Favourite boats I haven't tried

[dancrane]

Great answers here thank you, and such a breadth of taste! As a fan of Chuck Paine's work (I only know the excellent Victoria 34), I particularly enjoyed the Bowman 40 video, although I can't say my liking for his designs is strictly untested.

If we allow ourselves to dream about legends like Stormy Weather, I cry 'foul!' because that's not fair...

...I mean, I'd like an original Shelby Cobra, but the upkeep (as well as the acquisition) is always going to be prohibitive.

Regarding the Cornish Yawl, I laughed the other day when I found the same example, Lucy, photographed in both Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly of May 2018. Very nicely proportioned boat, although I'm a sucker for anything with two masts. That may be an excellent example of wistful dreaming, easily jet-washing good sense out of the picture!

From the Nicholson 43 to the She 36, it is easy to go deaf to common sense at the sound of one's own jaw dropping in admiration at a yacht's beauty. If they're really as good to own as they look, why has their time and popularity passed, leaving their styles vanishingly rare? It's a rhetorical question...I don't care to hear about new-boat-buyers' evolving soulless economic reasoning and the hideous designs that have proliferated as a result. I'm happy believing I'd get nothing but joy from something like the Pearson Rhodes 41. Wombat, genuinely, I had had the thought, included that comment and the photo below, before I read your post above!

JWilson, that's a great answer, regarding the Drascombe. When a speed-freak non-sailing friend came out in my Osprey a few years ago, he looked around at all the dinghies present before pointing approvingly, unknowingly, at a Drascombe on her trailer. I think that's what I meant - boats that powerfully appeal in some way, may have a character or ownership experience that isn't entirely what we hoped.

 

[jwilson]

Great answers here thank you, and such a breadth of taste! As a fan of Chuck Paine's work (I only know the excellent Victoria 34), I particularly enjoyed the Bowman 40 video, although I can't say my liking for his designs is strictly untested.

If we allow ourselves to dream about legends like Stormy Weather, I cry 'foul!' because that's not fair...

...I mean, I'd like an original Shelby Cobra, but the upkeep (as well as the acquisition) is always going to be prohibitive.

Regarding the Cornish Yawl, I laughed the other day when I found the same example, Lucy, photographed in both Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly of May 2018. Very nicely proportioned boat, although I'm a sucker for anything with two masts. That may be an excellent example of wistful dreaming, easily jet-washing good sense out of the picture!

From the Nicholson 43 to the She 36, it is easy to go deaf to common sense at the sound of one's own jaw dropping in admiration at a yacht's beauty. If they're really as good to own as they look, why has their time and popularity passed, leaving their styles vanishingly rare? It's a rhetorical question...I don't care to hear about new-boat-buyers' evolving soulless economic reasoning and the hideous designs that have proliferated as a result. I'm happy believing I'd get nothing but joy from something like the Pearson Rhodes 41. Wombat, genuinely, I had had the thought, included that comment and the photo below, before I read your post above!

JWilson, that's a great answer, regarding the Drascombe. When a speed-freak non-sailing friend came out in my Osprey a few years ago, he looked around at all the dinghies present before pointing approvingly, unknowingly, at a Drascombe on her trailer. I think that's what I meant - boats that powerfully appeal in some way, may have a character or ownership experience that isn't entirely what we hoped.

Similar style but even prettier is a Morris 42: I regret to say I've never been on one.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have always had a soft spot for Chuck Paine's designs (including the Victoria 34 - I did my YM Practical on one).

I once test sailed a Victoria 30 and she was absolutely lovely, quite rapid too; I was lucky enough to meet Chuck Paine at an Earls Court boat show, he was very friendly and helpful, explaining if I got a Victoria 30 hull and deck ( possible then ) one can put the bulkheads wherever one likes, position isn't critical.

I have a Victoria 26 and like her very much indeed. As with the 30, she is a lot less traditional than she looks; rather than a wineglass section they are more or less semicircular under the water and the long keel is a NACA aerofoil. Not racers, but respectably nippy. Victoria/Northshore would give you any interior design you liked as long as it took the standard number of hours to build, so no two are alike.

