Samphire 26
- Thread starter Madhatter
- Start date
Madhatter
New member
What you bl00dy laughing about, explain 
sailorman
Well-known member
chinita
Well-known member
Prop off-set abaft the rudder
On a point of information, it is not off-set. Also, a number of Vegas have been modified to place the prop forward of the rudder.
Besides, is the OP is seriously going to make his decision based on reversing around a marina?
sailorman
Well-known member
he could well base his decision to buy on that fact.
Madhatter
New member
Unfortunately most of the decision making facts are based on price these days (for me at the moment at least)
Marinas are not my favourite places
oldbilbo
...
There are very few of us for whom price is NOT a major decision-making factor....
And do remember the time-honoured investment mantra "There's no such animule as a seller's market!"
And do remember the time-honoured investment mantra "There's no such animule as a seller's market!"
LittleSister
Well-known member
Well, now I'm confused. The Samphire 26 doesn't have an aft cabin! Some of the Samphire 29s do. (The 29 is a 'stretched' 26, some with an aft deck and lazarette, some with an aft cabin.)
Madhatter
New member
doug748
Well-known member
I was reading an old mag, this is what one bloke wrote about his Malin:
"....I have had my 32' Macwester Malin Ketch for 13 years and have crossed the North Sea a dozen times, spent several summers in Dutch inland waters, cruised the Baltic, crossed Sweden and returned via the Frisian Islands.......Three years ago we sailed to the Med via Brittany, the Gironde to Bordeaux and the Canal du Midi, Spain, Majorca, Minorca, Sardinia, Naples and Sicily followed....and now the Greek Islands. Next year Turkey..
...If I won the lottery I would not change my Macwester...
To, sort of, reply to your other post; I would tend to forget flying fish and get cracking.
"....I have had my 32' Macwester Malin Ketch for 13 years and have crossed the North Sea a dozen times, spent several summers in Dutch inland waters, cruised the Baltic, crossed Sweden and returned via the Frisian Islands.......Three years ago we sailed to the Med via Brittany, the Gironde to Bordeaux and the Canal du Midi, Spain, Majorca, Minorca, Sardinia, Naples and Sicily followed....and now the Greek Islands. Next year Turkey..
...If I won the lottery I would not change my Macwester...
To, sort of, reply to your other post; I would tend to forget flying fish and get cracking.
Rudyraff
New member
Hi there
I'm off to look at a Samphire 26 and I wanted to know what to look out for.
How's the refurb going?
Cheers Richard
LittleSister
Well-known member
It might be my boat you're going to look at!
It's currently for sale.I'm struggling to think of any particular problems with Samphires (and I used to run a website for Samphire owners and others interested in the marque), other than -
a) BALSA-CORED DECKS In common with other boats with balsa cored decks (very common in that era) you need to watch out for any significant areas of rot in the balsa core, given away by springy decks. If fasteners through the deck were not properly done then water could get in and eventually rot the balsa which gives stiffness to the two layers of GRP, one above, the other below. Small areas are rarely a concern. Ignore doom-mongers who tell you any balsa-cored deck boat is a liability: there are tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of them giving good, problem free service.
If you find springiness, or suspect an area, you can try to establish the extent by tapping around the deck with a small hammer or other light hard object, e.g. the handle of a screwdriver. You will probably detect a hollow sound different from the rest of the deck in areas of rot, but it is not a foolproof method - e.g. you may find areas with very slight springiness and with a different sound simply as a result of the gap between the two GRP layers being slightly greater than the thickness of the balsa core. (Note that there should be stronger, non-balsa wood, in between the GRP layers where additional strength against crushing is required, e.g. in the way of hatches and chainplates, etc.)
Repair is in principle simple, but in practice, if the areas are either extensive or difficult to access, very messy and tedious. It involves cutting away the layer of GRP either above or below the rot a little behind the rotted area, digging out the damaged balsa, and putting in new balsa or foam core material, and then fitting a new (or the old) GRP deck or underdeck. If the areas of springiness are very extensive it is rarely worth tackling - walk away unless the boat is a fantastic opprtunity.
b) SHE-DECK Samphires have a proprietary 'She-deck' finish to the decks (as used on She yachts). This looked amazing new - imitating a teak deck but without the cost, weight or care requirements - but hasn't stood the test of time cosmetically. It is, however, a fantastic anti-slip surface, even when, with age, it looks unglamorous. The decks can simply be painted over using standard deck paint (after suitable cleaning, abrading etc. prep), which is what a number of Samphire owners have done. Alternatively, if you have the time and patience, you can point the 'planks' in one colour, and paint the near black grippy 'caulking' in black. I've seen this done on a couple She yachts with this decking, and it looks fabulous. (In principle you could carefully abrade or scrape away the remaining teak effect, leaving you with a conventional GRP deck to paint, but someone I know who tried this found it very difficult, and ended up, over two seasons, grinding away the original surfaces (IIRC correctly using an electric plane) and making a new deck surface with epoxy.) Another possibility is that, like me and my Samphire 23, you initially think 'I'll have to paint over that', but over time you become quite used to, even fond of, the unusual tigerskin appearance!
