Re-engined Centaur

[Greenheart]

Dylan, I seem to have read so much lately about your 'slug', I feel a friendly warmth at every reference...but...

...I don't think I ever learned what the slug is. Knowing this would add colour and clarity to your already colourful entries.

I sailed aboard a Centaur (at least, I'm 98% sure she was one, though she was said to be 27' long) in summer 1981, owned by a chap called Costain, at Sarisbury. The boat was named 'Nova Mare'. Anybody seen or heard of her since?

 

[VicS]

Dylan, I seem to have read so much lately about your 'slug', I feel a friendly warmth at every reference...but...

...I don't think I ever learned what the slug is. Knowing this would add colour and clarity to your already colourful entries.

I sailed aboard a Centaur (at least, I'm 98% sure she was one, though she was said to be 27' long) in summer 1981, owned by a chap called Costain, at Sarisbury. The boat was named 'Nova Mare'. Anybody seen or heard of her since?

If you look at few of Dylans videos ... you will see that "the slug" is a mk1 Mirror Offshore
It's even possible to find its proper name .. but I forget what it is

Centaur BTW is 26' 0"

 

[prv]

It's even possible to find its proper name .. but I forget what it is

"Moments", I think. But "the slug" seems more fitting.

Pete

 

[Greenheart]

Centaur BTW is 26' 0"

This, I knew. That's why I expressed doubt & curiosity about the Nova Mare's description as a 27 footer...

...but a few moments on the net, found me detailed records of Mr Costain's boat ownership to date...including a 27 footer...

...what d'you suppose she was? A NOVA 27. So I guess the boat I'd thought was a Centaur, wasn't. I was only a kiddie.

 

[europe172]

centaur

Hi Dylan
Your questions

"how can I tell the difference between a good picture of a keel bolt and a bad one"

Repaired hulls should have large webs running across the hull either side of the keel bolts

"and what happens if a keel falls off - how fast dooes a centaur sink or is it a survivable incident"

Keels are most likley to fail when refloating after drying in deep mud, the forces can tear the keel from the hull causing the boat to flood as the tide rises, survivable but not nice.

Re re-engine, mine has a volo MD2020, nice engine but no hand start which has cause me problems twice

 

[dylanwinter]

since you ask

Dylan, I seem to have read so much lately about your 'slug', I feel a friendly warmth at every reference...but...

...I don't think I ever learned what the slug is. Knowing this would add colour and clarity to your already colourful entries.

I sailed aboard a Centaur (at least, I'm 98% sure she was one, though she was said to be 27' long) in summer 1981, owned by a chap called Costain, at Sarisbury. The boat was named 'Nova Mare'. Anybody seen or heard of her since?

the original sales brochure is a gem

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/galleries/mirror-offshore-sales-brochure/


http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/galleries/super-slug/

 

[Greenheart]

That's quite a haircut, Dylan. Were you ever a member of Pink Floyd?

The boat looks fantastic! Such great proportions within such tight dimensions. What is she, six inches beamier than a Wayfarer? Amazing.

 

[dylanwinter]

it is a great little boat

it has never really frightened me

it has a bog

the inboard keeps the inside of the boat dry and warm and provides power for the fifteen camera batteries I take with me when I go sailing

you can stand up to cook

it motors like a little tug and sails better than it should

it sits on the mud

it would be the last boat you wuld ever think of breaking in to

but it is now getting on for half a century old

and I have given it a pretty bad time over the past four years

and it would certainly see me around our little island if needed

and it might still do that yet

it all depends on the work/life/ktl balance

Dylan

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/ktl-scuttlebutt/scuttlebutt-31-dry-feet/

 

[Greenheart]

Ah! It was Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, then?

 

[richardbrennan]

What nobody has mentioned is that there are three layouts so you need to decide which suits you best. The WOA website probably is where the better ones are advertised; there's currently eight for sale varying from £7.5K to £12K; I think such a spread is to be expected on boats of this age reflecting condition, engine, sails and not forgetting the Westerly "Droop". I am not an expert on Centaurs but there was an issue with the keels and most should have been strengthened by now, osmosis can also be a problem but not a serious issue as it is readily treatable and may reflect some of the price differences. I think most have been re-engined with 20-25 HP Betas or other similar Kubota derivatives, the original MD2 grossly overpowered the boat.

 

[ianc1200]

Dylan

Sailing our Anderson 22 last 6 seasons, we too have looked at Centaurs (sorry Andy). We got invited onto one at Titchmarsh and found the space and headroom astonishing in comparison with the Anderson. I've been looking at prices for a few years and they have been coming down; the re-upholstered & engined & everything done to upgrade was about 15k a couple of years ago, now perhaps 9k. The layout is a consideration; I wouldn't want a dinette style (layout A), the most common layout B is OK, but the layout C does it for me. Several seem to have 20hp Beta's, in mast reefing, shore power, hot and cold water, fridges, heating etc. Not yet seen one advertised with a power anchor winch.

