Etap 26 drop keel?

A

alant

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Anyone with experience of these?
SIL interested in one.

From few details I have, they seem to have a dagger board keel, with bulb. Presumably able to take 'bottom', but this particular boat, has sail drive & rudder hung underneath, which would seem protential problems.
 
Don't have one myself but a good friend does. The keel has a bulb on it and retracts to a stub. the Rudder is a conventional rudder under the boat and fits in the gap so to speak between the Hull and the ground if the boat was sitting on the ground. Good little boats, with a relatively shallow draft when you need it. I have seen pictures of them with legs on standing on the ground, but you definitely need legs to stand upright.
 
seumask said:
Don't have one myself but a good friend does. The keel has a bulb on it and retracts to a stub. the Rudder is a conventional rudder under the boat and fits in the gap so to speak between the Hull and the ground if the boat was sitting on the ground. Good little boats, with a relatively shallow draft when you need it. I have seen pictures of them with legs on standing on the ground, but you definitely need legs to stand upright.
Click to expand...

So the rudder is supporting the hull, when on bottom.
What about the sail drive leg?
 
My Dad was very interested in one of these when they were new; I seem to recall a saildrive was standard ?

The odd thing about the boat - and a major failing in my view - was that the lift keel was strictly to reduce draught a bit, NOT for drying out; the keel remains a few feet down even when raised.

At my club it's soft mud which accomodates most boats, but I remember an Etap 26 tried it years ago and spent every low water lying on her ear, then after a few weeks threw in the towel and went elsewhere.

As long as one's not planning on a half tide mooring the boat seemed pretty good with a lot of nice design touches, but I can't remember the last time I saw one in the Chichester / Solent area, they probably cost as much to moor / berth as larger boats.

Edit; pretty sure the standard original engine was a twin cylinder Honda petrol saildrive job.
 
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aquaplane said:
If you put "etap 26" in Google images and look at the pics of boats on trailers or in cradles you will get the idea.
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Unfortunately, "boats on trailers or in cradles", are seldom supported only by the rudder and/or sail drive leg.
The only photos showing the hulls, are either sitting in cradles, or sitting in cradles with fin keels.
 
alant,

why's that unfortunate ? I'd think being supported by the rudder or saildrive would be very bad luck indeed !

Having had a boat with a saildrive I would mention to the OP that replacement of the diaphragm is a serious thought, involving significant cost and hassle if it hasn't been done in the last 7 years.

With the Anderson 22 I supply simple diagrams for owners to build trestles, high enough to allow lift keel maintanence, such things could easily be adapted to suit boats like the Etap 26 ( and no it's not a profit making idea ! ).
 
Seajet said:
alant,

why's that unfortunate ? I'd think being supported by the rudder or saildrive would be very bad luck indeed !

Having had a boat with a saildrive I would mention to the OP that replacement of the diaphragm is a serious thought, involving significant cost and hassle if it hasn't been done in the last 7 years.

With the Anderson 22 I supply simple diagrams for owners to build trestles, high enough to allow lift keel maintanence, such things could easily be adapted to suit boats like the Etap 26 ( and no it's not a profit making idea ! ).
Click to expand...

I was replying to "If you put "etap 26" in Google images and look at the pics of boats on trailers or in cradles you will get the idea.", which 'only' showed pics of boats in cradles, NOT showing any supported by rudder or saildrive, which was the point aquaplane replied to.
Interesting your comment in #5, which supports my earlier theory/concerns.

PS
I believe, even an Anderson 22, must be out of the water, to perform this miracle. :p
"With the Anderson 22 I supply simple diagrams for owners to build trestles, high enough to allow lift keel maintanence, such things could easily be adapted to suit boats like the Etap 26"
 
I had an Etap 26 for several years.

The accommodation was very comfortable and practical. The foam lining provided excellent insulation, the boat was easy to keep warm in winter and did not suffer from condensation.

The red stripe on the topsides was faded and could not be revived with elbow grease. Some of the stanchion bases had corroded, they were a proprietary Etap design and rather intricate to replace although spare parts were readily available from Etap. Water had got into the foam between the hull and interior moulding under the anchor locker and as a result the boat floated a little down by the bows. The engine hatch, forming the floor of the cockpit was spongy underfoot but I cured this by injecting epoxy into the underside.

I was disappointed by the sailing performance. The high aspect ratio dagger board does not develop lateral resistance unless it is moving through the water. I tried every technique I could think of but eventually learned to live with a wallow and slide to leeward whenever way was lost. The hull is rather tubby and easily stopped by waves.

The boat was kept on a deep water mooring, I never dried out so cannot comment on ability in this direction.
 
I had one for a short time after selling my Pegasus 700 and was very disappointed with the sailing performance , couldn't keep up with a Centuar to windward where as the Peggy would of shown it a clean pair of heels , comfort wise it was ok and we had a few nice breaks on it , up to the broads and over to Holland , I never dried out but there were brackets on the side for legs , standard engine was Volvo Md5 which was adequate , just a shame it didn't sail well .
 
I am the owner of an Etap 26 and disagree with the 'bad sailing performance' comments. Our Etap (with new sails) sails very well - we were third in the club races last year on the Bristol Channel, just behind a Horizon 30, and were on our way to a good Holms race result when we suffered a knock down and damage to chainplates. The same freak gust dismasted a Westerly and a J80 btw. We were over canvassed; learned the hard way that Etap 26s need to be reefed early...
 
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