motor sailers that sail reasonably well

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cormorant

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I am looking to buy a 31-36ft motorsailer and considering various boats, anyone have any opinions based on experience with this kind of boat? Although I accept that a motorsailer won't usually sail as well as a regular yacht I would be upset if I found myself motoring all the time! All opinions most welcome.
 
If you are happy to ignore any strength of wind below F3, then almost any motor sailer will serve you well.

Other considerations then come into play; for a start:

sea kindliness - does she roll on wet grass, or does the hull form have a roll damping turn to the bilge, or (perish the thought !) bilge keels in varying sizes)

accommodation - headroom, either in the main cabin, or throughout the boat

engine room - access to filters etc; sound reduction (a bigger engine means more noise, and you are going to be using it more anyway)

fuel tankage - split between two or more tanks; independent filtration and return lines; distribution within the boat (all to one side or balanced)

Sail trimming - does a large wheelhouse or pilot house restrict the way that the main or genoa can be trimmed;

Access to the foredeck - width of side decks; depth of bulwarks

Windage - M/Ss tend to have more windage than ordinary yachts. If you are regularly sailing from and into a restricted
berth, is there good "prop walk" or a bow thruster ?

These sort of questions apply to most sort of sailing boats, but you might like to assess your final choice on a % split between "motor" and "sailer". So if you want a genuine 50/50, your selection criteria will be quite different from those for an 80/20.

PM me if you want specific (IMHO) advice on MSs designed by Mr Watson
 
I have a French built MS.... an old (1980) Evasion 32, designed and built by Beneteau. Although this, just as ANY MS, is a much bigger comprimise than any pure sailing hull, I LOVE IT!

Unless beating, i sail in the lightest of breezes, albeit a little slower than my last boat.

I had to switch to MS due to poor health - best move i ever made in my sailing!

EDIT: My only real regret is it's (almost) inability to have wind self-stearing.
 
I have a Moody Halberdier since 2001... To be fair i wasn't really looking for a 'motorsailer' at the time but was so struck by the quality and presence of the boat that I went straight in with an offer had her surveyed and have had no reason to regret my decision.

What you get is a 36ft 10 tonne ketch with aft cabin (with own heads) and centre cockpit with engine that you acccess thro hinging cockit sole making maintainace easy. A nice big rig that enables you to keep up with all the 36ft range of Ben/Bav/Jens except for the last couple of degrees of windward work. Every thing is built to last for ever.

I run the Halberdiers Owners Group which is in fact just a little chat medium on Yahoo Groups, but when i first bought Fairweather none of the owners ( approx 30 built) were in contact with each other, and as lot of boats have migrated abroad we now have tracked down a good proportion of the boats and exchange the usual chat and info.

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Halberdiers/

The Halb has a 1/2 wheelhouse that gives plenty of protection, wheel steering of course and plenty of room the scatter gear around with out getting wet.

Regards Nick
 
Thanks, well yes, I have been considering CW32 - liked the built as a tank aspect but wasnt sure if they will sail ok. Have to have aft cabin as I have a teenage boy and girl and no way are they sharing. Also considered Halberdier and coaster, Fisher 31...would like to hear your opinion of CW's
 
Hi Nick
Thanks for the info about the Halberdier, sounds like you are really happy with it. Have considered it and am a bit torn between this and the coaster as similar price and layout - will check this website out
 
Agree that you will be well advised at least to look at the Evasion 32 or 34. They are well built, and come in either ketch of sloop rig, and the ketch version sails very well even in light airs. Mine has large 49 SHP Perkins engine which is over the top, but at the time most sailing boats had "auxillaries" which were 10 hp, and used for getting in and out of harbour. Modern yacht all seem to have decently sized engines so the whole thing is a bit of a blur.
However, one thing that the Evasions have is 3 double berths, in 3 cabins. The wheelhouse is just that so you have proper wheel steering, in an enclosed doghouse, as well as tiller steering from the cockpit. If you are not sailing 6 people, you can use the lower 2 cabins for sleeping, living in a bright airy wheelhouse, and which will seat 6 in comfort.
They have long keels and have a high ballast ratio, and because they are comparatively heavy by modern build levels, they do not have to be reefed until well over Force 5. The ketch rig gives a better balanced sail, specially in heavy weather, and often we sail with just mizzen and reefed headsail in a force 6/7.
 
Having owned a Halberdier for about ten years and sailed in company with a Coaster the layouts and sailing abilities are quite different IMHO.

Obviously biased, but I'd say the Halberdier points better and because of the taller rig gerenrally moves along quicker.
 
Re: Not a Colvic Watson.....

We have a Colvic Atlanta 31, needs F6+ to get it going But great space etc also rolls really badly at anchor (long keel)
 
Coaster is also an Alan Hill design as for as I know, rather nice appearence also.

If you want to look over a Halb and you are within reasonable distance of Portsmouth give me a shout and you can look over Fairweather....she is ashore until march at Wicor Marine.

Regds Nick
 
hello.i also own a colvic atlanta(though why called a 31 beats me as she as near to 32 as is poss.)however mine is long keeled with integral bilge,she is also ketch rigged.
she has a displacement of 7.5 tons,which gives an idea of the thickness of grp,they do,nt make them like that anymore,as has been said before it takes a good bit of wind to get her going.she is well built and i never feel the least bit apprehensive in serious blows.apart from my final wish,a swedish m/sailor,i am delighted with the colvic.
 
Don't know if you include Southerlies as Motor Sailers but they do have an inside helming position with engine controls and sail very well. They also, due to their lifting keels, dry out upright!. Accommodation is excellent for size of boat. I have a Southerly 115 and it does everything that I want it to.
 
I've got a Westerly Riviera and have no problem with her sailing. She's the same hull as the Seahawk and other 35ft Westerlys.
Biggest advantage of all motorsailers is the ability to sit at anchor under cover and still see out. In theory you can sail from inside but I haven't done that much. Mind you, I've motored in a flat calm and pouring rain and that does feel good.
 
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