Sadler 29 - Opinions

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Polarsailor

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Planning on buying a boat when we come back from abroad and starting to narrow choices down a bit. Partly as we want to keep the boat in Dartmouth and getting a deepwater mooring in the near future, ie less than maybe 5 years is very unlikely. I want a boat that sails nicely and ideally will dry out, the holy grail! I've previously sailed a Sadler 29 bilge keeler and was actually pretty impressed. Has anyone who has sailed on of these any strong opinions on them? Budget is £25k.
Cheers Keiron
 
Polarsailor said:
Planning on buying a boat when we come back from abroad and starting to narrow choices down a bit. Partly as we want to keep the boat in Dartmouth and getting a deepwater mooring in the near future, ie less than maybe 5 years is very unlikely. I want a boat that sails nicely and ideally will dry out, the holy grail! I've previously sailed a Sadler 29 bilge keeler and was actually pretty impressed. Has anyone who has sailed on of these any strong opinions on them? Budget is £25k.
Cheers Keiron
Click to expand...

DJE of this parish has one, so if he doesn't see this post PM him.
 
I owned one for 6 years. Good sailing manners, not hugely quick, interior sparse but practical. Cockpit is deep and sheltered. Look out for build quality. Some were better built than others. When going to windward you can get an annoying slatting noise when water hits the weather keel. You could do a lot worse for a cruiser but suggest you also look at a Westerly Konsort which is comparable in many respects.
 
Sadler 29 was on our list too

I used to crew regularly on a Sadler 29 - but that one had a stubby, shallow fin keel and was pretty naff to windward and generally a bit sluggish. We never did it when we were out but the owner reckoned the boat would would quite happily dry out. I understand that, but have no experience of, the bilge keeler would be a better all round sailer than the shallow fin although obviously not as good as a regular fin. Mike Lucas has loads of information including an article with a detailed comparison between keel types - on the Sadler 34 but similar principles should apply.

For what it's worth, we ended up buying an Etap 28i for a bit more than your budget but SWMBO much preferred it to the Sadler. She didn't like the idea of walking through the heads to get to the forward cabin and loved the feeling of space suggested by the Etap's open-plan layout (and the separate heads). It's a great little sailing boat and we love it!
 
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We had one for 5 years and still look back on her with affection. Ours was a bilge-keeler, wasn't too brilliant to windward with any kind of sea running was otherwise sailed really well, especially in light airs. Only sold her because we wanted something a bit bigger.
There's less stowage space than you might expect, because of the foam-filled voids between the hull and the interior liner, but on the plus side the boat is very quiet down below, and warm and dry - no condensation.
Get at least a hull condition survey before you buy as there are stories that some get damp trapped in the foam layer eventually causing problems with the gel-coat.
The Mike Lucas website and forum is the big source of knowledge and information on the web.
Engine was either a Bukh, or later the Volvo 2002, either would be getting rather tired by now so one with a replaced engine ought to be on the 'wants' list.
 
Got one, Love it.....

We bought our '84 model bilge keel S29 a bit over 3 yrs ago, and have been very happy with her. We often dry out, at some of the quieter spots in the Solent (Royal Victoria YC up Wooton Creek is a particular favourate), and she is seaworthy enough to get us accross chanel, or Lyme bay without too much worry. In fact ours did the ARC in 1993, but I can't say that would be my cup of tea.
For a bilge keeler I think she sails very well.
Our original Bukh is still going strong (and with good support from Bukh UK, I'm expecting this to continue, although the spares prices are eye watering).
Space wise, 2 people is very confortable and 4 is fine for a long weekend. 6 (and she officially has berths for 6) would be very cramped. We do most of our sailing as a couple, and she is easily handled by 2.
Would recommend you go for a later model than ours (if you get any choice), which will have the bulkhead either side of the companion way sloping out into the cockpit, rather than being more or less vertical. This makes getting to the sink in the galley, and into the quarterberth a lot easier!

You may have to search hard to find one though. We met a couple who were looking for one for a while, and ended up buying in Jersey last month.

As others have noted, Mike Lucas is the font of all Sadler knowledge, and hosts a good Sadler specific forum on his web site, which for some reason my computer in work doesn't seem to get to at the moment....

All the best
 
We were looking for one last year for exactly the reasons you outline. We saw lots of very tied ones for sale (I think owners hang on to the good ones).
Our criteria was
- Budget of upto £30K
- The fundamental condition needed to be right or restorable (Hull, interior)
- Preference for later model with sloppy bulkheads and curved chart table
- Didn't mind some work if it helped us to get a good outcome
We looked at about 7x over 4 or 5 months and never found one that made sense for us. I am sure we were just unlucky.
 
I sail from Porthmadog, North wales, where there are 2 Sadler 29's, both owned by friends. I sailed on one on passage to lochgilphead on the Clyde, approxmately 250 miles, last year in weather where no one else got further than Pwllheli, 10 miles. We completed the trip in 42 hours. Great boat great sail. The other Sadler has just gone up for sale so when you are ready to purchase I can put the owner in contact with you if you are interested.
 
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