Kirie Feeling 286

[Darby]

Hi. Taking a look at a 1989 Kirie Feeling 286 fin keel with Yanmar 2GM20 in a few days. Just looking for advice on known issues to look for from any current or previous owners. I know one unique point of this boat is a set of small windows on the keel in order to allow access to keel bolts. I assume these are glassed and painted over (making it difficult to access the bolts). Has any owner actually seen or serviced keel bolts? Water ingress issues etc? Also, in comments I've seen multiple people say this is both a good light wind and heavy weather sailboat. Is that possible? The SA/D indicates pretty good light wind performance, but the D/L makes me think she's gonna be quite squirrelly and uncomfortable in heavy seas. Any owner commentary would be much appreciated! Thank you. D

 

[XDC]

Worst boat I've ever owned.

At times I swear there was more seawater inside than out. We could NOT stop the forehatch leaking and took to putting a tarpaulin over all the upholstery, shaped so that the water ran into the "bilge".

She took head seas so badly you could actually see the water running down inside. Side windows were nearly as bad.

Every furniture module creaked and if we dried her out the galley module actually lifted and showed a gap in the sealant.

Luckily we had a friend who worked at Blondecell Marine and he spent a weekend laminating, screwing and plugging holes until some form of structural rigidity was established.

We liked the interior and the central engine seemed to work but she would slam herself to a stop.

I'm sure you'll get responses saying "great boat" etc and perhaps we were unlucky with a "Friday" boat but never again.

 

[Hermit]

I had a 1989 346 so no direct comparisions but same yard etc. . She was pretty solid for a french semi- mass production boat. The windows are susceptible to leaking but we just lifted them every few years in rotation and re-sealed. Never have the problems like XDC mentions.

She had the keel 'windows' but never had cause to open them up in 15 years of ownership. no signs of water ingress or leaking.

I would say yes to light wind. In heavy weather ours would tend to slam easily and short, steep seas would stop her in her tracks. Always paid to reef early to keep her flat and avoid weather helm.

But - a spacious and comfortable boat below - for us, she was a good compromise with young kids and limited ambitions.

 

[Darby]

Worst boat I've ever owned.

At times I swear there was more seawater inside than out. We could NOT stop the forehatch leaking and took to putting a tarpaulin over all the upholstery, shaped so that the water ran into the "bilge".

She took head seas so badly you could actually see the water running down inside. Side windows were nearly as bad.

Every furniture module creaked and if we dried her out the galley module actually lifted and showed a gap in the sealant.

Luckily we had a friend who worked at Blondecell Marine and he spent a weekend laminating, screwing and plugging holes until some form of structural rigidity was established.

We liked the interior and the central engine seemed to work but she would slam herself to a stop.

I'm sure you'll get responses saying "great boat" etc and perhaps we were unlucky with a "Friday" boat but never again.

X, thank you for that honest appraisal! I have yet to come across such a negative experience with a 286. Was she a former charter boat that was beat up from wear? Also, did you have the (underpowered) Volvo? I'm looking at a lightly used one - yes, the marina gin palace - that has a 2GM20 and no leaking (yet). If yours had been leak-free, more solid on the inside, and 16 hp, would you have felt differently? I understand that she pounds in a chop, but I don't think I'm gonna find a boat with a turn of speed that doesn't. Anyway, talk me out of it please! Cheers

 

[Darby]

I had a 1989 346 so no direct comparisions but same yard etc. . She was pretty solid for a french semi- mass production boat. The windows are susceptible to leaking but we just lifted them every few years in rotation and re-sealed. Never have the problems like XDC mentions.

She had the keel 'windows' but never had cause to open them up in 15 years of ownership. no signs of water ingress or leaking.

I would say yes to light wind. In heavy weather ours would tend to slam easily and short, steep seas would stop her in her tracks. Always paid to reef early to keep her flat and avoid weather helm.

But - a spacious and comfortable boat below - for us, she was a good compromise with young kids and limited ambitions.

Hermit, thank you. Lets see, I've got one good experience with a Kirie, and one terrible. What is a person to do? I'll wait for a third response

 

[greeny]

Don't own one but sail one frequently.
Side windows leak badly. Owner chooses not to fix. If it was mine I'd fix it.
Headlining terrible now. Vinyl is rotted and flaking off. Needs completely re doing.
Front hatch leaks and needs a new seal - again fixable.
Shower drains into the bilge causing keel bolt heads to rust and leaves a messy bilge all the time,
Engine fitted is a Nanni so not relevant to you.
Good in light wind. Seems to just ghost along nicely with little effort.
I've not sailed her in bad weather so won't comment.
For me she's a good day sailor or weekender down here in Portugal where weather is not so much a worry in summer. I must admit, I do enjoy sailing her though. Simple basic sailing. Nothing complicated. A good turn of speed as well. Not sure about longer distance heavier weather though.

 

[XDC]

Lightly used one-owner.

The engine was a Volvo ... pretty sure a 2001 and bizarrely it didn't seem massively underpowered. I used to race a UFO 27 with a Petter 6 and a whisk sized prop so I know all about lack of power ?

