Sadler 32 or Carter 33

G

Gypsyjoss

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 May 2008
Messages
268
Location
Midlands -a long way from the sea!
Visit site
I'm trying to choose between buying a Sadler or a Carter for cruising in the Med 4 months of the year. I know the reputation of the Sadler 32 but know little about the performance of the Carter 33. Comments and advice please. Ps. I hate using the engine! So any sniff of wind and it's sails up and noise off.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm trying to choose between buying a Sadler or a Carter for cruising in the Med 4 months of the year. I know the reputation of the Sadler 32 but know little about the performance of the Carter 33. Comments and advice please. Ps. I hate using the engine! So any sniff of wind and it's sails up and noise off.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know the Carter but the Sadler seems a bit cramped to live on for four months at a time. Also seems sub optimal for mooring stern to. I guess you already know that, but I've written it now so I'm posting it!
 
Both are good sailers so my order of priority for a Med live-aboard decision would be:

Which is best ventilated?
Which has the better engine? (You'll need it in the Med, like it or not)
Which has the best storage space?
Which has the better fridge?
Which has a bimini - or how easy is it to fit one?
Which has the biggest cockpit?
Which has the greatest internal volume?
Which is easiest to board from the water after a swim?
 
If you go through Twister Kens list (which is very relevant to Med "sailing") you will probably come to the conclusion that neither boat is particularly suitable. This is because they were designed for very different conditions.

Although we all imagine (and sometimes achieve) excellent sailing, it is the minority of the time in the Med. Therefore you won't get far if you don't have a good engine and light weather sails.

So it is not surprising that the majority of the boats in the Med are of a similar design and from the major European builders. It is not that boats like the Sadler are not used, but they date from when they were new and there was little alternative. Many of them were bought in the UK and taken down through the French canals or round the outside as part of the retirement or live-aboard dream. Now, unless you want the "getting there" experience, the better alternative is to buy a boat already there and fully equipped for the conditions. You could easily spend £10k on a £25k Sadler to bring it up to spec when for £35k you could get a 10 year old 34 footer in the Med.
 
Can only answer from the perspective of the Carter... only know the Sadler from seeing them on the water...

Both have a good reputation as safe and solid boats....

The Carter is great fun to sail..... and has a remarkably well thought out interior... lots of space for the size, and LOADS of storage space...

Engines wise, they have a wide variety of installations... mine had the old Albin engine, which was agricultural, but at 30 years old, still started on demand, and ran for hours on end without complaint....

As a Dick Carter designed boat, it unsurprisingly has a good turn of speed, but be aware, that like many 70's IOR influenced boats will be a bit wet in a big sea, and can be a handful with a large following sea (although that comment applies to both of your options....)

The big advantage i'd see for the Carter however, is price.... for some reason, it is a boat that has never caught the public eye, despite its quality, and as such seem to sell for a remarkably low price..... I saw a 33 sell earlier this year for just over £10k!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you'd go far wrong with either option (accepting comments above about Med sailing and its requirements generally), so i'd tend to not make the decision on anything other than finding the right boat.... find a good one of either model, and you'll be very happy.....
 
Lots of info on Sadlers and a useful forum over on Mike Lucas' website.

I am very happy with our Sadler but I think, compared to a more modern design, it would be a pain on a normal stern to mediterranean mooring as the transom is tiny and would rather restrict access.
 
Interestingly in the bar last night a previous carter33 owner described it as one one the most unmanageable boats in a blow esp. downwind.....

The Sadler 32 would not be.......
 
There is a carter 33 for sale at our club,i had never heard of them before this,i belive they are an American boat he has sailed across the pond in her a few times also to the Windies i belive,she is a very beamy boat from what i can see.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Interestingly in the bar last night a previous carter33 owner described it as one one the most unmanageable boats in a blow esp. downwind.....

The Sadler 32 would not be.......

[/ QUOTE ]

I have sailed a Carter 33 three or four times and was not that impressed. The owner used to over-winter on the hard next to me so I knew the boat both in and out of the water.

One thing startled me was the rudder. My friend asked me to help him remove it for 'maintenance' one year, and I was amazed to find that the rudder/stock was in two parts. The top section fed down from the top bearing and engaged in a squared hole in the top of the rudder blade itself.

It was necessary to do this because the shape of the hull fairing running into the wide-topped rudder prevented it from being lowered vertically unless the rudder stock was first removed.

The problem with the 'wandering' steering was then revealed. The square ended stock had worn badly in the squared 'receiving' hole in the plate embedded in the top of the rudder blade, so that there was a huge movement in the tiller before the rudder itself actually moved.

Now I don't know if this was standard, but it put me off the boat completely as I felt there was a big danger in the rudder becoming unusable unless the plate in the blade and the rudder stock were regularly checked and replaced as necessary - which is exactly what my friend had to do with his.

He sold the boat not long afterwards, so I don't know how often this problem would need addressing, but it's certainly something to check/consider if buying.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Interestingly in the bar last night a previous carter33 owner described it as one one the most unmanageable boats in a blow esp. downwind.....

The Sadler 32 would not be.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm. My folks had a Carter 33 when I was in my teens. My most memorable trip was one coming back from Cherbourg in a southerly breeze that increased steadily until it was a solid 8 gusting 9 by the time we reached the Needles. We had to put a gybe in to get into the Needles Channel. The seas were really pretty big but I don't recall anyone particularly struggling on the helm.
Being a nipper I was excused doing a spell on the helm so can't comment first hand on manageability, I was, however, instructed to don my lifejacket - the first and only time I remember such an instruction being given in my youth.

Having said that, I'm a committed Sadler fan and I'm slowly working my way up the fleet!
 
as a carter fan I say carter the only boat under 40 ft. that I have ever been able to stand up in down below from bow to stern I am 6' 4" great boat very strong and fast lots of space
 
Can't comment on the Carter, but own the Sadler 32.

Good sea boat without a doubt. Ok for two aboard. I find it gets very hot below when in good sun and temps. But imagine most boats do.

Reasonable space for storage (for two) but not overedowed. Very comfortable for the wife and I.

They are all getting on a bit, mine is 1980, so engine age might be a factor.

The stern is narrow, but easy enough to use the ladder so can't see a problem with stern mooring. Never done it so not an informed opinion.

Narrow stern makes a bimini not the easiest thing to fit. I made my own which worked well in the end.

Someone told me that a Carter was built in Poland!!! Nothing wrong with that I suppose.
 
Carter 33 is a great boat, designed for the Med; very well made excellent reputation and I believe they were build in Greece
 
[ QUOTE ]
Carter 33 is a great boat, designed for the Med; very well made excellent reputation and I believe they were build in Greece

[/ QUOTE ]

There are a lot of them in Australia too. Aft cockpit and centre cockpit versions. They were built just north of Sydney. I have no experience of them but they seem to get rave reviews, especially down wind in a breeze.

The aft cockpit versions have a different layout cockpit to the versions built in the USA and Greece. Regular competitors in the Sydney Hobart a few years ago.

I would certainly like to own one.
 
I had the 3/4 tonner, which is the race variant of the 33.... (very slightly modified hull shape - and a MUCH bigger rig!)

We could average 10kts on a reach in a good strong breeze.... which is bloody good going for any 33'er!

As an aside, they were also one of the boats that was held up as a good example of a safe boat after surviving (alongside the Contessa 32) the '79 fastnet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top