The very worst boats

[Quandary]

It would be fairer if there was a constraint applied to these 'worstboat, ugliest boat etc. threads.
Because every boat pleases someone, otherwise it would not exist, and it is very hurtful for the owners to have to listen to criticism from spectators; should it not be a rule of etiquette that such boats may only be nominated by those who do or have owned them. The chattering classes would of course be free to add as many uninformed comments as they like once a nomination is made.

 

[DownWest]

Quandary,
Gonna be a very short thread on those rules.

One of the French outfits did a similar one to the Buckler 24, just not so ugly(er..stylalised)
21ft ? F7? Not too many around tho.
A

 

[snowleopard]

which boats do the esteemed forumites think are really cr*p then?

Anything with insufficient complement of hulls and/or heavy weights to keep it upright.

 

[Searush]

May I humbly bring to your attention the Fjord 28 motorsailer.
(snip)

I can see where you are coming from, but it would make a nice displacement motorboat for canals & estuaries if you took the mast off.

 

[johnalison]

Any boat that is stable at 180 degrees of heel.

 

[snowleopard]

Most of this thread seems to be about slagging off boats that don't look pretty to an individual. Fortunately one doesn't see the exterior view when sailing. What really counts is how it feels in use. Is it good to sail, fast enough to get you where you want to go, comfortable to live on in ones chosen environment, whether that be a tropical anchorage or a British marina.

Personally I wouldn't take too much note of any nomination for 'worst boat' from anyone who hadn't sailed and lived on board.

One thing though is certain - nothing causes more reaction than telling someone their choice of boat is less than perfect.

 

[Ubergeekian]

But as a starter boat or the yachting equivalent of a clunker.... so far so good.

I think the Mirror Offshore was let down by a rather over-optimistic name.

 

[Bajansailor]

Well, I think that the Island Packet motor sailer looks the business really - its far more handsome than many of the American floating condos, and it has sails as a back up for the engine (or vice versa?).
And similarly that little Hardy 20 - if I was in the market for a little 20' motor boat, I would probably be looking at something like that, as I am not a speed merchant, and the raggie in me always likes to have a stick for emergencies.
Re Mirror Offshores (how could she be ugly, when compared to many 'modern' boats when she has a nice sheerline?), my parents nearly bought one when I was 4 years old, but my sister and I didnt like it, complaining it was 'too tippy' - so we started off sailing on a Mirror dinghy instead.....

The Buccaneers from the USA were built by a company that was (I think) part of the Bayliner empire in the 70s - again, not 'pretty' in the conventional sense by any means, but ideal floating houseboats with sails that are very suitable for many American boating areas, including lakes and the Intracoastal waterway, and coastal sailing.
And much prettier than your average houseboat by a long way!
Somebody has probably taken one across the Atlantic as well, just for the hell of it.

And as for the Fjord 28, dare I admit that I sent away for a catalogue in the late 70's and drooled over it, and thought that she looked gorgeous and very futuristic then? It would be a nice live aboard boat for northern latitudes, and as for the rig, well, if Prout cats can have a large genny and small main, why cant monomarans as well?
I must admit though that I would find it very difficult to work up any enthusiasm for the Buckler 24.....

When they have this sort of thread on the Mobo Forum, there is usually mention of the Carver range of motor cruisers from the USA - again soem of the range are perhaps not very pretty, but no doubt practical and very roomy, even luxurious down below.
http://www.carveryachts.com/2008_carver_36_mariner.aspx

 

[Cerddinen]

In my humble opinion the only true contender for this award is the new Moody-shed-on-a-hull. No matter how badly some of the designs suggested may perform they all have one distinct advantage over the Moody: the helm can see where the boat is going. Would you buy a car where you had to drive with your head out of the side window?

 

[Ubergeekian]

Hmm. What an interesting thread.

Ultimately, I don't think any design can be called "bad" if it does what the designer wanted it to do and if that was what some purchasers wanted.

The worst boats surely have to be those which didn't do what the designers intended, or perhaps what the purchasers thought. On that basis I would nominate Westerlies and Bavarias with keel problems or those double-skinned foam-cored Sadlers with a habit of separating into two nested boats. Does anyone else remember the brief fad for expanded polystyrene dinghies in the 70's? Lovely and light, but spilling a tiny amount of outboard petrol could be a chastening experience.

 

[Pete7]

Not, surely, the exceedingly beautiful Buckler 24 Ketch, The epitome of yacht design.

Ken, your interest in these vessels has been noted by the Gosport Mafia, also your recent interest in changing you yacht.

