MG Spring 25

Come on boys, calm down. I had a spring for a good few years and set up the owners site mentioned earlier. My spring, Highly Sprung, was dried out on the hard at Itchenor twice a year for a scrub and on one occasion I parked with a big lump of rock under one rudders, and yes a little damage was done. I loved my Spring and only moved up as the kids got bigger, it was ard to find a bigger boat to meet my expectations. The MG Spring sails fantastically, has great accommodation, is fast and an all round great boat. I made several cross Channel trips and sailed single handed each year from the Solent to Dartmouth for Dartmouth regatta. Personally I wouldn't keep a spring on a drying mooring but I would definitely buy another if I ever down in size.
 
You were very unlucky to find rock at Itchenor, presumably a stray lump rather than seabed.

Boguing,

if it makes you feel better I never thought the sales pitch saying the boat could dry was deliberately misleading, just that optimistic advertising might well have that effect.
 
Seajet said:
You were very unlucky to find rock at Itchenor, presumably a stray lump rather than seabed.

Boguing,

if it makes you feel better I never thought the sales pitch saying the boat could dry was deliberately misleading, just that optimistic advertising might well have that effect.
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All advertising is optimistic, by definition.

I doubt ANY boat with survive being bounced around on a hard sand bottom where there is likely to be any wave movement.
 
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This picture from the owners' website shows the Spring can dry out in the right conditions, but it's likely this was a short term thing. I think we've established it's not sensible to keep on a drying mooring day in, day out. Doesn't put me off the boat at all, but good to know its limitations before a potential purchase!
 
I love debates! Who to believe...

One side, A bloke with a reputation for spreading wincingly frightening scare stories about any boat that isn't an Anderson, and on the other side, an established boat designer, (non Anderson) and naval architect.

Pass the popcorn please? :-)
 
I like to hear both sides of a story but how a bit of advice on whether an old boat is good for a drying mooring, becomes the subject of a near forensic level of cross questioning, makes you wonder where people find the time to actually sail these things. :)
 
On a side note. How does the MG compare with the likes of the Hunter Horizon 26? Both seem very similar in size and both have a very similar cabin layout. Only real differences I can see are the hunter having 'twin fin' (or bilge, outside of Hunter) keels compared to the MG's Wing and the MG having dual rudders.
 
chrisbitz said:
I love debates! Who to believe...

One side, A bloke with a reputation for spreading wincingly frightening scare stories about any boat that isn't an Anderson, and on the other side, an established boat designer, (non Anderson) and naval architect.

Pass the popcorn please? :-)
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Chrisbitz,

I have never ' spread scare stories ' about any boat, but I may have passed on what I know or have heard and I always indicate which !

I have done everything I can to publicise the one defect on the Anderson 22, the lower forestay tang, and through the owners association which I run I offer advice and repair diagrams, also have carried out the repair for other owners.

I am a qualified engineer and Ym offshore with 24 Channel crossings and various sailing under my belt since aged 8 in 1970.

Fire99,

well I think it's clear I am not a fan of the Spring 25, I don't know if you were around when it was first out but it was under a fictional guise in ' Howards' Way ', the well known technical sailing documentary.

Wing keels were trendy at the time due to the Americas' Cup off Fremantle and the ' secret keel ' saga; I was at a charity duck race on a millstream when someone turned up with a decoy duck with a skirt to hide the secret keel !

The Horizon 26 is much more of a cruiser but was extended to the Horizon 27 to give a bit more buoyancy and less squat at the stern; I test sailed a H27 and it went OK but I have doubts about heavy weather - the interior is not to my taste.

As for boguing and I discussing the merits of the Spring 25, well I am stuck ashore unable to sail my boat this season for health reasons, I don't know about boguing but neither of us sails a Spring 25 ! :)
 
Seajet said:
Chrisbitz,

well I am stuck ashore unable to sail my boat this season for health reasons,
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You're allowed to be a bit cranky then. ;)

Yeah I remember Howards Way but to be honest I was fairly young and don't remember much about the boat. If I remember right, there was a chap called Tom and an older well-off chap (maybe his Dad?) who smoked cigars. Oh and it was by the sea-side. :D

Interesting about the Horizon. It gets good reviews on PBO and across the internet. Doesn't look far off an MG (bar the Keel arrangement)
 
I'm not cranky, I just dislike gimmicks and BS...:)

However I hope you're grateful for the good summer, I knew this would happen the moment I decided to keep the boat ashore...:rolleyes:
 
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They also collect weed etc pretty well, and if one dries accidentally with a chance of leaning over they could spell a really interesting time, tipping the boat right on her ear.

Not so spiffing to windward as first made out either, but they do have a damping effect in waves.
 
Seajet said:
They also collect weed etc pretty well, and if one dries accidentally with a chance of leaning over they could spell a really interesting time, tipping the boat right on her ear.
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Don't have one but pretty sure the fashionable t-shaped keels would collect weed. And any fin keeler is in for an 'interesting time' if it dries accidentally.

Apart from the end-plate effect of a wing keel, it's also a good way of getting ballast weight low - though no better than today's T or L-shaped torpedoes.
 
TK,

surely a wing keel will have a dried boat over a lot further than a fin keel, the difference between ' a right pain ' and ' disaster ' !
I've always thought my boats' ballast bulb - veed on top to fair with the hull when raised - contributes an end plate affect, she does seem to behave in this way.

As for gimmicks it's twin rudders -especially when drying out is mentioned - that really wind me up, very vulnerable in all sorts of ways plus the linkage etc, usually an apology for an extra wide stern to fit silly aft cabins...

I am not actually that set against wing keels but do think the magic qualities once touted have been disproved, and to get to windward in - or after - a blow requires getting below the surface drift so no shallow keel is going to be that wonderful.
 
Fire99 said:
Yeah I remember Howards Way but to be honest I was fairly young and don't remember much about the boat. If I remember right, there was a chap called Tom and an older well-off chap (maybe his Dad?) who smoked cigars. Oh and it was by the sea-side. :D
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There was nothing really about the boats in the TV series and the plots made Crossroads look highbrow! All I remember is that it ruined a really nice pub, that's now an eatery full of twats!

Rob.
 
Seajet said:
As for gimmicks it's twin rudders -especially when drying out is mentioned - that really wind me up, very vulnerable in all sorts of ways plus the linkage etc, usually an apology for an extra wide stern to fit silly aft cabins...
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A wide stern is not just about interior space, it's also about form stability (my boat is like this and it works well both upwind and downwind). Twin rudders have been proven in the Mini Transat and countless other offshore classes and events. I wouldn't fancy the wing keel myself, but otherwise the Spring 25 looks like fun and the downwind performance is pretty impressive.
 
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This is in no way to be bloody minded towards Seajet, but this MG Spring 25 is really starting to grow on me. May be a contender for a replacement for the 'Snappie' :)
 
I once had 12.5kts surfing in my Spring south of the IOW after a single handed return from Cherbourg, it was a little exciting, as for twin rudders the linkage is simplicity itself and the feel is great, never need two hands to helm.
 
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