Halcyon 27 or Contessa 26?

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Sea badger

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Hello. I have an interesting dilemma and I’m hoping that someone in the forum can shed some light on it. I’m moving on from a Wayfarer and Chartering, and am now actively looking for our first yacht. Parameters that I’m using to help are as follows: Used in Bristol Channel (Swansea onwards), to Milford Haven and progressing to Lundy, Scilly Isles and beyond in future. I work, and so do not particularly want to have a very expensive yacht parked in a marina, which will force me to have to work even more hours in order to pay for her. Therefore I have kept my budget around the 10K mark, and can always upscale in the future when I get more spare time. I have narrowed the search down to two. Contessa 26 and Halcyon 27. Headroom in halcyon is attractive, but I accept it’s not essential. Question I have is which one sails better in terms of speed and ability to deal with coastal cruising conditions? From the specs it would appear they are very similar, and Halcyon possibly being better??

Contessa 26 Specs from web:-

LOA 25.5’

LWL: 20.0’

Beam: 7.5’

Displacement: 2.41 tons

Ballast: 1.2 tons

Sail Area: 304 square feet

Displacement to length ratio: 301.34

Ballast ratio %: 49.81

Sail Area to Displacement: 16.28

Halcyon Specs from web:-

LOA 27’

LWL: 20.25’

Beam: 7.67’

Displacement: 3.04 tons

Ballast: 1.34 tons

Sail Area: 365 square feet

Displacement to length ratio: 365.58

Ballast ratio %: 44.12

Sail Area to Displacement: 16.78
 
I'm entirely biased of course, but the Contessa is a direct copy of the Folkboat, which in my mind is a boat against which all others of this scale, should be measured. The Halcyon is another plastic boat (he wrote somewhat sniffily) :D

Probably best to ignore which design, as they're both so similar, and focus on the best deal for either one, or go for a wooden Folkboat directly?
 
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There a quite a few examples of both on the market. Earlier contessa 26's don't have self draining cockpits, and the ones that do seem to be priced higher than comparable halcyon's. Do you think this is because they are better boats? Because the specs don't point to anything significant, it could be said that the halcyon is in front, unless I'm missing something?
 
Both are great examples of their type and either would suit. The Contessa 26 has cruised across the Atlantic and beyond. Some useful notes on buying on the Contessa owners webiste. As mentioned the earlier examples do not have a self draining cockpit so need a cover when moored up. The Contessa is in great demand for inshore racing following successes around the Solent so the good ones command premium prices. On the other hand I have cruised many miles in a Halcyon 27 which I would commend. Probably not quite the racing boat that the Contessa 26 has proved to be, but better accommodation, more freeboard so drier, sails well and strongly built. Personally I would go for the Halcyon if I envisaged more cruising than racing.
 
jamie N said:
I'm entirely biased of course, but the Contessa is a direct copy of the Folkboat, which in my mind is a boat against which all others of this scale, should be measured. The Halcyon is another plastic boat (he wrote somewhat sniffily) :D

Probably best to ignore which design, as they're both so similar, and focus on the best deal for either one, or go for a wooden Folkboat directly?
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The Halcyon is based based on Alan Buchanan's east Anglian range of wooden built yachts, our model did a 3 year Trans-Atlantic cruise ( USA and Caribbean ) by previous owners, so not bad sea boat.

If the OP wants any info PM me.

Brian
 
My Dad sailed a Halcyon 27 (Peristella) off the East Coast of Scotland; he had her from new, and my brother and I sailed her. She's still around!

Good boat; sails well, but rather tender - she pretty much always sails with the lee deck under. Can't give you a comparison with the Contessa, but for her type she isn’t a slow boat. Original engine will be a Sabb single cylinder, 8HP diesel - if it runs, it will run forever; very solid engine designed for marine use. Very slow revving and low stress. Can be hand started, if you're feeling fit!
 
Thanks for all replies. It’s been very helpful. I really like both the Contessa 26 and the Halcyon 27. As mentioned previously they are so similar, and clearly both are very sea worthy. We are tending towards the Halcyon 27. We have no intention of racing, just cruising. So were basing it mainly on the headroom, and slightly increased accommodation space, as the specs support the comments above. We feel that we will get the boat we need in order to get some good sea miles behind us, and move onto the next stage!!. Just got to find a good one now.
 
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The Joint Services Sail Training Centre in Gosport used to have Halcyon 23s an 27s. They were considered good sea boats and fairly "squaddie" proof. They replaced them with Francis 26's which were decommissioned in fairly short order (too fragile?). They used to break the first Vancouvers they bought to replace the Contessa 32s too, but the current flock of 34s seem a lot stronger. There are still a couple of ex-JSSTC 27s in my club, doing sterling service in private hands. The standing headroom is not something to be lightly dismissed.
 
Just to throw in another boat......................Invicta 26, the Van der Stadt version of a Folkboat. Slightly more internal volume than a Co26 but not the headroom of an H27. The I26 is not as well known as the Co26 and thus a cheaper boat. The Invicta is marginally faster than the Contessa and the Halcyon (fighting words)

There was an I26 in the 1968 Ostar and my own one has been across Biscay a couple of times. Very seaworthy boats.
 
Thanks for reply. The headroom is something I'd like if I can. But will keep the Invicta in mind. I have used a sail area of 365 sq ft for the halcyon 27, as is shown in the original post, but just seen a spec sheet on the web showing a sail area of 290 sq ft. Wondering if anyone knows what the actual total sail area actually is?
 
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Both are good sea boats, but I suspect you'll get a better deal with the Halcyon as it hasn't got the Co badge.

