Snapdragon 24 v Trident 24

[Stemar]

Visited Nationwide Boat Sales yesterday. As a previous thread suggested, there’s a lot of overpriced tat and a few reasonable boats, but it wasn’t all bad. After looking at canal boats, SWMBO rather liked the look of a couple of genuine sticky stringy things, and suddenly realised she wasn’t as scared of the sea as she thought, so we’re now looking for a 22-24 ft yacht. With our budget, a half-tide mooring is likely, so the ability to take the ground and a shallow draft would seem important – especially as the Thames Estuary is where we'll spend most of our time.

SWMBO is a complete novice and has a disability that limits her ability to heave on lines and leap around. I’ve crewed a fair bit, but have a grand total of 40 miles under my belt as skipper. This makes me think that sailing ability should take second place to ease of handling and safety. We need standing headroom in the saloon.

A trawl around the internet has found a couple of boats that seem to fit the bill, so your collective wisdom is requested about the relative merits of a Snapdragon 24 and a Trident 24, both apparently in decent condition and with 6-7HP inboard diesels, for about £5000.


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[jleaworthy]

Trident is probably the better passage maker with four proper berths and choice of drop keel/long fin/bilge keels. Well known designer - Alan Hill. Snapdragon has slightly better accommodation but with the 70s favourite - a dinette/double berth. If you accept this you could sleep five. Neither boat will give you standing headroom unless you are less than 5'6" (Trident) or 5'9" (Snapdragon). However both have separate heads - a big plus with my wife and possibly yours too. If your half tide mooring is on a hard bottom the bilge keels are probably the best option. If you have a mud berth type of keel doesn't matter although drop keels can stick in "up" position.

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[tillergirl]

A chum of mine took his Trident across the Channel with us last year. Sailed very nicely and he and his son had a great time. Snapdragon isn't bad but I think the Trident is probably better. PM me with your e-mail if you want a piccy of her crossing the Thames Estuary.

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[bob26]

The active Trident Owners Association is part of the great attraction of this class - over 100 fellow owners able to answer your queries.
As well as a newsletter and rallies and get togethers, members get a free manual detailing everything that is known about the Trident and hundreds of tips and ideas tried over the past 30 odd years.

See the website:

http://www.trident-owners-association.co.uk/



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[seaesta]

You could also look at the Westerly 25. If you can find one with an inboard diesel then they mey fit your requirements very well and not cost much more than the Snapdragon etc . I have sailed mine all over the place and been very pleased with her performance and build quality. If you get a bilge keeler you can also do some trips on the larger canals which SWMBO may find less daunting in the first instance.

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[martinb]

I am not familiar with the snapdragon but I have a Trident and have no hesitation in recommending a Trident as a first boat. The limited headroom is a problem for me at 6'1" but not for my wife at 5'5", but that is just a minor irritant. As pointed out by bob26, the owners association is very active and a great source for information and assistance. I suggest you email Chris Tabor, the Honorary Secretary honsec66@btinternet.com who can probably put you in touch with members in your area and even boats for sale.
If you are ever near the Hamble I would gladly take you for a sail so that you can try a Trident for yourself.

Good luck, whichever you choose.

Martin

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