE ]
I sail an Invicta 26.

I almost bought a Co26, but decided they were overpriced and the Invicta has the advantage of being a tiny bit bigger internally. (Only just enough room with three sleeping aboard, OK with two, spacious for one)

Great sailing boat

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never had one - but to me they have a certain "something" that just looks so right.
 
I'll add a vote for the Invicta, which my father and I raced and cruised intensively in the late sixties/early seventies. It's a very similar design to the Contessa (both based on the Folkboat) by van der Stadt. It has better headroom and accommodation than the Contessa, a slightly softer turn to the bilge which gives her a slightly easier motion. Speed, we found, is almost identical overall. Just as the van der Stadt Pioneer was eclipsed by the Contessa 32, even though it was arguably a better boat, so was the Invicta eclipsed by the Contessa 26.
 
[ QUOTE ]

The contessa 26 seems an obvious progression for us and a probable bench mark for comparison (26/27ft being our maximum mooring length).

Budget is anywhere from 5.5k - 10k (ish).

[/ QUOTE ]

The Contessa 26 is a good sailer and a very seaworthy boat, but, I think, by no means the "obvious" progression. It's a wet boat and very cramped internally, with very little headroom. A very small 26 footer. I know two people who have bought these boats on reputation and sold them again quite soon, as they found them so uncomfortable to live aboard, even for relatively short periods.

The Contessa is quite a specialised boat really and certainly not the ideal small general cruising boat for more than one small person.
 
I've got a CO26 and agree, in part, with JJ. However, I would say if you're trading up then go something a bit bigger than an Invicta. Just remember that it's now a buyers market and that bigger boats can already be bought at knockdown prices and watch their prices come tumbling down. I've never seen so many boats for sale on the hard with 'reduced for quick sale' on them ... IMO, take your time, consider what you want to spend overall per annum, then re-evaluate the market in August ... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The serious downsides of the CO26 (and for that matter, the CO32) are the lack of room and lack of storage. However, if you want a serious small winter ocean adventurer-type sailboat for either single handing or with just 2 persons with good knees then a CO26 is in the Premier Division.
 
I looked at an Invicta before I bought my Elizabethan 29, they are similar in size, although the Liz probably has more storage space, especially in the cockpit, the Invicta probably has a tad more headroom and beam (most boats do!). The Liz 29 was designed by Kim Holman, so I'd challenge anyone on the aesthetics stakes, he was said to be incapable of designing an ugly boat. Full write-up is here
 
The Invicta is a very very good plastic boat.The Contessa 26 depends on who and where she was built!!!They are not at all, all alike!

The Elizabethen in wood or GRP is very good value then thers the Stella IF!! First Dufore etc

The best in that size costing around £5000 or much less or more!!Is the International flokboat(IF).It has the advantage of well priced new sails & parts lots of mods

Shes VERY well built indeed she sails wonderfuly fast safe she will look after you in ANY conditions lots of room below well thought out and very very good value

For the UK the self draining cockpits ideal,in the med its a bit cramped!!With her you can go around the world in comfort

EDIT:Just seen the Invicta price!!In the 80s they cost less around £4000 and are no where as big as the photos makes her look!There a good Contessa 26 at a better price with another name! IFs much faster & better layout
 
I agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments. I once helped deliver a Contessa 26 from Holland to the Solent in the 70's. Off Dungeness we were knocked flat in a Force 8 SW. The boat immediately filled up with water flooding the batteries and rendering the engine useless.

I have never set foot in one since.

Over rated and over priced.
 
That happens to be my Invicta 26 pictured for sale. Hasn't sold yet as prospective purchasers so far, do not have moorings !
First time buyers do not seem to know that there are waiting lists for moorings. You may have to wait years for one to come up. This is creating a big log jam in the sales of boats. Eager to move up to bigger but it's a waiting game for us all.
More affordable moorings are needed. Few people are going to spend £3000 or more on a marina berth each year for a £ 7,000 boat !

Stefan
 
[ QUOTE ]
That happens to be my Invicta 26 pictured for sale.

[/ QUOTE ]

Am I in line for any commission? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

£3k a year? Ouch!........I've "done" legs down here (Corribee) before - will be sticking to multi keels!

But as I said before, good looking boat /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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