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Andystart

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Hi

My name is Andy, been sailing dinghy's for a good few years, knees are starting to fail so my partner,Gill and I are looking for something a little more stable, so I t bought I would poll and get some advice here

We are looking for something around 20' ish which we can sleep on
Most of our cruising will be on the Norfolk Broads
Stability is key, as it was the twitchyness of our Wanderer that put Gill off:eek:
The ability to sail single handed also
Bilge keel for ease of trailing etc..

We have been looking at a Leisure 17

But you appreciate your thoughts

Andy
 
Andystart said:
Hi

My name is Andy, been sailing dinghy's for a good few years, knees are starting to fail so my partner,Gill and I are looking for something a little more stable, so I t bought I would poll and get some advice here

We are looking for something around 20' ish which we can sleep on
Most of our cruising will be on the Norfolk Broads
Stability is key, as it was the twitchyness of our Wanderer that put Gill off:eek:
The ability to sail single handed also
Bilge keel for ease of trailing etc..

We have been looking at a Leisure 17

But you appreciate your thoughts

Andy
Click to expand...

Can't really help with the choice of a small boat so thought I'd say 'hello' and 'welcome' to bump you back up the list. Someone will be along soon with the sort of advice you're after. Stu :)
 
I was in a similar situation several years ago (apart from the knees that is - they have finally gone now!!) and I ended up with a Hunter Medina. Great little boat - very easy to sail single handed - bit like a big dinghy and lifting keel so easy to trail etc. Initially used a Ford Mondeo estate and latterly a Jeep Cherokee

We sailed her all over the west coast of Scotland as far out as Coll. Cost about £4000 and sold for £4500 after about 4 years use although I had done a fair bit of work on her.

I looked at the Leisure 17, 21 & 23, Foxcub, Jaguar 21, Etap 20 & lots more but the Medina beat them all in my opinion.

One to consider.
 
Andystart said:
Hi

My name is Andy, been sailing dinghy's for a good few years, knees are starting to fail so my partner,Gill and I are looking for something a little more stable, so I t bought I would poll and get some advice here

We are looking for something around 20' ish which we can sleep on
Most of our cruising will be on the Norfolk Broads
Stability is key, as it was the twitchyness of our Wanderer that put Gill off:eek:
The ability to sail single handed also
Bilge keel for ease of trailing etc..

We have been looking at a Leisure 17

But you appreciate your thoughts

Andy
Click to expand...

Hi

A Leisure 17 is rather smaller than 20 ft ... about 3 ft smaller :D but if 17 ft suits you its an extremely good choice.
Very similar and by the same designer the Sunstar 18.

All the facts about the entire leisure range can be found on the Leisure Owners Association website.

There are a couple of prominent forum members with Leisure 23s who will be along shortly to tell you all about them.

Another classic 17 footer is the Silhouette See the SOIA website.

Signet is not a bad 20 footer

Seahawk at just under 17 ft is not bad A foum member had one on Windermere for a while. He also had a Foxcub for a while, another good one at 18ft

Corribee at 21 ft is a well known and popular 21 footer

Many others to choose from

Best of the lot for good accommodation is the Sea Wych at 19 ft. There is an active owners association.
 
When I was younger I yearned for Leisure 17, later now in life I bought a Bradwell 18 which is great for me, but time and iffy trailer means I do not get to use it much. I'd be inclined to look for a good package if you are trailer sailing, a good trailer and all the bits add up.
 
The Seahawk 17 was designed for use on the Broads. It's a lifting keel boat with a lot of ballast in the stub. Sails well and is stable.
You'll get one for under £1500. Must have a trailer and decent sails.

​
 
Last edited:
Hi all

Thanks for the responses, the Seawych is looking favourite at the moment, due to the level of accommodation (thinking about the Mrs)

One thing I did not mention in my original post was ease of mast lowering, on the Wanderer I can drop the mast while under outboard power, how easy on these larger boats is I dropping the mast?
 
A lot of good suggestions already made. My vote would go for the Leisure 17. I had one for 5 years, very roomy for her size, buoyant as a cork, and slips through the water remarkably easily for such a tubby little boat (this seems to be a characteristic of all Arthur C Howard's deigns - the Sun yachts are similar). My boat had the lake rig (2ft taller mast) and in moderate wind and wave conditions I often passed much larger and racier yachts. The 17SL was the later version which has a more streamlined deck & cabin moulding and usually costs more to buy, however the plain vanilla 17 sails just as well. I towed mine behind a 1400cc car without problems
 
Go where you intend to sail and see what everyone else is using. If you join a club that is geared up to handle a particular boat then it might cause you slight problems if yours is a different one. For example my club has a special launching trailer designed to match one particular twin keeler that several members use. I can't use it, so I have to dunk my road trailer in the sea!
 
Again cheers for all the feedback, I guess in an ideal world, it would be great to try the Sea Wych and the Leisure, if any owners in East Anglia would like a willing crew sometime soon, please let me know.

As this would be a great way to get to know the boat before looking for one to purchase


Andy
 
With the Bradwell I've never tried it under way, but I find mine easy as I have a tabanacle. I disconnect the shrouds and to help keep control I attach a rope under the anchor roller and attach to the forestay and just lower away, keeping control of the mast with rope and guiding hand.

I trail mine so it is becoming natural.
 
Andystart said:
Again cheers for all the feedback, I guess in an ideal world, it would be great to try the Sea Wych and the Leisure, if any owners in East Anglia would like a willing crew sometime soon, please let me know.

As this would be a great way to get to know the boat before looking for one to purchase


Andy
Click to expand...

PM sent with contact details of local reps of the Sea Wych Owners Association
 
Andystart said:
Thanks will make contact:)

I still keep getting pulled towards the Leisure though
Click to expand...

You wont go wrong with the Leisure esp if you are just day or weekend sailing.

For longer periods more spacious accommodation is nice

I posted some pictures of the inside of my Sea Wych recently and was accused of using "one of those special cameras estate agents use":

.. ..
 
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