Southerlys and sea sickness

[Anita]

We are currently looking for a boat and have been considering buying a Southerly 105. I have read in another forum that you are more likely to feel seasick on a Southerly due to the way they roll at sea. Are there any owners out there who could comment on this?

 

[Richard10002]

I'm not a Southerly owner, and have never sailed on one, but I could suggest that what you have read is rubbish, and can only be based upon relatively limited experiences.

 

[jakeroyd]

To echo Richard above.
I think if you are you going to be seasick you will do it on any boat.
The boat will be an influence , obviously, but not a very significant one.

 

[Wansworth]

Would need a double blind testing over a series of boats..... y bro was seasickin a halcyon 27

 

[lpdsn]

My early crewing experience was on a Southerly so was a long time ago, but there was nothing like that. It does sound like rubbish to me.

Only thing that was different from other cruising boats of the same size was that there was a tendency to round up in gusts (because of the small rudder) but I believe the more recent ones have improved that with twin rudders. Oh and of course the ability to get into shallow places.

 

[lw395]

If you are susceptible to seasickness, I would suggest trying different boats as much as possible.
Some boats do have a worse motion than others, in some conditions.
And different people are affected differently.
Some people find the motion of catamarans upsetting in some conditions.

Also the amount a boat rolls depends on how it's sailed.
Motoring a yacht is often much much worse than sailing it.

 

[Mistroma]

We are currently looking for a boat and have been considering buying a Southerly 105. I have read in another forum that you are more likely to feel seasick on a Southerly due to the way they roll at sea. Are there any owners out there who could comment on this?

I'm not prone to seasickness but my wife is to the extent that I make meals at sea if it isn't pretty calm.

My wife managed better in our old Southerly 95 as she could look outside whilst in the galley or interior steering position. She did take Sturgeon from time to time on long hauls overnight.

We had the S95 for around 23 years, covering about 19,000 miles (West coast of Scotland, Ireland, East coast Scotland & England plus Belgium, Holland and Germany).

Haven't noticed any change in our new boat over last 10,000 miles or so. Of course everyone is different and you might have problems. I can only say that I did not.

 

[BoyBlue49]

I sailed a 115 from Le Harve to Portsmouth in a westerly F4-5, didn't seem any more rolly than any other yacht I have sailed in. Maybe your informant didn't have the keel down.

The keel is retractable by winding up or down.

Maybe it's a wind up

 

[Mistroma]

My early crewing experience was on a Southerly so was a long time ago, but there was nothing like that. It does sound like rubbish to me.

Only thing that was different from other cruising boats of the same size was that there was a tendency to round up in gusts (because of the small rudder) but I believe the more recent ones have improved that with twin rudders. Oh and of course the ability to get into shallow places.

Not so much a tendency as "almost impossible to hold a course" when windy for some models.

Older ones like 95 and 105 actually managed quite well though helm did get heavy but at least the rudder didn't stall too easily.

100 and 115 (Mk1) had tiny rudders under a retroussé stern. These rudders pretty much stalled when wind piped up and you tried to beat to windward. I think 115 had a slight larger rudder (more than just scaling up the 100).

I haven't sailed later models such as 110 and 115(Mk2) but increased area from twin rudders should have helped greatly. Of course they lost the ability to use prop. wash to change direction at low speed. I used that a lot, dragging the keel tip in mud and virtually spinning 90 degrees or more on the spot.

 

[GrahamM376]

We are currently looking for a boat and have been considering buying a Southerly 105. I have read in another forum that you are more likely to feel seasick on a Southerly due to the way they roll at sea. Are there any owners out there who could comment on this?

Funnily enough, that's one of the points a Northshore manager/salesman told us when we visited the works around 18-20 years ago, considering buying one. When he asked what we wanted the boat for, replied longer distances most likely Biscay etc., living aboard for extended periods. Oh, he said they're coastal creek crawlers, not suitable for offshore as they slam a lot and roll like a pig in beam seas.

Having put us off buying his product (no wonder they went bust), we went away confused as it wasn't what we'd heard from owners who just sailed locally.