The good and bad things about a Centaur are......

[dylanwinter]

I am trying to write an item for Classic Sailor about Centaurs.

I have only sailed one for a year - so I am a relative neophyte and am still learning about them

I am now on my second Centaur because I believe that at current prices they offer brilliant value for money in a take you almost anywhere boat with viable accommodation.

Feel free to disagree with that statement too.

the large number of them also means that they are easy to buy and easy to sell - provided you are a realistic seller. When I sold Harmony for 8K there were other Centaurs not as good with 12K price tags on them.

I bought Lily M for 6.5K. She is not as good as harmony but she will do.


That aside, back when they were new and expensive they must have offered something that other boats of a similar size did not - 2,400 sold and they used the hull shape on other boats too.

They were pretty revolutionary because the toe in and left/right hand design of the keels meant that they went to windward like almost no other twin or triple keeler before them.

They can be made to go to windward provided you don't let her heel too much. If you let her lean with the gusts - the way a lazy good for nothing deep keel sailor will do, then that windward keel will rise too close to the surface and it will start cavitating and it will suddenly feel as though you are towing a mooring buoy.

But keep that keel deep enough for the tank tested hydrodynamics to work and she tracks pretty well. Not as well as a twin keel Hunter but pretty good for all that. Last summer I was watching my lazer sailing son keeping her flat and working the tiller and the mainsheet. If you don't cleat the main and spill wind in the gusts then you can keep her going. If you can't be shagged to work the main and the tiller then you have no choice other than to lose some sail and some speed.

The deep keel bloke meanwhile is just sitting on the leeward side letting the physics of a deep single keel do its magical stuff. As I said - lazy buggers the deep keel brigade.

There are boats of a similar size to the Centaur that offer a much better sailing performance - Francis 26/sadler 26 for instance. There are boats that offer better accommodation in 26 feet - MacGregor - maybe even a Macwester.

There are certainly boats that are prettier -where do I begin on that list?

If landrover designed yachts the result would be a Centaur

Here are three of each for starters

The good: very seaworthy
excellent accommodation
they don't fall over when the tide goes out

the bad: the keels once wobbled
quite ugly
you have to work at it to keep it sailing when fetching or beating

I would love to hear from people with first hand experience

either on another blokes boat for a cruise or as a former adventurous owner

It would be great to hear from people who stuck with one for just one season before selling it for something that better suited their sort of sailing

please speak freely about the reasons you no longer own one

it would be great to hear from blokes who regularly brave the bar and leave their own estuary

Dylan

 

[Tam Lin]

Ugly? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Alright, I've still got mine so perhaps you don't want to hear from me but:

I like the thickness of the layup which means that you can cut holes in the boat without worrying about integrity. I have cut inspection hatch holes in the cabin sole and put a new cockpit locker lid in.
I like that you can still get some parts from Trafalgar Yacht Services.
I like that I can stand up in the cockpit without hitting my head on the boom.
Mrs TL likes the shape of the knuckle, but then being an artist she is funny like that!

I don't like that enormous tiller, it makes me feel inadequate! And it takes up a lot of room.

Will think of some more presently.

 

[EdWingfield]

What VMG have you obtained Dylan?

 

[dylanwinter]

What VMG have you obtained Dylan?

I will get back to you on that one

this is my chosen method of working it out - a bit rough and ready I know

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_made_good

However, VMG and Centaur should never appear in the same sentence

 

[FWB]

Review here
http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/WesterlyCentaur26.asp

 

[prv]

I don't think they're ugly. Not classically beautiful, but certainly not ugly either. I think your Landrover analogy is a good one. Except that Centaurs are probably more reliable than old Landies.

Pete

 

[dylanwinter]

Ugly? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Alright, I've still got mine so perhaps you don't want to hear from me but:

I like the thickness of the layup which means that you can cut holes in the boat without worrying about integrity. I have cut inspection hatch holes in the cabin sole and put a new cockpit locker lid in.
I like that you can still get some parts from Trafalgar Yacht Services.
I like that I can stand up in the cockpit without hitting my head on the boom.
Mrs TL likes the shape of the knuckle, but then being an artist she is funny like that!

