MG Spring 25

[DMW]

I've recently viewed an MG Spring 25, which seems a nice small yacht at a good price. Does anyone have experience of these yachts? I'm thinking of it as a first yacht that I can use to gain experience on, predominantly local/coastal day sailing with the occasional cross-channel in decent weather as my experience grows. Many thanks.

 

[jamesjermain]

The Spring 25 is a Tony Castro design and huge fun to sail, being fast and responsive and well balanced when handled properly. They have a very shallow wing keel and twin rudders to give good control. Even so, they need to be kept reasonably upright or they become a serious handful.

A large number were built and sold over a short period in the wake of the TV soap, Howard's Way, in which the design starred. MG yachts saw an opportunity for high sales on a 'stack-em-high-sell-em-cheap basis. However, the gloss went off it quite quickly for two reasons:
1) They were rather lightly built and early models broke quite easily - particularly the masts
2) They take quite a bit of handling, particularly in a blow and in may ways are not an ideal beginners boat (the target market at the time), despite the fact that they have a roomy and well organised interior for families.

The early Springs were built by Jaguar and the later ones by Northshore. I believe the latter are the better bet. Part of the marketing strategy was that the boats were sole part complete and came with a flat pack of trim which had to be screwed on. Although this was quite a simple job, DIY is not everybody's forte so the standard of finish can be variable. Some were factory finished.

In my view the Spring is a great boat if you know what you are taking on but I would not necessarily recommend it to a beginner - certainly not if you are planning Channel Crossings.

JJ

 

[Jeremy_W]

I raced one from Liverpool to Beaumaris a few years ago in a choppy sea and a fair breeze. I was impressed by the handling characteristics which wouldn't have disgraced a yacht a good few feet longer; a lot heavier; and loads more money.

Accomodation - four adults max for one night; three adults comfortable for a long weekend. Never believe the six berths rubbish in the brochures. ENJOY

 

[EdEssery]

I bought an MG C27 this time last year and have been very pleased with her. At the time of purchase I considered an MG Spring. At the time the Spring was described to me as a "big little boat" whereas the MG C27 was described as a "little big boat".

Before buying a Spring make sure you sit on the saloon berths at the saloon table - the berths are set *very* low - you end up knocking the underside of the table or your chin with your knees! Think about how comfortable it would be in some quiet anchorage when you're busy disposing of that bottle of scotch....

Ed
Skybird K8452Y

 

[Strathglass]

I seriously looked at a Spring 25 when they first came out and even organised a trial sail at Kip Marina. When we arrived there it was blowing between a 4 and a 5 onshore.
The salesman put the demo off saying it would be too rough for us ( at that time we raced an E-boat on the sea several times a week) That was my first encounter with one.
Several years later I was asked to crew one from Carickfergus to Kip. The new owner had just purchased it.
After sorting out various faults on the Spring we eventually got away. The new owner had not looked at the tide tables. We spent four very uncomfortable hours beating into a short sea about one mile outside our departure port going nowhere.
We turned back and left with the tide the next morning. We had a very good sail across it took about 16 hours from memory.
Comments on the craft. Very responsive and nice to sail. Very lightly made, much like some of the modern French yachts one reads those days but not so well engineered. The initial mast design was suspect and many masts broke until a modification was introduced. In a seaway the interior doors swing open and shut because of hull flexing.
Unless they are sailed flat they tend to make a lot of leway.
A very disturbing factor is caused by the twin rudders. There is little or next to no feel on the helm even when sailing the boat on it's ear until it lets go in rather dramatic fashion. This is great for an experianced sailor but for a beginner?.
The new owner did not keep it for very long I remember him and his wife were out in some fairly heavy weather and just after that the boat had to go.
IMHO they are good yachts for marina hopping and club racing but would require careful selection of weather slots to cross the Channel unless with a very experienced crew.

I am not trying to knock the boat just giving my opinion of it's capabilities. I think the MG27 or Jaguar 27 are better general purpose craft.

Iain

 

[warrior40]

I don't think anyone should be comparing the spring with the contessa 27 as they are totally different boats, built for different things, it just so happens that the 27 was branded by MG for a time.
There was a second hand test of the spring in YM a year or so ago which prompted a lot of correspondence. Personally, I wouldn't bother with one as a beginner, unless you are planning a bit of lake sailing or considering it as an alternative to a dinghy or something, I mean, they sail OK downwind, but are often badly constructed. There are so many more suitable boats around, how about a Sadler 25 or a Hunter 26. Maybe a Centaur if you don't mind an older boat?

 

[Guest]

In 88/89 they had a fearsome reputation for dropping their masts under racing conditions (ie, when pushing it). Other than that, a neat design, and fast.

 

[DMW]

Many thanks for all the very helpful comments. I think I'll pass on this one and keep looking !

cheers
David

 

[Guest]

Remembering when this production yacht appeared, she was built down to a price, had many negative aspects and had to be near the bottom of any list of recommended sail boats of her size.

