Sadler26 or Hunter Channel 27?

[NigelCraig]

Currently day sailing (gaff sloop - single handed most of the time) out of drying mooring in cramped south west coast harbour. Although will do this for at least one more season, I am preparing for having more scope to go coast hopping, probably single handed 80% of the time. Looking at bilge keeler - good sea boat that sails well, is dry and stiff but is easily manageable by one person, particularly at close quarters and also caught in a blow. Harbour constraints limit to 26/27ft.
I thought Sadler 26 or Hunter Channel 27. Westerley Centaur I would rule out for aesthetic reasons! Hunter is attractive because of self-tacking jib, but has mainsheet block attached to a pedestal instead of a track - is that a problem when the main is so important (v.small jib)? What about build quality ?
Any thoughts on this welcome

 

[mfurming]

Hunter vs Sadler

Having owned both a Hunter Ranger 265 (virtually the same boat as a 27) and a Sadler 32 --- I can say if you want volume and an easy to sail boat the Hunter fits the bill. If you want to sail - then its the Sadler.

 

[bendyone]

Hunter will sail better but the Sadler will be a less tender and a heaver boat.
Accommodation is better in the Hunter with a aft cabin ( but a bit tight under the cockpit floor)

 

[tom_sail]

I own a hunter horizon 26. We were either going to buy a Sadler 25 or hunter too. We decided on the hunter for better sailing performance and living space. They are quite a bit lighter then the Sadler so quite tender in anything over 20 knots, just reef early. I would say the Sadler is stronger then the hunter. Tbh I'm currently having a few troubles with my hunter at the min. Although most of them are very well built!

 

[jakeroyd]

I have a Hunter Ranger 245 and looked at the Sadler 26 before buying the Hunter.
The S26 probably has the edge as a sailer and in terms of seakeeping but I found the lack of standing headroom an issue for me.
The 245 has it , as does the 265.
The observations I would make with the 245 are:-

Yes , the self tacking jib is easy to manage singlehanded , in fact the whole boat is.
They are not at their best in light airs , a scooper , like a cruising chute is needed (i have one and don't use it enough)
My mainsheet also is taken from a point on the cockpit floor wihout a traveller. I think this is a disadvantage in that you can not trim it like you would with a traveller. However Hunters generally do not need to have the main too close to the centreline to tack effectively , so perhaps it's not such a disadvantage. It also makes more usable space in the cockpit.
Most of the power of course is in the main , so it can punish you pretty quickly in a puff if you don't free it off quick enough.

Both are fairly expensive for what they are , both I think have good reputations.

 

[Sans Bateau]

I used to own a Sadler 26 and it would out sail a Hunter all day! A friend had the Hunter and it was a standing joke between us. The Hunter did have better accommodation though.

 

[jwilson]

I used to own a Sadler 26 and it would out sail a Hunter all day! A friend had the Hunter and it was a standing joke between us. The Hunter did have better accommodation though.

I'm surprised: given same keel types, equal skill and hull/sails condition I would have expected a H265 to be a smidgeon faster in light to medium conditions than a S26, though the S26 would win in stronger winds.

 

[Cloven]

I'm biased as I'm now on my third Hunter - 20ft Medina, 27ft Horizon 272 and now 32ft Channel 323. Great boats, well made and easy to sail shorthanded. All three were extensively sailed around the West Coast of Scotland and now the latter around Southern Brittany.

The self tacking jib makes sail handling very easy as does the fact that all lines lead back to the cockpit, so reefing etc is also easy. I have never found the position of the main sheet anchor point a problem. The only time I have to go forward is when I am dropping the main. If someone else is in the boat then they can hold the boat steady into the wind or otherwise I set it up with the autohelm before dropping the mail.

There is an active Hunter Association http://www.hunterassociation.org.uk which I have found very useful.

I cannot comment on their performance compared to the Sadler as I have never sailed the latter.

 

[Sans Bateau]

To be fair, I know Scillypete sails a Hunter single handed, 2010 he sailed from Scilly to Cherbourg for the Scuttlebutt weekend.

 

[capetown]

Looked at the Sadler 26 before buying the Hunter 265.

We thought the S26 ok for 2 but too cramped for 3 or more.

What really swung it for us was the layout, fractional rig and the self tacking jib.

No problems with the mainsheet position, it can be uncliped and stored on the pushpit when not sailing.

You might want to look at the Westerly Griffon, as we don't all like the same boats.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Seajet]

The Sadler being 'unsinkable' is a nice thought for Plan C...

I've daysailed both and would go for the Sadler as a sailors' boat every time; only possible reason for the Hunter being if you need every inch of space for a family, while the Sadlers' seakeeping ability would be handy quite quickly off the West Country.

When I tried the 'aft cabin' of the Hunter I found my head lower than feet ( feet aft ) but some say that was unusual trim; the rudder post is a bit of a passion killer too !

