info / thoughts on Hardy 25

[sailorman]

having previously stating i had thoughts on antares 760, i have now found these handsome little vessels that have piqued my interest, im sure the build quality is good, the yanmar engines with chain driven camshaft is more to my liking than a belt, ok chaps, the good bad & the ugly please

 

[Plum]

having previously stating i had thoughts on antares 760, i have now found these handsome little vessels that have piqued my interest, im sure the build quality is good, the yanmar engines with chain driven camshaft is more to my liking than a belt, ok chaps, the good bad & the ugly please

Hi, which engine are you eliminating due to a belt driven camshaft? Depends on how you will use your boat, the Hardy has a good reputation but if you are at all interested in the RCD seakeeping categories, then I beleive the Hardy is "inshore"

 

[paulbrown22]

A Hardy 25 (i.e. the very old one from 1980's), or a more modern Hardy Mariner 25/26 from the early/mid 2000's generally with the Yanmar 4LH 230hp? I seriously looked at the Mariner 25 and Hardy 27 as I have a lovely Hardy Navigator 18 and wanted something bigger, and first port of call was another Hardy. The Hardy 27 I quite liked the layout but it was just dog slow even with twin Yanmars, the Mariner 25 had much better performance but I went onboard one and the layout just wasn't right for me with minimal space in the pilot house for us to have 2 small children there playing and quite tight down below. I ended up buying a Saga 26HT which for me had a far better layout with our current family age, much more living space upstairs, amazing build quality and performance in-between the Hardy 27 and Mariner 25.

 

[Alicatt]

We contemplated a Hardy Family Pilot 20 but it was very small for what we wanted, the 25 was a bit better but the layout was not to my wife's liking, they are quite heavy boat for their size and require a fair bit of HP to get them to shift. The Hardy Owner's Club has a nice little spreadsheet with member's boats, engine fitted and such giving details of speeds/fuel consumption.
*It did not help that when my wife sat down in the cabin it was on a wet patch from a leaking window, that put her right off

We eventually bought a Broom Ocean 37, a lot more money but a much more comfortable boat for the two of us and the occasional guests.

 

[zikzik]

I’m just in the process of buying an Antares 760. But while looking and deciding , I was very keen to view a mariner 25 for sale near me. I liked the style and build quality, but was unsure of the layout, so I went home and showed my wife both in adverts / youtube vids. She pointed out, correctly I think, that having the galley below meant often using the main bed as a saloon with table up, meaning making a bed some or most nights.
The 760 is a better, more practical option for us and might edge the mariner 25 in sea keeping and visibility as well.

 

[Alicatt]

My wife and I did our PB2 on a Merry Fisher 725, similar but not the same, the MF had a 150hp Suzuki outboard where the Antares has an inboard of up to 200hp and the Antares has a B6/C8 RCD where the MF has just the C8 rating
in layout they are not too dissimilar double berth forward and a small galley in the wheel house.
We had great fun out on the MF in a force 6 to 5 winds on the Clyde and my wife loved that little boat

 

[paulbrown22]

I’m just in the process of buying an Antares 760. But while looking and deciding , I was very keen to view a mariner 25 for sale near me. I liked the style and build quality, but was unsure of the layout, so I went home and showed my wife both in adverts / youtube vids. She pointed out, correctly I think, that having the galley below meant often using the main bed as a saloon with table up, meaning making a bed some or most nights.
The 760 is a better, more practical option for us and might edge the mariner 25 in sea keeping and visibility as well.

One of the big reasons I ended up with my Saga 26HT - the forward cabin has a convertible table but it also has a decent sized table in the cockpit. So when sleeping onboard the forward cabin can be made up permanently as a bed, and we cook/eat upstairs (which I far prefer anyway so I can watch things outside!). I think there's a lot to be said for the galley/dining upstairs layouts unless you like spending time down below, and for me the Mariner 25/26 was just too cramped in the pilot house which is where I want to spend most of my time when I'm not sleeping!

 

[oldgit]

B1 had a Hardy 27 many years ago with pair of very small Volvo engines on shafts.
He decided to escape the Thames and to spend a week on the Medway which involved a 10 hour transit through central London and out into the esturary.
Must admit was not looking forward to the trip with much enthusiasm at all due to boat size and cruise speed.
Trip certainly changed my mind, the quality of the construction of the boat and its layout and ease of getting around was an example of how to spend money on things that matter ie. not shouty bling.
Sea keeping was excellent and the boat a delight to helm, holding a course without need of a autopilot unlike a Princess 33 on outdrives which wandered all over the shop requiring constant attention , also recall just how quiet the boat was while underway, certainly when compared to the racket created by unmuffled Perkins and Volvo Penta 6 cylinder engines.

When at some point a downsize to something smaller arises (as it will) a small shaft driven Hardy would be top of the list.