I don't like that enormous tiller, it makes me feel inadequate! And it takes up a lot of room.

Will think of some more presently.

Yeah, the tiller is a bit of a cockpit sweeper isn't it

they are also not the best feeling boat when it comes to feedback through the tiller

I can steer Katie L with my eyes closed

This one with the skegless rudder feels a bit woolly to the hand - steering her to windward without tell tales is a hard to do.

Harmony had a skeg and a better main so I am not really comparing eggs with eggs

 

[jamie N]

The deep keel bloke meanwhile is just sitting on the leeward side letting the physics of a deep single keel do its magical stuff. As I said - lazy buggers the deep keel brigade.
Dylan

You're correct, and I'm going to add your assessment to my C.V.

There are certainly boats that are prettier -where do I begin on that list?
Dylan

Probably at the top, with a (Wooden) Folkboat I'd think...:encouragement:

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Long keelers are lazy? - True that.

Centaurs are ugly? - not a bit, rather utilitarian perhaps but remember Westerly made the Vulcan, so it's all relative.

 

[dylanwinter]

Long keelers are lazy? - True that.

Centaurs are ugly? - not a bit, rather utilitarian perhaps but remember Westerly made the Vulcan, so it's all relative.

it is the way the lazy good for nothing long keelers look down on every other boat as well - them with their hoity toity airs and graces. It is the general assumption of superiority I find so hard to stomach.

Back to the looks of Centaur

The windows are very good for looking out of while doing the washing up

but once you are down in the saloon you can't see that much other than the third story of the mobo alongside.

D

 

[FWB]

it is the way the lazy good for nothing long keelers look down on every other boat as well - them with their hoity toity airs and graces. It is the general assumption of superiority I find so hard to stomach.
D

Well I was going to offer to take you for a sail while you were waiting for the paint and varnish to dry.
Can't even lend you dark glasses since mine are prescription S.

 

[dylanwinter]

Well I was going to offer to take you for a sail while you were waiting for the paint and varnish to dry.
Can't even lend you dark glasses since mine are prescription S.

It is also a well established fact that long keelers are known world wide for their self deprecating sense of humour

 

[CalicoJack]

Long keepers are lazy. Um, have you seen how fast they move about when they touch bottom unexpectedly on a falling tide?

 

[dylanwinter]

Long keepers are lazy. Um, have you seen how fast they move about when they touch bottom unexpectedly on a falling tide?

good one.... they make Benny Hill seem sluggish.

Now it might be time to lay off the long keelers - complacent tea quaffers and pipe puffers they may be.

back to the goods and the bads of Centaurs

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I had CYANO (CR1279) for fourteen years. I sold her because I fell in love with a Centurion 32 that only had people on her for three weeks every year when her owner used to come over from Rome with his wife. He was fast losing his eyesight and eventually became totally blind. After a wait of some ten years he finally agreed to let me have her. Four months later he passed away.

But back to the Centaur....

I liked the long tiller because I could sit right up near the companionway where I had the GPS on a hinged panel that was held in the open position with a cabin hook. The speaker-mike of the VHF lived draped over the swinging panel. All of this was convenient because I mostly sail alone.
She was built like a tank; when I drilled a hole for the echo sounder The disk that came out of the core drill was around 30mm thick!
Cyano also gave me an opportunity to make things and alter others. During the time that we were together this is what I remember doing:

