Super Seal 26 - buying second-hand

[homa]

I have 2 young children and want to explore shallow upriver stretches on the East Coast. I'm selling my 31 ft long keel, Monsun 31 and looking for a shallow draft boat. My criteria is about 26ft LOA with single lifting keel (NOT bilge keel). Reasonable headroom and at least 4 berths. Must sail reasonably well, but not too racy as it is ultimately for family sailing. Half the sailing will be singlehanded.
I recon the Super Seal 26 fits the bill but know nothing about them except what I've read in the last couple of reviews in PBO. Has anyone out there owned or sailed one, what should I look out for when buying second-hand. Any feedback gratefully received.
homa

 

[Seal_surfer]

Hi Homa,

Your post could easily have been written by myself. We also have 2 children and sail out of the R Stour from a drying muddy creek mooring, requiring lifting keel/rudder. We currently have the Super Seal's ancestor - the seal 22 - of 2' with keel up. I have been taking a keen interest in Super Seals and if finances allowed, we would have no hesitation in moving to a Super Seal as the best for our sailing needs. With its completely flat underside and draught of a little over 1', a tender can become unnecessary. It would be ideal for picnic sails and make a great swiming platform. There appears to be massive interior space and stowage, with safe, clear side decks, high stanchions and good cockpit space for a family. General construction appears tough. I personally would prefer an O/B version where it sits in a well beneath the tiller where it can be rotated to allow very tight turns or used as a "stern thruster". This is fantastic for picking up fore & aft moorings! They are usually on runners allowing the prop to be hoisted out of the water to save on corrosion.

If you are used to dinghy sailing, good. This boat has a "dagger board" keel that is virtually unballasted and can reduce draught from ~ 5' to 1' quickly by pulling on a tackle led aft. Great if your feeling your way up a gut or back to your mooring. This can also add speed downwind with no loss of stability!

There are a few things I would look out for though:

Several were home completed and interior fitting may vary in its quality.

Some I have seen have rather minimalist companion way steps - not child friendly, with no handholds/poles.

The boom/mainsail was designed to be droopy aft - a possible head basher.

The above is probably due to the fact that this boat is also a real boy racer in disguise - it will easily out pace bigger boats and there is little else of this size that will beat it. So reef early!!!

It has no external ballast!!! it is all bonded in under the cabin sole. Reef early!!!

There is an extreme hypothetical risk that if if these boats were rolled by a freak wave, they would become stuck upside down!! But I'm sure neither of us are ever likely to encounter such an event on the Orwell/Stour.

See the seal sailing association website: http://www.sealasc.org.uk/

Why not post on their bulletin board for more info?

Prices appear to be £14 - 17K.

Unfortunately, this is beyond my budget. I am considering a German built Dehlya 25 trailer sailer from the 80s. This uses water ballast to give extra stability and is quite a stiff little boat that has low layup costs. It has much less accomodation space than the Super Seal, but would be just about adeqaute. I think that with exchange Euro rates being what they are, buying one over the channel and trailing back could save several K and bring it nicely inside £10K. VAT will have already been paid of course - although certificate needed.
Has any one had experience of importing/ trailering ferry cost or Dehlya 25s?

Cheers,

Phil

 

[charles_reed]

When the Super Seal came out and with a view to replacing my Seal 22, I had a test sail out of Dawlish with Pat Andersen and was most impressed with her handling.
Then John Baker sold out to Bill Parker and I had another look at the Southampton Boat Show at Bill's version.
At this point a most embarrassing incident occured, I was testing the heads for size and theoretical ease of use and got utterly jammed in - to the point tha some tools had to be passed to me to dismantle the lock to get out.
That put paid to the Super Seal for me - instaed I got her big sister the Parker 31.

By the by, I'm not that large - just over 73" and 14 stone, but my sailing partner of the time was 79" and 18 stone!!!!

 

[homa]

Thanks for the comments Phil & Charles, I'll use them when I next look over a second hand Super Seal 26.

Phil, You're considering the Dehler 25, I've looked at that & think it is a great looking boat. And recon it must sail & handle similar to its bigger brother.
That said I do wonder how I would deal with the fact that it has water ballast. As i plan to keep it on a swinging mooring for the summer season. Doesn't the tank get full of marine growth. & how does one clean out the tank?
Homa

 

[Seal_surfer]

Hi Homa,

I have heard that some people fill the tank from a hosepipe on launching. I have also heard of people recommending addition of a biocide to water ballast tanks, although I can't vouch for its effectiveness. Since the filling would be just once a season for the likes of us (then the valve/vent is closed when full), there shouldn't be too much organic build up.

Some other points I like about these boats are there great attention to detail design and the fact that the whole hull/deck moulding was laminated as one unit. There is no joint at the deck/hull flange to leak!

However, I wish more of them were fitted with the kick-up rudder blade option rather than having to totally remove it for beaching/drying out. But there is no such thing as the perfect boat, well not until you've modded everything to how you want it.

Regards,

Phil