I've been trying to recall what my friend did (it was around 25 years ago) and can definitely remember one characteristic ... he unplugged and undid most of the screws he could access. Once unscrewed all he had to do was push or tap the wood and the sections separated ... there appeared to be little glue, and many of the holes were worn larger through movement.

He had the difficult job of drilling out the resultant holes and fashioning wooden filler pieces which were then well glued in ... or was it epoxy 25 years ago?

He then put fibreglass tabbing wherever he could and I have no idea how he stopped the galley plinth lifting but the gap disappeared when dried out ... I have a vague memory of there originally being a grey mastic and a gap of probably a quarter of an inch+ !

He blamed the leaking hatch on the hull twisting in average seas and again came up with a fix more than just mere rebedding. ... similarly the windows.

The reason I mentioned Blondecell is that they built the well regarded Tradewind 35 (some just moulds, some completely finished) so he really knew his stuff.

Leak free? More solid? Yes of course it would change my opinion .... after all we liked it enough to buy it in the first place and we did actually set off for France in a forecasted 6-7 which we most definitely got. More 7 than 6 mid-channel but the wind was on the quarter .... however the genny was rolled away so that only the reinforced clew area showed ... I was really getting concerned about how we'd stop before hitting some lock gates but the wind gradually moderated.

The wind was WNW and we "had" to go to Ouistreham for the 50th D-Day celebrations .... my father fell out of a plane at D-Day + 15 minutes and was due to be awarded a medal along with his surviving comrades hence the "had".

A huge wave broke over the starboard side and actually spun the port mounted outbound through 180 degrees but we obviously survived ? but the return journey was NW 4+ and with the long fetch the motion was just plain miserable ... probably the same as any flat-bottomed boat though but she had to be sailed very free.

I really don't want to talk you out of buying one if you see one you like and it doesn't have leaks and creaks. As I said, perhaps we had a Friday boat which we enjoyed when we didn't have the problems .... but you did ask ??

A memory:

Ouistreham , June the 5th 1995

 

[Concerto]

I bought one new in 1987 and sailed it singlehanded. It certainly was light weather friendly and could slam going to windward in a breeze. On one beam reach with full main and 100% jib, I hit 9.2 knots through the water. At this time the battery box came loose as it was only fixed with some glassfibre mat between the internal smooth moulding and the outise of the battery box. All it need to fix it was 4 countersunk screws!

The forward berths are very short, more suitable for children than adults. Otherwise the layout worked reasonably well but with poor locker storage. Mine had the Volvo engine and never felt under powered. I never had any leaks from windows or elsewhere. The electrical supply was fairly basic with just an 80 amp hour battery and should require some extra capacity if not already added.

Not all my memories we happy ones as mine was badly damaged in the Oct 87 hurricane. Moored on a fore and aft mooring between a Tuffglass 31 (owner by John Tyler of Tyler Mouldings) and a Sigma 41, at the end of a 1 mile reach facing SW. The weight on the oversized lines caused the double bow lines to saw through and the she layed bouncing alongside the Sigma 41. The main bulkhead is by the end of the coachroof and she was cracked just aft of the bulkhead from the waterline and into the cockpit. At 6am the waves were still estimated to be 10ft high. Some yacht club members managed to move her to a quieter mooring and saved her from sinking. She was taken back to the Solent for repair and this took 18 months. The hull repair was relatively simple, but the deck was another matter. A section from the shrouds, going up onto the coachroof and half of the cockpit was cut out and replaced with a new moulding. During the repairs several manufacturing faults were found. The worst was the edge of the hull moulding that the deck and toe rail was fixed to was cut too close to the hull side and a number of the rivets did not secure the deck to the hull. Also the top of the rudder post tube was not sealed and was possible for a potential leak with water forced up the post. After the repair the boat looked like new and was stronger than when it left the factory. When I sold her, even the surveyor did not spot the few tell tale signs she had been repaired.

Not many were sold in the UK. The rounded bow and the grey gel coat made her look different to most boats. As I sold her at 4 years old, I cannot comment on longer term problems. Overall she was an acceptable boat to sail and live on considering her length. Would I buy another one? No, as I have now moved larger to a 40 year old Westerly Fulmar and spent the last 7 years renovating. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/3/3f/Concerto.pdf

 

[Darby]

Everyone - thank you very much for your replies. It's a lot of good information, so I really appreciate this input. I meet with the broker this Friday and will probably ask him for a hose to blast some water on those windows and hatches! Can I do that? Alas, even if the issues mentioned weren't enough, I can see from pictures that the hull liner in the bathroom is disintegrating, and starting to droop in the port side cabin. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't hull liner replacement an extremely messy and time-consuming affair that is prohibitively expensive to get professionally replaced?) I am financially challenged and was hoping that I found a seaworthy boat with a lightly used 2GM20 for a very reasonable price. But if it's too good to be true... Anyway, unless I'm smitten beyond reason, I will likely just take in the tour and continue the hunt.

 

[Darby]

A boat with too many projects...continuing the hunt! (Sailed well though - wouldn't mind one in better condition.)