Opinions please !

A seawolf 26 sounds like your cup of tea!

Very much an IOR quarter tonner design boat, low wetted area with large overhangs, loads of room inside, only problem is they don't have standing headroom. However, they are faster (we regularly see low 6's on the log) than GK24's and point higher. (I know, I beat one in the Helford River upwind :D ) We have cruised ours extensively from one end of the south west coast to the other over the past 2 years and we (me and my father) love it. The rig is large without being excessive and allows it to be incredibly well balanced. As said before about a quarter tonner, she is a classic example of a sail herself boat.
There are a few SW and Cobra websites so there is plent of information out there and a few owners on here too. The best being this one for the Seawolf 26.

http://www.randpsystems.co.uk/seawolf/sailing.htm

The cobra is a very similar design with the same designer but I can't vouch for them as I have no experience.

P.s there s one on eBay going for a very attractive price atm, and don't be put off by the bilge keel ;)
 
There is a twin keel Seawolf 26 in my club, owned by the chap I did a great deal of dinghy sailing with; he seems very happy with it, has a family with 2 young daughters now.

They come with either saildrives or traditional 'P' brackets & shafts such as my chums', I would certainly prefer that to a saildrive having had that dubious pleasure on another boat.

He did mention they are known for a touch of weather helm, but it is easily trimmed out by anyone who knows what they're doing.
 
Seajet said:
There is a twin keel Seawolf 26 in my club, owned by the chap I did a great deal of dinghy sailing with; he seems very happy with it, has a family with 2 young daughters now.

They come with either saildrives or traditional 'P' brackets & shafts such as my chums', I would certainly prefer that to a saildrive having had that dubious pleasure on another boat.

He did mention they are known for a touch of weather helm, but it is easily trimmed out by anyone who knows what they're doing.
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I think that may be a bilger thing.... I've got the fin and the only time i have had chronic weather helm was when I attached the main halyard to the aft (wrong) hole, sods law dictates that when I'm passing a bouy to leeward, a gust hits and screws me up :s
 
A boat that has been raced

To suggest a boat that has been raced will be worn out is just absurd. It is more likely to be used more frequently so better maintained. Boats deteriorate more from neglect than use. Assuming it is a fibreglass boat then no worries. remember the boat can only be flogged to the extend of the righting moment of the hull and keel. You can't just flog a boat harder and go faster. You have to sail it with the best amount of sail in the wind not the most. Of course again rigging wire will deteriorate with time not use.
Yes a racing boat can be very nice with less sail area and still goes well. go for it if it suits. olewill
 
Olewill,

like you I prefer performance boats, but one reservation I have with Quarter Tonners is that they're generally designed with crew weight on the windward rail in mind, and simply reducing sail can of course mean not really going anywhere - especially if punching into a sea.

I suspect the novelty of hanging over the rail may wear off after a short while when it comes to wife & kids !

I do think the mooring / berthing issue is the critical one though.
 
Can I suggest a MG Spring 25 or a Hunter 27OOD or perhaps even a MG27.

All good performance but with good accommodation too. Depending on budget, the Spring would be the cheapest I suspect, with the MG being the most expensive.
 
sailingjeff said:
Hi,
I am quite new to yacht sailing, although Ive sailed dinghies for years now but I am considering buying a yacht. Ive been looking at old quarter tonners but keep getting put off by comments about being twichy or lively or difficult to handle in a strong wind etc plus the - if its been raced hard it will be worn out.
I only plan to sail the solent in the first instance, with the family, just to gain a bit more experience and if the forecast looks bad it would be unlikely that we would sail. I would really like to know therefore whether this idea of a quarter tonner is mad and I should go for somthing a little more sedate!
(small cruiser)
I figured that reefed in, even in a reasonable wind, there would not be a great deal of difference between them and other light displacement boats - Etap 22 /23, beneteau first 21.7, hunter duette, but maybe I am wrong in my thinking ?
My only yacht experience to date is a sadler 34 and a beneteau 323 so quite different from boats I am looking at. ( plus the dinighies of course - laser, ent and mirror, wayfarer )

If anyone can help with any comments I would be very grateful.

Thanks:confused:
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Worth a look

Pandora
Pegasus 700
Robber ( there was a cruising version )
Trapper 300
 
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