 

[Swg]

Please look at a Pageant on the basis that the best boat to have is the smallest that meets your needs. We used to have one, bullet proof,sail in and through anything and big enough for a great deal of comfort.

 

[Greenheart]

Speculating wildly...

Given the sheer quantity of Centaurs for sale at any time, are there likely to be some well-worn ones with tatty interiors, tired engines and sails like gauze, which, if updated and tidied, would still have decades of strength left in the hull?

Or, are the old ones genuinely, irrecoverably decrepit?

I ask because I never really liked any of the standard layouts available, so starting from scratch on a tatty one, to my own design, would be quite appealing. But not much point, if the underlying structure is most likely fading away after a hard life.

 

[dylanwinter]

If I buy one

Given the sheer quantity of Centaurs for sale at any time, are there likely to be some well-worn ones with tatty interiors, tired engines and sails like gauze, which, if updated and tidied, would still have decades of strength left in the hull?

Or, are the old ones genuinely, irrecoverably decrepit?

I ask because I never really liked any of the standard layouts available, so starting from scratch on a tatty one, to my own design, would be quite appealing. But not much point, if the underlying structure is most likely fading away after a hard life.

if I buy one I would want it to be ready to sail right from the day it hit the water

I have spent enough time tearing boats apart

I have tried writing and editing films on the slug

just not enough room - but a Centaur - with a dinette might offer a good place to work

so while waiting for thre wind to die I can do some work

the internet dongles are getting very good - better bandwidth than I get at home sometimes

If I can pug into the mians I could run a proper desktop computer and a couple of external drives

Dylan

 

[Greenheart]

if I buy one I would want it to be ready to sail right from the day it hit the water

I have spent enough time tearing boats apart

I have tried writing and editing films on the slug

just not enough room - but a Centaur - with a dinette might offer a good place to work

so while waiting for thre wind to die I can do some work

the internet dongles are getting very good - better bandwidth than I get at home sometimes

If I can pug into the mians I could run a proper desktop computer and a couple of external drives

Dylan

...then you'll be able to access Google Proofreading!!!

 

[dylanwinter]

and write on a proper keyboard

...then you'll be able to access Google Proofreading!!!

it is the little keyboard and fat fingers

D

 

[Greenheart]

it is the little keyboard and fat fingers

D

Whereas, I don't have any excuse for being obsessed with getting every word of every post, exactly write. I mean, exactly rite. Wright? Rhyte? Oh dear. I think I need sleep...

 

[Searush]

Given the sheer quantity of Centaurs for sale at any time, are there likely to be some well-worn ones with tatty interiors, tired engines and sails like gauze, which, if updated and tidied, would still have decades of strength left in the hull?

Or, are the old ones genuinely, irrecoverably decrepit?

I ask because I never really liked any of the standard layouts available, so starting from scratch on a tatty one, to my own design, would be quite appealing. But not much point, if the underlying structure is most likely fading away after a hard life.

They are laid-up very heavily & with excellent QC (a rarity at that time) so the hull, spars & rigging are well over spec compared to modern boats. But the interior moldings provide much of the strength so be carefull what you rip out & what you replace it with.

 

[ianc1200]

Another issue; some have tabernacles. There was/is an old chap and his son at Bradwell with an elderly Centaur which I suspect they've had since new. This one has a tabernacle and they can raise & lower the mast themselves, something which could be useful as the KTL cruise goes north.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

if I buy one I would want it to be ready to sail right from the day it hit the water

I have spent enough time tearing boats apart

I have tried writing and editing films on the slug

just not enough room - but a Centaur - with a dinette might offer a good place to work

so while waiting for thre wind to die I can do some work

the internet dongles are getting very good - better bandwidth than I get at home sometimes

If I can pug into the mians I could run a proper desktop computer and a couple of external drives

Dylan

Hi Dylan

If you want the dinette, you need to go for an "A" layout.

I have been looking at several from £1500 through £3000 to one at £5000 over the last few years and walked from every one. 1st one had no engine but very old model with rigging chain plate issues, 2nd one had been flooded so engine was US, 3rd one, I just took cold feet as it still required a lot of work.

A wise old friend of mine once said of second hand boats "never buy one which you cant go out sailing that day"

Some years ago, I did heed his words and bought a Westerly Pentland with a Volvo MD 2B. Great for first couple of weeks then found that the engine had filled to the brim with salt water due to the previous owner incorrectly fitting the Jabsco / Johnson sea water pump seals a few weeks before he sold the boat. I spent a great deal of time and money on trying to fix that miserable engine.

I would walk away from any Centaur with one of these green death machines which are the Spawn of the Devil unless the boats price is based on having a knackered engine.