Sadler 34?

[Seajet]

Westhinder,

I disproved that a long time ago beating in a good F6 when one would expect the Rival to be at her best; the Rival 34 was ' Blue Talisman ' owned and sailed by the late Ken Clarke, a National Champion in the Enterprise dinghy.

Forever after that when we met Ken would say " I hate that boat ! ", not entirely joking.

 

[vyv_cox]

Having already stated my bias for the Sadler 34, I resisted saying anything about the Rival 34. Now that Seajet has started it, I have to say that the lasting impression I have from reading reviews is 'staid' with heavy tiller loads.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Woefully under canvassed would be another description.

 

[Seajet]

I don't say there's anything wrong with the Rival 34 - my late chums' Blue Talisman was / is a lovely boat, Ken completed her himself - I was just a bit surprised that an Anderson 22 with 4 adults beat her slogging into a real solid F6 +.

I'm sure she would look after the crew on the blue water trips she was designed for, but for comparison purposes no way as quick as a Sadler 34, which I don't think an Anderson 22 could take in any normal conditions, I have no difficulty saying that !

 

[doug748]

For comfortable shorthanded sailing, I think a good rule of thumb is to find out which types are considered pre-eminently fast in circles and cross them off the list.

I think your initial choice is a good un. Plenty of room, sound light airs performance, handsome, handy but not skittish.

 

[westhinder]

We all draw on our experience, so having owned a Rival 34 for 11 years, I admit I am biased. But I do not recognise what I read. Heavy on the tiller? Not when she is well balanced. She will sail herself without problems. By today's standards she is definitely undercanvassed, so she does not sparkle in light airs. But given a breeze of 10 knots and more she will perform well, at least if she has decent sails. In a force 5 or 6 I regularly made 6.5 knots on the wind, 7 if sailed free.
Both the Rival and the Sadler are fine boats to sail on your own, and as that was one of the OP's points and he asked for alternatives, I thought I'd suggest one.

 

[OskarF]

This is obviously a few years late. Im currently looking at a Sadler in Greece and I am just wondering if it's the same Ravi has mentioned 7 years ago. Do you by any chance remember the name of the boat?

 

[biscuit]

Having sailed Rival 34's, and Nicholson 32's (its an age thing) and a Sadler 34, I would much prefer the Sadler.
Having said that, when shorthanded M/H rigs can be a handful. I find a fractional rigged boat so much easier. (its an age thing).