As you work and are based in the Bristol Channel, though we hate to admit it here a strong, fairly recent engine will be extremely useful, don't know which has this in your case but a definite plus !
 
Seajet said:
Both are good sea boats, but I suspect you'll get a better deal with the Halcyon as it hasn't got the Co badge.

As you work and are based in the Bristol Channel, though we hate to admit it here a strong, fairly recent engine will be extremely useful, don't know which has this in your case but a definite plus !
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Less of an issue with the Halcyon's Sabb. That is an simple, over-engineered engine built to last forever, and frankly providing it hasn't had a catastrophic failure, I'd reckon on it lasting indefinitely. It was designed for use in fishing vessels; the light use of a yacht will barely have run them in! Certainly, if it runs it will keep on running. There has been only one issue flagged on these forums, which was (AFAIR) corrosion of the exhaust elbow; I think the person who raised that said it was fixed at their local welding shop. It is very slow revving and under-stressed. The variable pitch propeller may be more of an issue.
 
Sea badger said:
Thanks for reply. The headroom is something I'd like if I can. But will keep the Invicta in mind. I have used a sail area of 365 sq ft for the halcyon 27, as is shown in the original post, but just seen a spec sheet on the web showing a sail area of 290 sq ft. Wondering if anyone knows what the actual total sail area actually is?
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The spec on the PBO Buyer's Guide (1979) gives 290 sq ft as well. It seems the smaller figure (working sail area?) is often for the fore triangle only and may not account for any overlap on the genoa.

One other boat that you may appeal to you is the Marieholm 26.
Headroom probably falls between your two chosen boats but the overall feel and interior is clean, modern and well fitted. There is no timber at all on deck (a plus or minus point depending on your temperament) modern Gebo type hatch forwards and clear wide side decks. The fractional rig is in the trendy idiom and with small headsails you might even dispense with headsail roller reefing - though I probably wouldn't, unless planning to race.
These boats were very well put together but, being Swedish, were very expensive in the UK so you may have to visit Europe to view a good one. They do pop up now and again.

http://uk.boats.com/boats-for-sale/marieholm/26/
 
doug748 said:
The spec on the PBO Buyer's Guide (1979) gives 290 sq ft as well. It seems the smaller figure (working sail area?) is often for the fore triangle only and may not account for any overlap on the genoa.

One other boat that you may appeal to you is the Marieholm 26.
Headroom probably falls between your two chosen boats but the overall feel and interior is clean, modern and well fitted. There is no timber at all on deck (a plus or minus point depending on your temperament) modern Gebo type hatch forwards and clear wide side decks. The fractional rig is in the trendy idiom and with small headsails you might even dispense with headsail roller reefing - though I probably wouldn't, unless planning to race.
These boats were very well put together but, being Swedish, were very expensive in the UK so you may have to visit Europe to view a good one. They do pop up now and again.

http://uk.boats.com/boats-for-sale/marieholm/26/
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The spec. sheet is probably for the standard rig of working jib and main. The genoa was an extra, though I suspect most owners had it, and I suspect the higher figure is for the genoa. The original rig had hanked-on jibs, so you usually had three; genoa, working jib and storm jib. The working jib was non-overlapping.
 
Topcat47 said:
The Joint Services Sail Training Centre in Gosport used to have Halcyon 23s an 27s. .
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In past I did sail one of the JSSTC Halcyon 27s and was good. When I was looking for a boat I did view a couple and found the bunks were not long enough for me so I ended up buying a Cutlass 27.

By the way she is now for sale!
 
My boat lives near a Contessa 26 in the winter. That's as near as I've come to one, but having had an interested look it struck me as very pretty but remarkably lightly built: mast section and stays, for example, seem to be very much smaller than on my 26-footer. I've always thought Contessas a bit plywoody inside too, but they haven't gained their reputation for nothing. Of the pair I would definitely prefer a Halcyon 27, but suspect that there isn't much in it and it will come down to what you can find and for how much.
 
The Marieholm is a GRP Folkboat isn't it? By that I mean that it was constructed with the FB rule book dimensions and weights. I can't resist mentioning (of course) that it's therefore obviously nearly perfect...!
 
jamie N said:
The Marieholm is a GRP Folkboat isn't it? By that I mean that it was constructed with the FB rule book dimensions and weights. I can't resist mentioning (of course) that it's therefore obviously nearly perfect...!
Click to expand...

My recollection is that there was a Marieholm Folkboat and a Marieholm 27 which was a bit bigger but still very pretty.
 
No, not a true Folkboat. Tord Sunden drew out the Folkboat lines and increased the topsides (amongst other things) for the the Marieholm International Folkboat. The boat was immensely popular and hull numbers may have topped 3 thousand. These are fairly common in the UK, often referred to as an IF Boat.

The boat of which, I think, Jumbleduck speaks is the 26 as mentioned above. It was another exercise in increasing space below decks. Sunden used the IF boat hull but added freeboard (again), reduced the length of the cockpit and carried the coachroof forward of the mast. This was not so popular, fashions were changing, they were expensive, etc.

As already mentioned they were exceptionally pretty, particularly the IF boat. Of their type they are at the sprightly end of the spectrum, they are possibly a ton lighter than the Halcyon with a similar sail area and a bendy rig to experiment with. Below deck the finish is as you would expect of a Scandinavian boat. Negatives include the snug internal size, and the heads is little more than a cupboard with a chronic, flimsy screen.
 
Don't forget that these yachts have suddenly been deemed too tiny for a YM practical, by Falk of the RYA, despite their oceanic achievements..
 
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