Installed furling gear and a new Genoa.
Replaced the old Volvo MD6a (or '7a'?) with a three cylinder Lombardini LDW903M.
Replaced the corroded forward portlights with slightly larger chrome ones.
Replaced the headlining with carpeting on panels screwed to (laths on) the deckhead.
Made a proper chart table in front of the port coffin berth (This space was used for storage as impossible for an adult to sleep in).
Altered the mainsail to slab-reefing instead of the cumbersome boom roller.
Altered the pushpit to incorporate davits for Murphy, the tender.
Fitted an windlass that could be operated by a control that was at the end of a long coiled cable. This allowed me to operate it from the companionway when alone or from the foredeck (cable through the fore hatch) when I had a crew.
Fitted a 'plank bowsprit with an underhung roller so that the Bruce could self-stow when weighed.
Fitted steps to the mast so that I could climb it even when I was on my own.
Altered the wooden slats on the cockpit seats so that they could be hinged up for cleaning underneath.
Made a permanent swimming ladder that could fold over the pushpit.
Installed a fresh-water shower at the stern.

Likes:
Very seaworthy.
Easily sailed single-handed (I had a Navico autopilot, which helped enormously). Spade rudder gave excellent response.
Sailed round the islands every summer and several times crossed over to Sicily, 55 miles of open water in some of the busiest commercial traffic zones in the Central Mediterranean.
'Fastest' speed was 7,1knots with two reefs in the main and only a little bit of Genoa during a trip to Sicily when we were hit by a Force 7. Normal speed was 5 - 5,5 kts. Hoisting the asymmetric was like applying a turbo; well, it felt like that, anyway.
Size ok for up to 2 adults and 2 teenagers for a week or so. Alone or two-up can remain on board for as long as the budget permits.

Dislikes:
Cyano was an 'A' layout and therefore had a dinette arrangement. Whoever is sitting nearest the side decks needs to be very short, otherwise his shoulders will not fit.
A dearth of proper stowage, especially for shore clothes.
No wet locker close to the companionway.

 

[steve yates]

Review here
http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/WesterlyCentaur26.asp

I am always sceptical about reviews by folk who haven't owned or used a boat for any period of time.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

it is the way the lazy good for nothing long keelers look down on every other boat as well - them with their hoity toity airs and graces. It is the general assumption of superiority I find so hard to stomach.

Born to rule old chap. Most of us long keelers went to the sort of school where entry to the sixth form was accompanied by a present of one's first spaniel.

Still we deign to doff our bowlers from the comfort of a cosy wheelhouse, assuming the baby hasn't been seasick into the bowler, don't ask me about that one.

 

[Contest1]

Have mine since 2004, and just bought a Contest 29 in the Costa Blanca last June.
Love the steady feel of my Centaur in all weather,s. May be slow but always gets there without any fuss!
The Contest is not that different to look at outside, beautifully finished below, sails better but keeps you on your toes by being a bit more skitish in a blow.
If I go back to sailing the Irish sea I currently believe I would be much happier in my Centaur. Takes the ground well in our silted up tidal harbours and can berth were many deeper keels can't get to.

 

[dylanwinter]

Review here
http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/WesterlyCentaur26.asp

I think that is spot on as a review

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Pro's:

Fun
Good-looking in an unpretentious way (it looks like a boat, not a designer fashion accessory).
Comparatively cheap.
If it was a car it would be the one that always gets let out in to the traffic.
It's British and totally fit for purpose.
Well built (any faults now well and truly known and usually sorted).
Fun to sail and easy to sail.
Maintenance is usually pretty easy.
Fast enough and seaworthy to cope with most tides and reasonable conditions.
Not so big that it needs much in the way of mechanical stuff to control it (big winches, 6:1 block and tackle, etc., electric anchor winches).
Big enough to take friends with you but small enough not to take acquaintances.
Sensible draft yet reasonable ability to windward.
Small enough to minimise mooring costs and it can take the ground safely (if the keels have been modded).


Con's:

They aren't free.
They still require some maintenance.
You still have to pay mooring/berthing fees.
They aren't made any more.


Summary:

A Centaur is about owning and sailing a boat, not about being able to say you own a boat or being seen sailing it. Centaur owners don't wear Quba jackets.