The decks were moulded in gelcoat finished GRP with grooves for the 'caulking' between the outline of raised 'planks'. The imitation 'caulking' is actually black resin (polyester?) with carborundum or some other black grit mixed in it, and is laid projecting slightly higher than the 'planks'. This is what gives the fantastic grip.
The 'planks' are actually a thin film printed with teak colour and grain, over which a single layer of clear gelcoat was laid. What happens over time is that slight dings from dropped tools, grit on shoes, or whatever, chip that over-thin layer of gelcoat. Water then gets under the layer and frost etc. lifts more of it. Without the protection of the hard top gelcoat layer the softer exposed teak effect film becomes worn away in places, exposing the white or coloured GRP underneath.
The black grippy 'caulking' is generally much more robust, but you can get small sections of it coming adrift, perhaps because it was never as well adhered as the rest in the first place, the deck has flexed in the way of e.g. chainplates or because of rotted core as mentioned above, or because water has got underneath it and frozen, forcing it out. Any gaps are easily replaced using a black resin with carbundum or other dark grit mixed in.
c) VINYL HEADLININGS The yard finished boats (and probably some others) had foam backed vinyl linings, and as with other marques, the foam typically strats disintegrating after a few decades, resulting int he lining dropping in places. Replacing the linings can be a challenge. The worst part is removing the old linings and scraping/abrading all the old foam and glue off the inside of the GRP. Most replace with new foam backed vinyl, which is available either with the foam already attached to the vinyl, the foam is then glued to the GRP, or with separate self-adhesive foam and the vinyl laid on afterwards. You have to be careful with the fumes from the glue when undertaking this - plenty of ventilation and masks. Materials for the job are available from Hawke House (who also have advice sheets) and other suppliers. (Some good old threads on this forum with advice informed by experience.) Alternatives are the carpet-type lining used for lining camper vans etc. Probably easier to work with and cheaper than vinyl. Others have lined boats with e.g. tongue and groove wood, or sheets of plastic (acrylic?, forgotten trade name) as used for advertising signs and boards, or 'painted' the inside of the boat with polyester flowcoat.
d) RUDDER FITTINGS The Samphire26 (and 23, but not 29) have transom hung 'barn-door' type rudders. Their transoms slope up and aft, so the heavy rudder is literally hanging from the boat. This leads to wear on the gudgeons and pintles, especially the bottom ones, and especially in silty waters. So you will likely find every 5 or 10 years you will need to bush or replace a rudder fitting.
e) YARD vs. HOME COMPLETION Most of the Samphire were yard finished. These were generally fitted out pretty well - solid, if not especially elegant internally. A few boats were home completed from hull and deck mouldings and, as with other marques, the quality of the home completed boats' fit-out varied greatly . Some were rather poorly done, while some (like my Samphire 23) more beautifully than the yard finished boats. Note that even the yard finished boats had variations in layout - there were different options available, and some evolution in layouts over time.
Generally speaking, though, they are strongly built boats, and (unlike some other marques I could mention
) I'm not aware of other particular vulnerabilities.I've wittered on too long. You may wish you hadn't asked now! But I hope it's helpful to you (whether or not it's my boat you are intending to look at) or anyone else considering a Samphire. If you have other questions you're welcome to ask here - do quote one of my posts here so I'm notified) - or via the Private Message facility (above).
Rudyraff
New member
I don't know what to say, thank you doesn't sound enough!
I'm viewing a boat called 'Tangle' , was that your boat?
The owner said the cockpit sole is a bit spongy, is that a big problem?
I guess all I can honestly say is many many thanks and if I or other members have any other questions regarding Samphires, they know who has the answers .
I'm viewing a boat called 'Tangle' , was that your boat?
The owner said the cockpit sole is a bit spongy, is that a big problem?
I guess all I can honestly say is many many thanks and if I or other members have any other questions regarding Samphires, they know who has the answers .
Rudyraff
New member
Hi again ? do you think around a thousand is a good deal for a tired example but I'm not working due to disability. The one thing I've got is time.
If I do purchase her, I'd paint the she-dek , I think with patience she would look and sail wonderfully.
The headliner has already been stripped so I'd like to tongue and groove her?
Do you think it's worth epoxing the hull?
As I said I'm time wealthy so I would want to make a great example of a Samphire 26.
Thanks again
If I do purchase her, I'd paint the she-dek , I think with patience she would look and sail wonderfully.
The headliner has already been stripped so I'd like to tongue and groove her?
Do you think it's worth epoxing the hull?
As I said I'm time wealthy so I would want to make a great example of a Samphire 26.
Thanks again