 

[FlyingSpud]

Does this description remind you of any modern boats? /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif No, forget it, it’ll just end up with the same old row

 

[boatless]

I'm afraid that I need to correct some of the people posting here.

TWO masts broke. I broke the one on the proto "Spring of Tarrant" as the log was reading 15.2 knots. (Hamble spring series, had a bit of catching up to do, F7, nobody else with spinnakers up). The mast was a prototype Isomat. Production boats were fitted with Z-Spars.

The other mast was on my own Spring. I lent it to someone for the McEwan series. We were surpised (not to say a little upset) that the mast came down on a hardly sailed boat in F3-4 flat water upwind.

Outside consultants were brought in, and we found that the mast tube was being squeezed harder by the spreader roots than had been conceived.

Action taken. EVERY SINGLE boat was recalled and every single boat had a new spreader root system fitted. No more masts fell.

I subsequently sailed my boat at 15.4 kts. Nothing broke.

Yes, some of the deck gear was pretty inadequate, espec for racing, and yes, the interior is basic. Mouldings have proved to be tough enough. Double rudders have inherently more friction. Like a wheel. What other boat will steer itself over 10 knots?

And, at that time, find me a French builder who was using Isopthallic resins and gel coats to prevent pox?

The page 3 girl from the Mirror didn't find it a handful when we were knocked slightly past flat in Southampton water. She managed to keep it going in a straight line. Never sailed before. Didn't realise that it wasn't meant to happen.

They take a bit of handling in a blow because they came with a SA/DSPL ratio consideraby higher than anybody else gave you. Just because your car comes with 150hp, you don't have to drive it with your foot on the floor. Ballast ratio of a Spring is also considerably higher than any contemporary (and they are probably worse now) Spring was 42% from memory.

Oh, and regarding the agent who wouldn't do the demo in F5. I had a potential owner arrive for his demo at Hamble when it was blowing F8 . When I suggested that we might postpone it, he thought I was covering for the boat. We went out, he bought one.

Rant over.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by boatless on 14/04/2004 22:02 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Smudger Geoff]

The Spring 25 is a Tony Castro design and huge fun to sail, being fast and responsive and well balanced when handled properly. They have a very shallow wing keel and twin rudders to give good control. Even so, they need to be kept reasonably upright or they become a serious handful.

A large number were built and sold over a short period in the wake of the TV soap, Howard's Way, in which the design starred. MG yachts saw an opportunity for high sales on a 'stack-em-high-sell-em-cheap basis. However, the gloss went off it quite quickly for two reasons:
1) They were rather lightly built and early models broke quite easily - particularly the masts
2) They take quite a bit of handling, particularly in a blow and in may ways are not an ideal beginners boat (the target market at the time), despite the fact that they have a roomy and well organised interior for families.

The early Springs were built by Jaguar and the later ones by Northshore. I believe the latter are the better bet. Part of the marketing strategy was that the boats were sole part complete and came with a flat pack of trim which had to be screwed on. Although this was quite a simple job, DIY is not everybody's forte so the standard of finish can be variable. Some were factory finished.

In my view the Spring is a great boat if you know what you are taking on but I would not necessarily recommend it to a beginner - certainly not if you are planning Channel Crossings.

JJ

Hi from Cairns Australia, own a Spring 25 for almost a year now. I'm trying to track down an owner's forum with little success. There doesn't seem to be much activity in the UK either...

 

[Firefly211]

Hi from Cairns Australia, own a Spring 25 for almost a year now. I'm trying to track down an owner's forum with little success. There doesn't seem to be much activity in the UK either...

Hi Geoff,

I bought my MG Spring last year too. There is a Facebook Group - MG Spring 25 - SailingBoat. Currently there are 115 members. Link below:

Log in to Facebook

 

[Bobc]

Powerful little boat. Great fun!

 

[wiggy]

Had a spring for 8 years, fantastic boat, we used It for family holidays, I fitted a proper fridge and heating, a bit of racing a lots of cross channel weekends. Lots of fun, great interior and only replaced due to my 2 daughters getting bigger making it a little tight for a week with 4 of us. If I was to downsize I’d buy another.

 

[asteven221]

I had one and really enjoyed it. Roomy for 25ft. Recommended. We found the Yanmar 9hp inboard a bit underpowered, but could not complain about anything else. I am sure she will still be sailing around giving owners a lot of fun. She was called Temptress but probably renamed now. Bought and sold at Kip marina.

 

[capnsensible]

Used to sail one belonging to a friend. Wonderful fun yacht.
We sailed from gosport once to the Jolly Sailor up the Hamble had lunch then back without using the engine. Imagine the audience...

Also across to St Vaast and back in a near gale amongst other adventures. Great yacht. In my opinion...