After a great deal of searching we have now found an interesting example of a Buckler 24 for you. Point of contact is probably best via Gsoport Boat Yard although viewing is only available at low water. Masthead inspections can be completed at high water. A weekends work should see her floating again, and after another weekend she would be spic and span

Sadly this was once someones pride and joy.

Pete

 

[Alfie168]

Lakey'l have that one I'm sure

Tim

 

[Bodach na mara]

I know people who had a Buckler 24 and rather liked it. They did say it was a bit wet for the crew. Personally I thought it had a rather good and innovative layout. Provided that the 24 was metres.

I know from experience about the wetness of centre cockpits. We had a Commando (a 27 ft 9 inch Angus Primrose design) and brought it down from Dumbarton before fitting the sprayhood. When we hit the rough water off Port Glasgow we realised our mistake. The problem with the centre cockpit is that it puts the crew right where the spray lands when going to windward. The Commando was a pretty boat however so should not be in this thread.

The one I really want to nominate is a Yamaha somethingorother. I looked over one at the Largs show a few years ago. As far as I remember it had a white and orange hull and there was a well forward of the mast for the crew. Access to the cabin was via a hatch and ladder from the foredeck. Hopefully someone will be able to fill in the blanks in my memory (such as the actual class name) and maybe even have photos. Though why anyone would want to photograph one is a mystery.

 

[Seanick]

Jeanneau 24.2

Quite honestly the worst 3 hrs of my life were trying to get the above 'vessel' to sail.
Reefed it, reefed it reefed it, more genny, less genny, pinched it, eased it and still, in the slightest puff, it luffed up even though I had the tiller up under my chin.

It made best progress on a run with the sails down and the spray hood up.

Under power let go of the tiller to scratch you nose and it would U-turn in its own length.

Just the most unpleasant boating experience ever.

Overnight it rained condensation, even with the hatches open and it was mid-summer.

 

[oldharry]

Later I sailed a Lysander(homebuilt) belonging to a friend, but it couldn't tack round at all and would only gybe, never worked out why then, but reckon the mast was leaning forward rather than raked, with hindsight. Not a pretty boat either.

ianat182

Have to come to the defence of the old Lysander here: a good one like the one I learned to sail on handled very well. A nicely finished one didnt look at all bad really, as it was basically a 17 foot dinghy with a lid on it. No beauty, but not a pigs ear either. And still being built in garages and backgardens according to the Owners Association.

 

[jonic]

Brief:

I'd like a small boat that I can't fall out of, with a massive stern cabin and sails I can trim with one hand. Most importantly, it shouldn't look like a fecking Bavaria.

:



You're on form today ken.

I always thought the Westerly Riviera never quite pulled off the Oyster deck saloon look.

 

[TamarMike]

I'm sure someone likes this one..........http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/classic-woode...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item3a584ab2fd

Now that is sad!

 

[LittleSister]

I think the Mirror Offshore was let down by a rather over-optimistic name.

Ahem. Someone sailed one from California to Hawaii, and said the only mod they needed was beefing up the undersized rudder pintles!

Sure they're no sleek flyer, but the canny styling gives it a very jaunty air considering its general dimensions, and being Van de Stadt designed that styling is based on integral structural and functional sense, rather than just stuck on after. They provide a lot of space for a 19 footer, shoal draft, separate heads compartment (smallest boat with this?), inboard diesel engine. They were designed to enable any foredeck work from the cabin via the forehatch, and were, I believe, one of the first to be sold with roller reefing a standard. Quite an innovative little motor sailer.

So, definitely a minority interest, but in its own way a little bit special and by no means a 'worst boat' unless speed is your main criterion. They have some very devoted and happy owners.

 

[Ubergeekian]

So, definitely a minority interest, but in its own way a little bit special and by no means a 'worst boat' unless speed is your main criterion. They have some very devoted and happy owners.

Oh, I'm not for a moment nominating it as "worst", and of course small boats have done some long voyages. I just think it was a bit optimistic for what was basically a coastal potterer, and possibly caused people to reject it for what it wasn't rather than accept it for what it was.

 

[Bajansailor]

My pal Henry, who for a while had the record for the smallest yacht to potter singlehanded around the world (this was in his 19'6" Colvic 'Glory' shown below)

previously had a Mirror Offshore before he built Glory from a bare hull - and with this MO he completed a successful Atlantic circuit in the 70's I think, sailing out to the Caribbean and back, without fanfare.
I used to have a scanned copy of an article about this trip from an 80's copy of PBO, but have since lost it