 

[sailorman]

A Hardy 25 (i.e. the very old one from 1980's), or a more modern Hardy Mariner 25/26 from the early/mid 2000's generally with the Yanmar 4LH 230hp? I seriously looked at the Mariner 25 and Hardy 27 as I have a lovely Hardy Navigator 18 and wanted something bigger, and first port of call was another Hardy. The Hardy 27 I quite liked the layout but it was just dog slow even with twin Yanmars, the Mariner 25 had much better performance but I went onboard one and the layout just wasn't right for me with minimal space in the pilot house for us to have 2 small children there playing and quite tight down below. I ended up buying a Saga 26HT which for me had a far better layout with our current family age, much more living space upstairs, amazing build quality and performance in-between the Hardy 27 and Mariner 25.

thanks, the marriner sounds abetter option

 

[paulbrown22]

thanks, the marriner sounds abetter option

It very much depends on your requirements, but worth looking at both (and potentially some other options too). As per oldgit above, I do think the Hardy 27's are amazing vessels, as long as you can accept a cruising speed of ~6-8kn max depending on engine(s). For me personally that was too slow, but sadly neither did the layout of the Mariner 26 fit my requirements, so I ended up moving away from Hardy. A Yanmar-engined Hardy Commander 32 would have ticked many of the boxes but was too large and expensive!

 

[sailorman]

It very much depends on your requirements, but worth looking at both (and potentially some other options too). As per oldgit above, I do think the Hardy 27's are amazing vessels, as long as you can accept a cruising speed of ~6-8kn max depending on engine(s). For me personally that was too slow, but sadly neither did the layout of the Mariner 26 fit my requirements, so I ended up moving away from Hardy. A Yanmar-engined Hardy Commander 32 would have ticked many of the boxes but was too large and expensive!

due to my very limited physical abilities i need to keep small hence the aaA760& hardy 25, not too small i don't want to go back 50 yrs & go back to "camping on water"

 

[paulbrown22]

due to my very limited physical abilities i need to keep small hence the aaA760& hardy 25, not too small i don't want to go back 50 yrs & go back to "camping on water"

Agreed, I absolutely loved my Hardy 18 Navigator but it is more like camping on water and you are constantly bending over and crawling around! The step up to a 25-30' vessel is a massive difference and makes it so much more comfortable.

 

[Alicatt]

We got a Placom 750 after we had looked at the Hardy and a couple of other boats, at 7.5m she is about 23-24ft with a large cockpit, 2 berth bunk in the bow and a dining table that could convert to another double berth, and a separate head with porta-poti, all well and good on paper but she was quite cramped in reality and after our first long voyage on her first mate intimated that we needed a bigger boat
Now I am 5'8" and my wife is 5'6" so we are not that large in the scheme of things.
Hence the search for a larger boat and the subsequent purchase of the Ocean 37 at a little over 11m she has plenty of room, though we do miss the cockpit of the Placom, that was about the best bit of the boat, the builders had tried to cram in a little too much in the cabin/saloon/galley.

For a boat built for Dutch people I was surprised at how tight the berths were, she was a nice river/canal cruiser but a bit tight for extended voyages, the longest we did on her was 5 days and we were kind of glad to get off her and into a proper bed.
The Ocean37 is more like a caravan on the water, and really the week long trips we have been on with her we have not wanted them to end, there is plenty of space and even with 4 of us onboard she is not cramped at all, but it is a much bigger boat at 37ft, about 10tonnes, and not towable behind a car like the Hardys are.
Really take care in checking out where you will be spending time onboard the boat of your choice.

 

[sailorman]

Agreed, I absolutely loved my Hardy 18 Navigator but it is more like camping on water and you are constantly bending over and crawling around! The step up to a 25-30' vessel is a massive difference and makes it so much more comfortable.

thanks i fully understand as a former sailor of a 37foot quality yacht, my issue is my physical limitations re, upkeep& maintenance, the reason i am no boatless for first time in 50 yrs, upon being ejected from hospital after a 9 months in a terrible physical condition due to sod all physio as result of covid, i was barely able to stand up& not able to move myself in any way, things have improved with private neuro physio, { that makes boat owning seem cheap}, still a long way to go , its all so, so frustrating & akin to torture, brain willing, body much less so, getting back afloat amonst my friends has kept me focused on getting the A760, believing that to i might even be able to polish topsides, any larger would req pro help& funds limited nowadays, i am used to doing all maintenance myself, first things first, i have to be allowed to drive& buy small car, so much to do& thanks for feedback / info

 

[sailorman]

My wife and I did our PB2 on a Merry Fisher 725, similar but not the same, the MF had a 150hp Suzuki outboard where the Antares has an inboard of up to 200hp and the Antares has a B6/C8 RCD where the MF has just the C8 rating
in layout they are not too dissimilar double berth forward and a small galley in the wheel house.
We had great fun out on the MF in a force 6 to 5 winds on the Clyde and my wife loved that little boat

i would not want an OB, for uk coastal due to availability of fuel, inboard on shaft only out drives again need too much expensive careplus dont track well at lower spds