Ideal boat for the east coast?

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Vid

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I have an Achilles 24 at the moment, which I’ve loved but now I want to make the next move up.

Supposing you had £15-20k to spend and wanted something for the east coast around 28ft that would be easy to manage solo but also with room for two or three adults to spend a few days on board, that would provide an entertaining sail and not come with too many restrictions on where you could go. Something that you might take cross-channel or coast-hop further afield but no blue water voyages. Something with a bit of character but no big maintenance obligations. What would be the yacht you’d get?

These are my requirements and I have a small list of candidates but I’d like to see what other ideas are out there.
 
One look at the chart shows you that almost all the waterways run NE-SW, ie with or against the prevailing winds. This means that much or your time will be spent going to windward. Unless you have a shallow mooring or need one to save money, the ability to go to windward is a priority, meaning that a fin keel will serve much better. The difference may not seem much on paper, but my old fin-keeled Sadler 29 would get from Orwell to the Blackwater, say, about half an hour before its twin rivals, and seeing similar boats disappearing ahead is not something I enjoy. If you are actually going to use the benefits of twin keels, that is fine, but I see many of them in marinas and few of them drying out or holed up at the top of creeks.
 
If shoal water cruising is your thing then get a Southerley.
I have a 1.4m draft twin keeler which sails well, but a lift keeler that lifts the keel flush with the hull could be said to be the ideal creek explorer. If you are not that bothered about creek crawling, then get what ever you like as it will rarely be restricted by draft.
 
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I agree with johnalison a fin Sadler 29 will be faster, but I have always felt that part of the interest of the East Coast was 'creek crawling' which the shallower bilge allows. But if not interested in the shallower bits then yes go for the fin.
 
a Southerly 95 or 100 ? Not sure how much they sell for these days but ideal East Coast boats

edit: just googled and there are several 95s for sale in and around your budget...
 
johnalison said:
If you are actually going to use the benefits of twin keels, that is fine, but I see many of them in marinas and few of them drying out or holed up at the top of creeks.
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I'm wrestling with this at the moment. My Achilles is a triple keel but in truth I rarely take advantage of this, sailing her as though she had a fin. It's only a few times when I've dried out, mostly it's just good to have a shallow draft. Also, whenever she has taken the ground she's often settled at an uncomfortable angle so I tend to avoid it.
 
Marmalade said:
a Southerly 95 or 100 ? Not sure how much they sell for these days but ideal East Coast boats

edit: just googled and there are several 95s for sale in and around your budget...
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I'd very much like a Southerly 32 but they're out of my budget for now, I should take a look at an early one.
 
Vid said:
i have a Konsort on my list, but get a bit confused by the number of different Westerly models. Fulmars are indeed lovely but bigger than I'm thinking of.
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The reason I did not include the Konsort was it is 29ft. A very roomy hull, but a generation earlier in design terms to the three I listed. The Konsort was designed by Laurent Giles and has the knuckle chine bow. The rest were designed by Ed Dubois and have a normal rounded hull shape.
Konsort - Westerly-Wiki

If you did decide on a Westerly I should mention the Westerly Owers Association has a very active East Coast Branch with a number of meetings and events every year. Membership is only £15 pa and includes 2 magazines and a yearbook. Membership also entitles you to a discount on the specialist policy offered to Westerly owners with lots of free extras to the standard policy from Navigators and General. One of the best extras is free tender and outboard cover, plus singlehanding up to 24 hour continuous sailing.
 
I've sailed on the East Coast for many years and never found draft to be an issue. The boat I kept longest had a 1.7m draft and I never ran aground. My first boat was a bilge keel Hurley and I ran aground lots. More down to experience and knowing that running aground with a fin isn't a good idea.

I'm with the posters who want good windward sailing ability. Very important on East Coast rivers when coming back in against the wind, a couple of tacks can add a lot of time to a journey. It's just nicer to sail a fast well balanced yacht. My current boat is a lift keel MGC 27 but it seems to sail as well as the fin keeled versions. I didn't buy it because of the lifting keel but because it was in very good condition and for a reasonable price. Probably the only advantage I think it will give will be to get through Havengore Bridge without worrying too much.

If I were getting another boat for the sort of budget you have, I htink I would lok for something like a good condition Sigma 33.
 
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For differences between Seals 26/27/275 take a look at the Association brief guide here PSSA > About > The Fleet
One significant difference will of course be the age of the boats ,spanning as they do the years 1978 to 2000 ,and this is reflected in the current value,as well as in their development /amenity.Any of them will give you a fast sail and keen ability to windward,and they have all proved durable. with few design issues.
 
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Vid said:
:) Already one of the main contenders for me, or one of the predecessors: do you know if the differences between a SS26, Parker 27 and Parker 275 are significant?
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Parker 27 and SS26 are practically the same boat. P27 has a bit more headroom. P275 a different beast altogether with a much heavier keel compared to first two and standing headroom. All three are a joy to sail and will leave similarly sized (and some bigger!) Westerly/Sadler/Moody/etc boats for dead on all points of sail. Super Seals for me are the best bang for the buck though, and starting to creep below the £10k mark now.
 
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