Gibsea 282 - opinions?

[DangerousPirate]

I have seen one of these on apollo right now, looks nice as a cruiser but the keel seems kind of short. It's a fin keel version of the boat. Looks like it's only a coastal sailer.

I do like the aft cabins though, I wanted to buy a Westerly Tempest some day in the future, but they're 20k and I am not there yet with my savings. The plan is to live in the meds for a while and maybe do a crossing to the caribbean one day. I could do that in the nich, I am sure. They're quite seaworthy.

 

[DangerousPirate]

Maybe I could modify the keel to attach more weight and make it all heavier, wouldn't that help with offshore capabilities?

 

[vyv_cox]

How short is it? My Sadler has the shallow fin and sails just as well as the deep fin equivalent.

 

[Tranona]

Maybe I could modify the keel to attach more weight and make it all heavier, wouldn't that help with offshore capabilities?

Why mess about with a perfectly good boat that is well suited to modest coastal cruising? Some are lift keel, some fin keel but they have no pretensions to be offshore cruisers. It was one of the erarly attempts to cram as much accommodation into a given length, hence the long waterline and wide beam carried aft to give high internal volume.

Probably not a good starting point for the sort of cruising you have in mind.

 

[justanothersailboat]

Maybe I could modify the keel to attach more weight and make it all heavier, wouldn't that help with offshore capabilities?

I am far from being a naval architect... but this sounds like the wrong track to me. So many things have to be in the right balance or tradeoff to make a good boat. If it wasn't designed for a heavier keel you could end up overstressing something and you will definitely become slightly under-rigged. Or the extra displacement might just pull the hull far enough into the water to end up wallowing about overladen and be less oceanworthy than when you started. Also, these days all sorts of light yachts seem to thrive offshore so it is definitely not that simple... if it were, we would all still be aspiring to own lead mines.

 

[DangerousPirate]

I am far from being a naval architect... but this sounds like the wrong track to me. So many things have to be in the right balance or tradeoff to make a good boat. If it wasn't designed for a heavier keel you could end up overstressing something and you will definitely become slightly under-rigged. Or the extra displacement might just pull the hull far enough into the water to end up wallowing about overladen and be less oceanworthy than when you started. Also, these days all sorts of light yachts seem to thrive offshore so it is definitely not that simple... if it were, we would all still be aspiring to own lead mines.

I see. I thought i could make it more seaworthy by adding to the keel. I really just liked what I see there, but wasn't impressed by the 1.4m keel.

Well, guess I keep looking.

 

[vyv_cox]

I see. I thought i could make it more seaworthy by adding to the keel. I really just liked what I see there, but wasn't impressed by the 1.4m keel.

Well, guess I keep looking.

The draught of my Sadler 34 is 1.4 metres. A very seaworthy boat, widely cruised in the usual mixture of conditions - Irish Sea, North Sea, Baltic, Biscay, Mediterranean to Greece. Plenty of boats drawing even less have made major voyages, including trans-Atlantic.

 

[Tranona]

I see. I thought i could make it more seaworthy by adding to the keel. I really just liked what I see there, but wasn't impressed by the 1.4m keel.

Well, guess I keep looking.

1.4m is pretty normal sort of draft for that type and size of boat as it relies more on form stability (wide beam, flattish bottom) than older style boats.

 

[doug748]

A point of information; the Dorset Gibsea is on Ebay at the moment with a starting price of £7500.

However you always lose a lot of time and money swapping boats I would be tempted to stick with what you have (Nicholson 30?) and buy your Tempest when funds allow, you would probably reach your goal quicker.

I agree with the others, you can't sensibly add weight to a keel on this type of standard build without all sorts of problems.

.

 

[DangerousPirate]

A point of information; the Dorset Gibsea is on Ebay at the moment with a starting price of £7500.

However you always lose a lot of time and money swapping boats I would be tempted to stick with what you have (Nicholson 30?) and buy your Tempest when funds allow, you would probably reach your goal quicker.

I agree with the others, you can't sensibly add weight to a keel on this type of standard build without all sorts of problems.

.

Yeah, that's the one I saw. Last auction only had 1 bid so don't even know what the reserve price would have been. i assume it's identical for this second time he put it up.

 

[jac]

Had the previous model - the 84 but they are pretty similar.

Good coastal sailors, light ( think big dinghy) - likes to sail flat. Interior is a bit too cramped. Nice design on paper but one of those where they have tried to squeeze a quart into a pint pot - results in berths that are too tight for foot room or a bit low for shoulder room if you sleep on your side.

Would echo others - if it's not suitable then look elsewhere. Don't go attempting major surgery - you'll probably make things worse and destroy any value left in the boat

 

[DangerousPirate]

Had the previous model - the 84 but they are pretty similar.

Good coastal sailors, light ( think big dinghy) - likes to sail flat. Interior is a bit too cramped. Nice design on paper but one of those where they have tried to squeeze a quart into a pint pot - results in berths that are too tight for foot room or a bit low for shoulder room if you sleep on your side.

Would echo others - if it's not suitable then look elsewhere. Don't go attempting major surgery - you'll probably make things worse and destroy any value left in the boat

Can't force it then. Whenever I see boats that are not very good at sea, I think, that more ballast might make them more comfortable and stable. Seems just impractical.

 

[Tranona]

Can't force it then. Whenever I see boats that are not very good at sea, I think, that more ballast might make them more comfortable and stable. Seems just impractical.

That is oversimplistic and while it is maybe true that old style heavily ballasted boats may be comfortable, the main reason for the ballast was a lack of form stability in the hull shape. Adding extra ballast to a hull like the 282 which relies more on form stability will not make it better. It is just not intended for offshore sailing, although many people do use that type of boat (usually larger) in that way.

This is a much contested subject and although in the past there was some justification for that view developments in hull designs has resulted in many boats with ballast ratios similar to the 282 (low to mid 30s) being seen as very seaworthy. However, size is the main variable. Small boats are generally more uncomfortable than larger ones.

 

[justanothersailboat]

Can't force it then. Whenever I see boats that are not very good at sea, I think, that more ballast might make them more comfortable and stable. Seems just impractical.

Ideas of "not very good at sea" seem rather a matter of opinion on which different factions shall never be reconciled! Unfortunately it takes serious dedication to really try several quite different sorts of boat on ambitious voyages, and not many of us will get the chance to try that, so it's probably unresolvable.

I just know that whatever sort of boat I think of, someone has done something more amazing in it than I would have thought of, let alone accomplished. So I try not to worry about it.

 

[DangerousPirate]

Ideas of "not very good at sea" seem rather a matter of opinion on which different factions shall never be reconciled! Unfortunately it takes serious dedication to really try several quite different sorts of boat on ambitious voyages, and not many of us will get the chance to try that, so it's probably unresolvable.

I just know that whatever sort of boat I think of, someone has done something more amazing in it than I would have thought of, let alone accomplished. So I try not to worry about it.

Oh, I don't worry. I have potshot ideas often and I think personally I just always try to make things happen my way. I run walls in with my thick head.