Suggestions for a yacht 7.5m max that can dry out!

Zagato

Zagato

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 Sep 2010
Messages
2,813
Location
Chichester Harbour
Visit site
This is for someone else, he has a Drascombe Longboat at the moment and would like to have a cabin. Budget is under 10K, 7.5m max and must dry upright. I will try and find out more about the mooring, style of boat etc.

I can only think of a Shrimper/Cape Cutter, Westerly, plastic fantastics maybe!
 
Last edited:
Definitely the smaller hunters, a Ranger might be top of budget but a good selection of cheaper ones in the Horizon 23 and Duette models.
 
You will get a lot of responses. I too used to have a Longboat. Now have a Lifting keel Jaguar 21, cheap as chips (much cheaper than a Longboat!) and stands up straight. Also Hunter Medina.
 
So many to choose from and lots nowhere near 10K. The crunch is all about condition, type of keel/s and age of engine. Start with looking at a Westerly Pageant (baby Centaur) which would be perfect for Chichester and the Solent. Unless you look at several boats eg 10 you are depriving yourself...... Type of sailing and how many people in the cabin are all considerations. Hunter Delta ....25ft. But really it is about legwork, and understanding the keel issues, and just how much choice is out there. Look at what the brokers have in Chichester and Poole to reduce travelling miles until you (your friend) gets their eye in. And forget about the budget for now, the boat could cost 2k or 9k.
 
ridgy said:
Definitely the smaller hunters, a Ranger might be top of budget but a good selection of cheaper ones in the Horizon 23 and Duette models.
Click to expand...

Would second the Duette. There was also a centreboard Sonata but depends on how you want to dry out. If it's a drying mooring then maybe not but if it's for the occasional wiggle into a drying berth then is a better sailor.

Be careful with the older Hunters as many were home built so may have had less skilled assembly than their peers. Add to that maybe 30 years of the same enthusiastic but untalented owners "maintenance" then you may have issues. That said - sound boats and if well assembled then they are a good buy.
 
7.5 metres which is 24.6 ft there will be loads to look at covering this size,depends what you think is important,some have good accomodation with a small cockpit more suitable for cruising ,it all depends how you are going to use the boat.
 
jac said:
Be careful with the older Hunters as many were home built so may have had less skilled assembly than their peers. Add to that maybe 30 years of the same enthusiastic but untalented owners "maintenance" then you may have issues. That said - sound boats and if well assembled then they are a good buy.
Click to expand...

If it is not obvious from the standard of construction, kit built boats had 'molded by' on the builder's sign at the back of the cockpit and factory finished ones had 'molded and built by'
 
Answers from the chap in question.

What is your budget? Up to 10K maybe? Yes - - that budget is about right. TBH I'm more concerned about avoiding the cost of making a mistake by either buying the wrong boat, or the right boat in the wrong condition, both of which can be costly compared to any initial budget (if you know what I mean).
When you say dry upright, does it have to be completey upright? Yes, it must stand completely upright. The mooring is sandwiched between two other yachts (bilge keelers) of circa 2 - 3 feet draft.
Does it dry in soft mud? Soft'ish sand rather than a mud berth
Would the Mooring take the weight of a small Westerly? I expect so, yes.
Do you want to single hand sail? Yes
What are your sailing grounds, do want to creek crawl or is the draft not to limited? Draft is mainly determined by the max length (7.5m) and the fact that it must be able to moor against other bilge keelers of 2 - 3 feet draft.
Any preference in style, would an Anderson 22 seem attractive to you? I prefer old school type designs (in everything tbh!). So I don't find the Anderson 22 that visually appealing (no insult intended to others tastes!). I like to sail and go fishing in equal measure, to if I end up ruling out an old Drifter, then perhaps something in the small motorsailor style that I could not only sail but also stand-up and fish from?
Are you sure you don,t want a Coaster? Unfortunately it wouldn't suit the mooring as explained above.
 
Last edited:
So if you want to avoid a costly mistake you need to look at lots of real boats in the real world.....sounds like a bilge keel will do just fine. A survey (£300?) whatever the cost of the boat will make sense even if the boat was free! The budget is 10K.
 
+1 for the Cobra. I wanted a 750 but only found one good one and lost it to another buyer the day after I saw it. I was "thinking" about it and wanted a trial sail before parting with cash. Silly me; it changed hands two years later for more than then old asking price, but I'd bought Snark in the meantime.
 
Hunter delta 25. Lifting keel I know its slightly over your 7.5m but I look back fondly at the one we had for 5 years and they are simple boats to work on plenty on Apollo duck at the moment in your budget range, some even with trailiers. We moved into it from dinghy sailing and found it worked very well off a drying mooring in Chichester Harbour, in particular it sailed very well with a ballast ration of around 40% all in the keel.
 
Last edited:
Zagato said:
This is for someone else, he has a Drascombe Longboat at the moment and would like to have a cabin.
Click to expand...

The easy answer is a Longboat Cruiser or a Coaster, both of which use the Longboat hull. The Cruiser has a slightly odd cabin, which has one berth though I think you can extend it, and they go for ~£5k in good nick. The more recent Cruiser has a more rounded and conventional cabin, and £10,000 should buy a very nice one - they seem to go for between £5,000 for one of the first and £26,000 for a brand new one
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top