I have a separate list of boats I thought I'd love but disappointed when I actually sailed one. The first was in dinghy crusing days when I longed for a Drascome Lugger - till I sailed one.

I like my Drascombe Longboat (which stays on a local freshwater loch) very much, but not for her sailing qualities. Worse, it's a hell of a faff to get the mainsail up for ... mediocre results.

Dan, the only boat I have seen which I really want is a proper Nic 32, in the stepped-coachroof phase. I was very, very tempted by an LM27 I visited at Craobh a few years ago, partly for the deckhouse and partly for the unbelievably cool Danish interior lights.

 

[dancrane]

I was very, very tempted by an LM27 I visited at Craobh a few years ago, partly for the deckhouse...

These are words I respect deeply. I want that all-weather helm position for all the reasons under the UK winter sky...

...interesting that the LM's practical appeal is the opposite of that of the gorgeous Rhodes Reliant.

Rather amusingly, somebody asked the Cruiser Forum in 2013, "What sucks about the Rhodes Reliant 41?", and received detailed reasons for not acquiring one. So I guess this subject was very well-worn before I thought of it...
What sucks about a Cheoy Lee Rhodes Reliant 41? - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

 

[Wansworth]

You would like “gang warily” a compact thirty footer designed by Francis Jones and built atWhistocks for M Drummond,a proper wheelhouse on a pretty hull with Bermuda an cutter rig,built in 1971

 

[dancrane]

Thanks Wansworth, I distinctly remember your description of her in February, eight years ago! Unfortunately I still haven't found a photo or plan of her.

 

[Wansworth]

Thanks Wansworth, I distinctly remember your description of her in February, eight years ago! Unfortunately I still haven't found a photo or plan of her.

It’s in the yachting world annual for 1971.......somewhere up north I believe now

 

[ShinyShoe]

Regarding the Cornish Yawl, I laughed the other day when I found the same example, Lucy, photographed in both Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly of May 2018. Very nicely proportioned boat, although I'm a sucker for anything with two masts. That may be an excellent example of wistful dreaming, easily jet-washing good sense out of the picture!

I think pvb of this parish may have owned one at one stage. Otherwise I've jet to find a former owner. Can't recall pvb having anython bad to say about her.

 

[richardbrennan]

I can confirm the Mystery 35 sails like a dream. I have sailed on a friends boat and he is currently sailing her round Great Britain.

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

I trust you have a copy of ' The Proper Yacht ' by Arthur Beiser ? Sheer sailing porn !

 

[doug748]

Thanks Wansworth, I distinctly remember your description of her in February, eight years ago! Unfortunately I still haven't found a photo or plan of her.

Here is a drawing:

Yachts | Louis Mackay Design & Illustration

She was built to pull trawls and other stuff, as a platform for living aboard and studying sea life. Maldwin Drummond co wrote the excellent: The Yachtsman's Naturalist. A terrific old school primer on a very fashionable subject. He died only a couple of years ago.

 

[LittleSister]

Well, I've got, and have sailed, an LM27, so I'm disbarred by the terms of the OP from singing her praises.

I've always had a soft spot for the Cornish Yawl (as well as yawls generally). The Cornish Yawl was my 'dream boat' at one stage - particularly after going aboard one at the Earls Court boat show years ago. As I'm not as slim, flexible or hardy as I was then it probably wouldn't suit me as well now. (I'd still like a Crabber 17 if I ever win the pools and could live next to the water - either that or a Devon Yawl.)

I've always thought the She yachts looked very purposeful as well as beautiful, but the nearest I'll ever come to having one is the proprietary 'She-decking' that was also used on the Samphire yachts I've owned.

I'd like to nominate one that will surprise, and is unlikely to gain much support - the Mirror Offshore - a tubby, under-canvassed 19 foot 'motor-sailer' with a 1' 11' draft long keel, an inboard diesel, and (amazing for its size) a separate heads compartment. I remember overtaking one as I sailed up the Tamar one day years ago in my Hurley 22, thinking 'thank goodness I don't have to sail one of those'. Some years later I was wondering what was the smallest, cheapest boat I could find for practical cruising, and found myself investigating them.

