Conway 30 -Any info ?

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MogM

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Hello,

I have just bought a Conway 30 Motor cruiser (not taken delivery yet) I can't seem to find much info about it except I understand it was designed by Ian Driver and built in 1980 by Powerboats Ltd of Cheadle.

I would appreciate anything anybody can tell me about this model and Conway boats and their history in general. Does anybody else own one ?

Thanks

Mog
 
MogM said:
Hello,

I have just bought a Conway 30 Motor cruiser (not taken delivery yet) I can't seem to find much info about it except I understand it was designed by Ian Driver and built in 1980 by Powerboats Ltd of Cheadle.

I would appreciate anything anybody can tell me about this model and Conway boats and their history in general. Does anybody else own one ?

Thanks

Mog
Click to expand...
I bought a Conway 26ft Boat new around 1974 from "Ladyline" who were agents for Conway Power Boats. I had a friend who also bought one. I went to the factory and met the owner. At the time I bought mine the sort of new boats also available were Birchwood and Cleopatra and when you compared the Conway range the Conway was far superior, built properly with thicker fiberglass hulls. I remember being told that Conways had bought the hull moulds from a liquidation sale of a very well known boat builder (was it Lansing Marine) anyway at the moment I am looking for another boat (if I can sell my Guy Couach at £10,000) and there is a Conway 26 for sale and I might be tempted to have a look at that. Anyway you have bought a real boat. PS. I once bought a brand new XXXXXXXX 33 in 1979 and within 2 months I had to use a solicitor to return the boat and get my money back. I was not aware that Conway Power Boats were still going in 1980. Good Luck.
 
Last edited:
MogM said:
Hello,

I have just bought a Conway 30 Motor cruiser (not taken delivery yet) I can't seem to find much info about it except I understand it was designed by Ian Driver and built in 1980 by Powerboats Ltd of Cheadle.

I would appreciate anything anybody can tell me about this model and Conway boats and their history in general. Does anybody else own one ?

Thanks

Mog
Click to expand...

Hi Mog,

We also owned a Conway 26 in the 70's. As said they were designed by Ian Driver and were a very popular cruiser of that size (well at least in Conway where we were boating at the time!). We got friendly with the owners of Conway Powerboats after meeting them at the London boat show one year. They expanded the range with the Conway 30 which was an extended Conway 26 with an aft cabin attached. They were available with shaft drive or stern drive. As I remember the shaft drives were fitted with smaller engines and intended for inland use (they may have had a modified underwater profile but I'm not sure).
Later they introduced the Conway 35 which was the old Searider 35 from Lancing (as Jim has stated). There were also drawings for a Conway 33 but I'm not sure that it was ever built.
In the early 80's when other boat builders were going under Conway stopped building boats and went into building houses (I'm fairly certain of this but wait to be corrected!). When the boat market picked up again a few years later they resumed boat production but I'm not sure they survived long before closing their doors for good.
Could you post some details of your 30 and perhaps some pictures.
Hope this is of some help.
Marcus.
P.S. Some years ago I spoke to Ian Driver about the Conway 26, his reply was 'they told me what they wanted and I just drew the lines'. Not much of an insight there then!
 
Ian Driver used to be a broker based in or near Poole specialising in semi displacement boats. I bought a CI 32 through him about 10 years or so ago, very helpful chap. I think he retired a year or so later.
Interested to see that he was also a boat designer, never knew that.
 
Hi MogM,

Maybe a very ate reaction, but strawing through the internet I saw your question. For several years I own a Conway 36 from Conway Powerboats.
I've bought is about eight years ago. Originally it was a family sport cruiser (with aft cabin), but a guy rebuild it to a sea fishing sport boat,
He build up a fly-bridge, and put the aft cabin under a guillotine. It's equipped wit two Volvo Penta TAMD36 turbo diesel engines, and we (my wife and I)
like it very much. In all yhe years that we own this boat we didn't see another Conway, they are very rare in Holland, were we live. We've been told that the year of building was 1980, so that compares with the other story that I've read on this forum. That the hull is superior to other boats is someting that I can subscribe! About 5 years ago we've hit some massive concrete bars under water, and only some GRP was scratched of the bottum of the boat. The owner of the shipyard told me that we're been lucky to have the real English GRP! If this accident had happend to another GRP hull, we had made more water in one hour then there was falling in Holland in one minute! (And that can be very much!!).
So, I/m sorry thatr I cannot tell you anything about the Conway 30, but I want to share trhis information with you!

Best Regards,

Eastwood
 
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