Also the recent post with photo's of a Hunter internal moulding cabin sole separating from the rest looked a bit alarming, hopefully a one-off.

 

[Lucky Duck]

When I tried the 'aft cabin' of the Hunter I found my head lower than feet ( feet aft ) but some say that was unusual trim; the rudder post is a bit of a passion killer too !

What rudder post? The rudder is transom hung on the Ranger 265 Channel 27. Therefore I wonder if your experiance was on a Hunter 27/272/273?

If so my personal view is that the newer Hunter hull designs used in Ranger and Channel series offered significantly more usable internal space than the boats they replaced with little effect on thier performance.

It might also be worth noting that the Hunter 26 was noted as being relatively 'tippy' and the ballast was increased for the Hunter 27 onwards to address this.

 

[Seajet]

Simon14B,

D'oh ! Correct, it was a Horizon 27.

 

[Scillypete]

To be fair, I know Scillypete sails a Hunter single handed, 2010 he sailed from Scilly to Cherbourg for the Scuttlebutt weekend.

And back again . . . . . . . But for the OP I cannot compare my Horizon 273 to the Sadler 26 as I have never sailed the latter.

What I do know is that my Hunter is a great little sailer and very comfy for longer periods aboard and also very easy to sail singlehanded

 

[Scillypete]

The Sadler being 'unsinkable' is a nice thought for Plan C...

I've daysailed both and would go for the Sadler as a sailors' boat every time; only possible reason for the Hunter being if you need every inch of space for a family, while the Sadlers' seakeeping ability would be handy quite quickly off the West Country.

When I tried the 'aft cabin' of the Hunter I found my head lower than feet ( feet aft ) but some say that was unusual trim; the rudder post is a bit of a passion killer too !

Also the recent post with photo's of a Hunter internal moulding cabin sole separating from the rest looked a bit alarming, hopefully a one-off.

Well I don't know what sort of 27 you tried but on my 273 The rudder post sits aft of the bunk end which at its shortest is 6'6" and longest nearly 7' and my head is not lower than my feet. Was it possibly a home finished boat, many Hunters left the factory as kits built to differring levels of completion.

I'm also about as far west as we can get in England and have no trouble with the seakeeping down our way. What is also notable is that there are no Sadlers owned locally but there are three Hunters . . . . draw your own conclusion there.

 

[Seajet]

ScillyPete,

I think it pushing it to make any claim the Hunters are more seaworthy than Sadlers; more likely a matter of availability or families requiring max space...

The Horizon I sailed was a pro built one, in fact a demo boat with Peter ( ? ) Poland; have a feeling the 27 was fairly new, replacing the 26 of course.

The rudder tube was between our feet; it's a matter of personal taste naturally but I felt the whole 'aft cabin' was just pandering to fashion, and the traditional separate forepeak works better at this size boat.

 

[Lucky Duck]

With regard to the OP, I'm not sure it is that helpful to get into too much detail of the Horizon 27 vs Sadler 26. While there some are similarities between the Horizon and Channel 27 they are quite different boats in many respects.

 

[Mavis]

Both the Hunter and the Sadler have twin keels as opposed to stumpy thick bilge keels. Both are renown as fine british boats. I am sure the Hunters are great boats but I cannot comment on them as I have never sailed on one. Me, I am a Sadler man through and through. I had the twin keeled 26 and now have the twin keeled 29. Their seakeeping is legendary and they can both outsail many fin keelers of the same size. I regulary sail single handed and it really is no problem. Take a look at the latest PBO for the 29, and next months PBO for the 26 as Peter Poland is doing a feature on them.

 

[Laurie]

Just to throw more spanners in the mash ( I do like to crucify metaphors!), what about some of the smaller 80s French boats, Feeling 720, 286, 850, Kelt 760, 8.5, Beneteau 26, 285, small Jeanneaus. Many available with twins or lift keels, are VERY roomy, & sail exceptionally well in lighter breezes: reef earlier.
Of older boats with twins that sail well.....Jaguar 27 (no aft cabin!)

 

[NigelCraig]

Well, many thanks to all for a lot of useful information.

One advantage of the Hunter Channel 27 is that you can get a more recent one, albeit for more money - so far as I can see S26's weren't built after mid-80's. BTW, if you think these 2 are "expensive for what they are", look at price of reasonable equipped Cornish Crabber 26! (and look is all I could do)

Instinctively, the better stiffness of the Sadler would attract me and the smaller accommodation is not a big issue but I've no personal experience of trying to sail a masthead sloop with large overlapping jennie single handed - I've always been 2 up at least, one on the helm and one on winches (self-tailing) While clearly it is possible to work out a routine to sheet in before the sail gets under load again, tacking up congested seaway I'd rather concentrate fully on where I'm going so the self tacker is very attractive and I'm happy to own up to my limitations as a sailor!

In short, I would rather have a more tender boat I was fully in control of than a stiff one I had difficulty controlling.

I will also check out the Jaguar and Westerly Griffon.