Designed by Van de Stadt to a brief that aimed at the inexperienced sailor (hence the small rig), it turns out they've done some rather impressive voyages, and seemed often very much treasured by their owners (apart from their slow speed and tendency to roll!).



I was investigating joining the Humber Yawl Club at one point, and they had a rule prohibiting motor-boats. I enquired whether a Mirror Offshore, being a motor-sailer, would be acceptable. They told me it was: they already had one in the club, and it came on all their cruises to the Netherlands, etc., despite always being the last boat home!

The more I looked into them the more impressed I became . Although it's undeniably tubby that does mean you get more space than most 19 footers (as does the lack of side decks - you can access the foredeck through the fore hatch).

In particular, to my eyes the original (Mk. 1) design is an aesthetic triumph, given the constraints. Van de Stadt hasn't tried to hide its bulk, but has used sheer, curves and angles to accommodate it. It reminded me of a woman I used to work with who was very plump, but had amazing dress sense, and always looked really stylish despite her unfashionable shape.

There was also a nice story in an old PBO publication about someone who had to give up their treasured 29' catamaran due to deteriorating arthritis - they couldn't pull the ropes or operate the winches, etc. After a while sad and boatless they found they could sail a dinghy, and ended up buying a Mirror Offshore - something they would never have previously contemplated - because it had a dinghy sized rig, no winches and no stress, and they ended up having lots of fun and really enjoying it.

I've cheated Dan's terms because I have actually stepped aboard one: I put a deposit on one when I was working abroad but soon returning to the UK. Unfortunately, when I got back to Blighty and inspected it in the flesh, the 'refurbished by a boatbuilder' included some nasty bodges that put me off (and got my deposit back), so I never got to sail it.

If my paltry pension can't cope with the LM27, I might end up with one yet!

 

[Wansworth]

Here is a drawing:

Yachts | Louis Mackay Design & Illustration

She was built to pull trawls and other stuff, as a platform for living aboard and studying sea life. Maldwin Drummond co wrote the excellent: The Yachtsman's Naturalist. A terrific old school primer on a very fashionable subject. He died only a couple of years ago.

Thanks for that,what a splendid little boat!

 

[johnalison]

In my youth I worked briefly at DavidHillyards and helped build a 12tonner probably the last gasp of wooden boatbuilding to produce wooden yachts on a semi production line in so much as there where patterns for planking,main timbers and deck house making construction faster.My first day involved commissioning a 9 tonner all sparkling varnished wood still smelling of Stockholm tar and enamel,everything new and shines,but I never got to sail in one.

We met a Hillyard once with her owner. She had inherited the boat from her father. He had originally owned another Hillyard from new until a year or two later he was contacted by David Hillyard and told that his new boat would soon be ready. He hadn't actually ordered another boat but Hillyard took it for granted that would want one, so he was obliged, so to speak, to accept it.

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

I trust you have a copy of ' The Proper Yacht ' by Arthur Beiser ? Sheer sailing porn !

 

[jimi]

Sadler 29. I've sailed one a few times and were I to downsize from the S38 it would be the top of my list.

 

[Wansworth]

We met a Hillyard once with her owner. She had inherited the boat from her father. He had originally owned another Hillyard from new until a year or two later he was contacted by David Hillyard and told that his new boat would soon be ready. He hadn't actually ordered another boat but Hillyard took it for granted that would want one, so he was obliged, so to speak, to accept it.

Later in the 1980s Hillyards decided to build a Giles motor sailer instead of,in my opinion cashing in on the growing interest in classic wooden boats,the grp boat was a non starter after great expense setting up.

 

[E39mad]

Swallow Yachts Bayrider 20 - a fabulous and clever trailer sailer that is light and fast when you want it to be or can be water ballasted if want to be a little more sedate. Looks traditional but is anything but.

Bigger boats really like Spirit Yachts and Truly Classic designs

 

[DJE]

Sadler 29. I've sailed one a few times and were I to downsize from the S38 it would be the top of my list.

Owned one for 15 years. What do you want to know? Bilge keel version sails surprisingly well but slams when the windward keel root breaks the surface. Accommodation got very cosy as the kids got bigger.

 

[LittleSister]

It would be nice, I imagine, to take Nigel Irens' Roxanne or Romilly for a spin.