Steadfast 24

[ProDave]

Anyone know anything about them please?

We are looking for a slightly larger boat, one with more accommodation for proper cruising and just browsing boats for sale near us and a Streadfast 24 has come up for sale. I know nothing about them other than what I have seen in the pictures with the advert.

It appears to be bilge keel which we want for a drying harbour. Some places describe this as a "motor sailor" so does that mean it's sailing performance is not very good?

And the twin helm appears to be tiller in the cockpit or wheel indoors, how does that work then?

 

[Tranona]

Well regarded in the day. Well built and nicely finished. Only sold in small numbers because those qualities and all the extra bits for wheelhouse and steering made them expensive. as for sailing they have a reasonable sail area but hull shape not so keen on going to wind. Never intended for serious long distance cruising but good for weekend and local holiday, particularly with the inside accommodation.

Only downside is that they had the early Volvo saildrive on the last of the old style Volvo engines. Some had only the little single cylinder MD5 of 7.5hp, but others had the more acceptable 2 cylinder 17hp.While well built and long lived spares are getting rare and expensive and the saildrive is very difficult replace - new would cost more than the boat. While you can attach a modern engine like a Beta to the saildrive, if the drive goes it is a complete package replacement

I seem to remember Nigel (Ladyinbed) had one.

 

[LadyInBed]

I seem to remember Nigel (Ladyinbed) had one

Almost, I had a 22ft Swin Ranger for about 16 years, quite similar to the Steadfast 24.

 

[ProDave]

Thanks for the replies.

It turns out the one for sale is a long keel, no good for us in a drying harbour so won't be looking any close.

 

[Stemar]

It might be a bit far for you, but someone in my club (Gosport) is selling a 24' motorsailer. I believe she's a Cox Master Mariner 24. I don't know a lot about her, but she looks to be a nice little thing
If you're interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch,

 

[wombat88]

I'm familar with the Steadfast and the Cox Master Mariner (which I think may be 22'?). I don't know a long keeled Steadfast but the bilge keel version would be a better sailer than the Cox, however it has a saildrive leg that would probably be ancient by now.

The Cox sails much better than it looks and has quite a clever layout though engine accessibility is a bit awkward. It has a long keel and bilge keels. For what it is worth it was a well thought out idea. Original engine quite small by today's standards. They are not easy to find, many being in the West Country. There is a bigger version that is even more elusive.

The Swin Ranger should be included in teh discussion but I have only seen one, never sailed on one. They do seem lighter and simpler.

In the end I chose to Cox...but then drifted off to something else...

 

[LadyInBed]

The Swin Ranger should be included in teh discussion

Definitely
See Puffin - Swin Ranger : Monty Mariner
I took mine to the Med twice

 

[ProDave]

The latest contender to enter this discussion is an Evolution 22. Local knowledge says it sails well and wins races, but I don't think the accommodation is what we want. But close enough to go and have a look.

Another one is a Medusa 25 for sale in our harbour. We had a look from the outside and were not impressed with the condition, but are likely to have a look inside on Saturday, and might even get a sail in it. It has the accommodation we want but no idea how it sails. I couldn't find much about them, one bit I did read was the design was dated even when new in 1965.

 

[Tranona]

Evolution is a very different boat from the others you have looked at. sharp performer but lively. Very popular around here in Poole in the day (they were built locally) as round the cans racers.

From memory the Medusa was in the style of a Griffiths yacht like the Eventide but in GRP maybe designed by Ken Gibbs. Yes would have been considered old style at the time, but quite common to convert designs for wood into GRP. Sailing performance might be described as stately or ponderous depending on where you are coming from,

 

[Stemar]

No racer, but tough as old boots, with twin keels for the drying harbour and good accommodation is the Snapdragon range.

Best regarded as a motorsailer to windward, but they go well enough off the wind. We had a 24 for 18 years, she took us across the channel and looked after us in 30+kts. We only sold her because Madame was finding it hard to move around on board and a nearby Catalac was looking for a new home.

 

[ProDave]

So 2 boats looked at today and ruled out.

The Medusa was as disappointing inside as it was outside. It didn't inspire either of us and looked like it was a very old very tired boat that would need a LOT of work to make it anything decent and would still be a lumbering slow disappointing boat to sale.

The Evolution 22 looked like an overgrown dinghy pretending to be a cruiser. It might sail fast and be exciting to sail but it offers no advantage as a cruiser over our L17, it is a very cramped layout with little you could sensibly change, and this particular example was very tired indeed inside.

At the same time we had a cruise in company with some local sailors and got talking about our search for a larger boat, and as a result had a look inside several boats that sadly are not for sale. The one that really stood out that we would most definitely be buying if it was for sale was a Jaguar 24. A well thought out interior, in this case in good condition and a good boat to sail. The owner now knows to give us first offer if he wants to sell.

The search continues.