Optimum boat size

[Tranona]

A Dutch friend of ours had a Southerly 10.50(90?). I quite liked her and the quality of her finish seemed good. He did note that the hull was so flexible that in high winds and storm conditions the headstay would sag off so dramatically that he could no longer furl the sail. He tried to have a prof. rigger correct that, but to no avail, except to the effect that the chart table could no longer be opened. It was thought that to fix the problem the hull would require additional stiffening.

A boat built in the days when the "brick outhouse" method of hull construction was in vogue!

Actually people forget that there were some pretty horrible boat building practices in the early days of GRP as people got to grips with the new material and experimented with new shapes.

 

[Laminar Flow]

A boat built in the days when the "brick outhouse" method of hull construction was in vogue!

Actually people forget that there were some pretty horrible boat building practices in the early days of GRP as people got to grips with the new material and experimented with new shapes.

I just checked: his boat was a Southerly 115, firt built 1983, I can't say which year his was from.

 

[Supertramp]

A boat built in the days when the "brick outhouse" method of hull construction was in vogue!

Actually people forget that there were some pretty horrible boat building practices in the early days of GRP as people got to grips with the new material and experimented with new shapes.

That reminds me of my father's Westerly Centaur. She sailed over over20000 miles with him and in a blow (of which there were quite a few...) the cabin roof would lift visibly, the windows would leak and gaps would appear inside around lockers. They moved the lower shroud attachment on later models but I bet they still flexed. She is still going strong after 48 years (and so was the old Volvo). I guess that flexibility is the old equivalent of modern bulkhead tabs, steel grids, reinforcing rods etc. Whilst both work, my optimum boat wouldn't have an internal weather display system inside like that Centaur had! Flip side is it sailed further than many do and never gave cause for concern.

 

[ashtead]

Southerly 42 is probably closest even if too long in a more modern version but it’s a lot of Westerly centaurs if trading up. The issue with fitting in 2 heads is that the bow cabin can become squashed as seen on the Moody maybe ? Clearly a Discovery southerly ticks all the boxes but as said probably 3x the southerly 42 price I suspect. The centaur coffin berths were a particular feature with condensation dripping down in the morning but all that boat for £7.5 k new in 76.

 

[Sybarite]

Uffa Fox's ideal boat size = one foot for each year of life.

 

[mjcoon]

That reminds me of my father's Westerly Centaur. She sailed over over20000 miles with him and in a blow (of which there were quite a few...) the cabin roof would lift visibly, the windows would leak and gaps would appear inside around lockers. They moved the lower shroud attachment on later models but I bet they still flexed. She is still going strong after 48 years (and so was the old Volvo). I guess that flexibility is the old equivalent of modern bulkhead tabs, steel grids, reinforcing rods etc. Whilst both work, my optimum boat wouldn't have an internal weather display system inside like that Centaur had! Flip side is it sailed further than many do and never gave cause for concern.

It does sound like a GRP equivalent of the wooden boat feedback mechanism: if the planks dried gaps would appear. So water would leak in and correct the dry planks...

 

[Stemar]

I always liked my 24 footer better than a friend's 30 footer. If the 24 footer got out of line, a tug on a line and she'd shape up and do what she was told. The 39 footer, with its lovely two bedroom layout would just laugh and pull back.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Uffa Fox's ideal boat size = one foot for each year of life.

One foot for each year of life !!!!! It appears that Uffa Fox was a very good salesman too.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

That reminds me of my father's Westerly Centaur. She sailed over over20000 miles with him and in a blow (of which there were quite a few...) the cabin roof would lift visibly, the windows would leak and gaps would appear inside around lockers. They moved the lower shroud attachment on later models but I bet they still flexed. She is still going strong after 48 years (and so was the old Volvo). I guess that flexibility is the old equivalent of modern bulkhead tabs, steel grids, reinforcing rods etc. Whilst both work, my optimum boat wouldn't have an internal weather display system inside like that Centaur had! Flip side is it sailed further than many do and never gave cause for concern.

Impressive .

To get the best out of them though you need to get the wife out on a trapeze in anything more than a F3.

 

[Gixer]

Off topic, but I just want to say thanks for putting this guy on my radar, enjoying his videos ?

Few people I know are downsizing to below 30 feet light modern design fast boats, easy to maintain and to manage; see the attached youtube video.

 

[ds797]

We all have different "optimum" levels. My optimum for living accommodation is a 45 feet, for expenditure is 24 feet and for easy handling is 27 feet. The Storm has been a successful design and people love them; as always, it is good to change things around to fit our personal requirements. Nowadays, I sail a well fitted out rear cockpit Moody 33S which I see as a compromise. Overall, the older I get, I prefer more compact boats that are also able to go in open water too. Few people I know are downsizing to below 30 feet light modern design fast boats, easy to maintain and to manage; see the attached youtube video.

What boat is that he is sailing now? (the 30 ish foot one)

Thanks,