Is a Konsort up to longer passages?

Siriussl23

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Konsort?

I’ve come to this forum to access the wealth of first hand experience.

I have a well found Konsort twin keel, time available and the urge to sail longer distances. The furthest I’ve sailed single handed is across the channel.

I appreciate I need to build up some more experience and that I’m the weak link, but would a Konsort be up to UK to the Azores? Not necessarily as part of the Jester Challenge.
 
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oldbilbo

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I can see no obvious reason why not. She looks an attractive mid-sized boat, and there will be other owners who can advise on any known weak points, for your attention. The pics on 'yachtsnet.co.uk' show an attractive design and layout, and most of us would be pleased to live in such a comfortable space. You might want to have a very hard look at the existing rudder hangings, for example.
 

alant

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I’ve come to this forum to access the wealth of first hand experience.

I have a well found Konsort twin keel, time available and the urge to sail longer distances. The furthest I’ve sailed single handed is across the channel.

I appreciate I need to build up some more experience and that I’m the weak link, but would a Konsort be up to UK to the Azores? Not necessarily as part of the Jester Challenge.

The "Twin keels", 'might' be a consideration.
 

alant

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Not at all, plenty of serious voyages done in bilge keelers.
Take a look at this linky
http://www.thesimplesailor.com/Mingming.html

Lot's of serious voyages, been done in a wayfarer dinghies, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dye, so?

Personally, even with papers like this one, http://www.brayyachtdesign.bc.ca/article_twinkeels.html, IMO on a monohull, a keel with decent ballast does it for me, particularly when considering an ocean crossing.

PS A friend is getting rid of his twin keel westerly, because on almost every x-channel trip, he has snagged nets/fishing gear/plastic sheet, om his rudder/sail drive, which he is convinced would not happen on a single keel version. He has developed an aversion to going over the side with a knife when mid channel ;)
 

Independence

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I did the 2008 J Azores Challenge in a bilge keel Jaguar 25 and was in some gusty conditions on the way back hitting 50 knots......albeit only once.

I never felt I was disadvantaged by bilge keels and read previously on some poeple seeing an advantage to them in small boats as they were less likely to 'trip' over the keel when hit by big waves and effectively skate across the water. On saying that I've gone from owning a boat length 25 feet to 31 and gone for a fin keel. If I was back in a 25 footer or similar I'd be worrying about other things than the fact I had bilge keels.

A good point was made about the rudder. Mine was also transom hung and technically vulnerable as I didn't have a skeg. My strategies for rudder failure were based around:
1. Having massively over engineered gudgeon and pintles made up
2. Actually having a spare rudder on board that I could replace at the stern
3. Having a second back-up using a spare oar I carried
4. If it did break being able to see clearly what and where it had broken and it being relatively easy to get to

Nick Bridges in his Trapper 500 demonstrated outstanding seamnship on the way back when he lost his rudder early on and sailed most of the way using his emergancy system until he could reach the Scilly Isles
 

PacketRat

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Does this help?
mcnally5a.jpg
 

boatman61

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Yes... a Konsort is well capable of the trip.. if its not a competition like the Jester however I'd suggest running S across the Biscay and on down to Cascais/Lisbon before making the 800+ mile run for the islands.. otherwise you've a 1500 odd miles non-stop run with mainly SW'lies after the first 500 miles.. plus it breaks the trip and you get to visit some nice places..
Oh.. and W22's have successfully done the Azores Jester..
 
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