Shipmate Senior

[quicksilver63]

Hi Y'all,

Just picked up a beautiful Shipmate Senior and I'm looking for some info/advice with a few things. I have looked at the shipmate.org site but it doesn't seem to be a particularly active group. Any suggested resources would be appreciated and would love to hear from anyone around Cardiff who has one. Cheers.

 

[LittleSister]

I had a Shipmate Daybook (essentially the same, but better looking, slightly less commodious top on it).

I had a whale of a time in it. Cruised all around the South Devon coast (as had the previous owners).

The website may not be appear active, but I understand (through a friend of a friend) that up to about 5 years ago at least, the owners' club had a quite active core who would trail their boats all around the country for meet ups and cruises.

The great thing about them is how simple they are, easy to own and minimal maintenance and cost (and how good looking the Dayboat version is!);
the 8 foot long berths (essentially cushions on the floor - my 6'7" chum said he had best nights sleep for ages - but I think the Senior might have smaller, raised berths);
light weight to trail and launch (I could dry launch single handed off the trailer onto the sand, go off, park car, and come back put kettle on and wait for tide to come in);
super-shallow draft with the plate up, and bilge runner to protect hull made for cheap moorings and comfortable nights aboard on the mud and sand river shores;
small enough to fit in a good sized garage (and I was able to tie up to the dinghy landing in a couple of places).

The downsides I recall are -
the boat can be capsized (i read), so not a boat to be out in rough conditions (I seem to recall some install extra ballast);
a bit flighty - the boat won't hold a course on its own, so single handed letting go of the tiller meant the boat would head off in any direction or gybe;
with a boat of this size, cruising meant when sailing all the kit had to be dumped in the cabin/cuddy, and when sleeping it was all turfed out again into the cockpit and the cockpit tent erected - this can get quite tedious;
the rudder can touch the outboard prop and get gouged (I think I might have installed a cord between the tiller and outboard to avoid this).

I'd have another if my circumstances were different.

If you have any specific questions I'll try to answer them.

Have fun!