Trapper 500

[Sandgrounder]

Many Scuttlebutters were kind enough to respond to a recent thread about the Varne 27. I have now been offered a Trapper 500 at what seems a reasonable price for what is evidently a good boat. Does anyone have anything to say about the Trapper? Any thoughts/ insights appreciated.

 

[robmcg]

Great boat. Good accommodation for a 27 footer, better with the 501 interior. Also know of a decent one going for a good price (hint hint)

 

[BrianH]

Many Scuttlebutters were kind enough to respond to a recent thread about the Varne 27. I have now been offered a Trapper 500 at what seems a reasonable price for what is evidently a good boat. Does anyone have anything to say about the Trapper? Any thoughts/ insights appreciated.

I owned a Trapper 500 (with 501 interior) for 24 years; a fine cruising boat for her size and sails well.

However they had their weak points that should be looked for - stanchion bases were poor and needed beefing up, most owners will have done that ... as well as replacing the engine.

Some information here: http://homepage.hispeed.ch/bhny/Trappinit.html

And an owners' forum here: http://www.tallshipsailing.co.uk/trapperyachts/yabb/YaBB.pl

 

[sailorman]

Many Scuttlebutters were kind enough to respond to a recent thread about the Varne 27. I have now been offered a Trapper 500 at what seems a reasonable price for what is evidently a good boat. Does anyone have anything to say about the Trapper? Any thoughts/ insights appreciated.

A good boat, far better all round than the Varne

 

[Sandgrounder]

Trapper 500 - Thanks all

Thanks for your replies; they confirm what I suspected. How does the 501 interior differ from the 500; I can't find any illustrations of the 501?

 

[Joker]

Excellent boats.

Basically, the 501 has a different interior, sacrificing a cockpit locker for a pilot berth.

They sail very well and are easy to handle. I've had two.

 

[BrianH]

Thanks for your replies; they confirm what I suspected. How does the 501 interior differ from the 500; I can't find any illustrations of the 501?

Perhaps you didn't open the link I gave; the cutaway diagram there is of a 501 from the 1981 brochure:

I don't think there was too much difference, more headroom at the aft end of the cabin, double sinks, trotter box for starboard settee berth into the hanging locker.

 

[Seajet]

We test sailed a 501, it had a very good teak interior and sailed quite well; these boats seem to be a well kept secret, going for relatively low prices.

I'd look for one with a replacement engine by now though, due purely to age, also check when / if the standing rigging was renewed.

Some people moan about the rudder protruding aft, that would be worth checking for damage.

 

[neilmcc]

We had a 1980 Trapper 500 for 5 years and found her to be a great sailing boat. I sailed her single handed and with as many as six aboard and she handled it all very well.
In most cases the stantion bases will already have been strengthened but it's worth checking.
Ours had an 18hp Yanmar with calorifier which replaced the old engine and punched her through everything the Clyde threw at her.
I replaced the original roller reefing main with a slab reefed, loose footed Elvstrom Sobstad sail and it made a huge difference to the pointing and almost took away any weather helm in all conditions.

All in all a great boat (and I'm not selling one)

 

[Burnham Bob]

Agree with all the positive comments and advice. Not sure whether ours was majorly refitted by a preovious owner who seems to have been a real craftsman in wood, but we have seen one or two others and the interior fit out seems to vary. I think some of the later ones were more 501-ish. We have two berths in the focs'le, a drop down double in the saloon using the table and a port side what I think is called a quarter berth where my legs go down under the chart table. Needs practice to get in and out but perfectly comfortable. SWMBO loves the fact that by shutting off the heads from the saloon and sleeping up front she has virtually an en suite and when she gets up early I am tucked up out of the way.

What looks like a sixth berth on the starboard side of the saloon has been truncated into a sofa and replaced by a really useful chest of drawers alongside the stove. Agree about slab reefing, stanchion bases etc but if you have the same roller reefing genoa we do (it's large compared to the main) we find reefing earlier than you might think makes for a more comfortable passage. We did 6/7 knots last week in a 4 gusting 5 on the beam with a reef in the main and the genoa.

A touch of genius from our local boatyard installed a holding tank when we were off to Holland by beefing up the bin locker under the for'ard berths and glassing on a lid with inspection hatch. If you'd like a copy of the original owner's handbook, send me a PM but you'll probably find it's more for interest than practical use as the boat you're looking at will have been upgraded and modernised.

When we bought the boat the engine was replaced with a Beta 14 which seems moer than adequate although a few more horsepower obviously wouldn't be wasted.

 

[sailorman]

Where do you pump out in Holland

 

[Burnham Bob]

we never made it to Holland - weather was against us this year - but having a holding tank gets us round the regulations even if we use shore facilities. and it makes for virtuous feelings in places like Ipswich which is a sealed marina with a lock when you want to go late at night and its raining.........macerator pump empties when you are out of the river

 

[PeteCooper]

In the Yachting World 'One of a kind' rally in 1975 the joint winner was a Trapper 500 - the boats it drew with were an Ecume De Mer and a Macwester 27.
Commended entries were Ballad, Dufour 27 and a Brin de Folie.
The rest of the fleet were in alphabetical order Atlanta 8.5, Contest 30, Jaguar 27, KIngs Cruiser 29, Sabre, She 27, Tarantelle, Varne 27 and last but by no means least the Vega.
If anybody would like a copy of this test, or part of it please let me know and I could scan it.

 

[Sandgrounder]

Perhaps you didn't open the link I gave; the cutaway diagram there is of a 501 from the 1981 brochure:

I don't think there was too much difference, more headroom at the aft end of the cabin, double sinks, trotter box for starboard settee berth into the hanging locker.

Hi, I did look but could see no difference to the boat I am going to buy below decks; it does retain the swans neck tiller though.
It has double sinks and a trotter box and a quarter berth etc. It also has slab reefing, a 5 yr old Beta deisel and all the usual gear.

Thanks all for all the advice; I hope to have her within a fortnight.

 

[BrianH]

Hi, I did look but could see no difference to the boat I am going to buy below decks; it does retain the swans neck tiller though.
It has double sinks and a trotter box and a quarter berth etc. It also has slab reefing, a 5 yr old Beta deisel and all the usual gear.

If the construction year is 1980 she could be a hybrid like mine was - a 500 with 501 interior. I re-engined with a Yanmar 2GM20 though.

The tiller change must have been beneficial, the swan neck, cockpit-sweeping 500 one was an ankle-trapping encumbrance when tacking with a full crew although enabling steering from well forward and protected by the cabin bulkhead when the spray was flying. The odd one actually sported a wheel (Nimbus Too in the CI).

I had a bad case of osmosis and had her professionally treated in Italy but there was a further manifestation about ten years later, according to the Italian who bought her from me.

 

[Markus Routes]

Agree with all the positive comments and advice. Not sure whether ours was majorly refitted by a preovious owner who seems to have been a real craftsman in wood, but we have seen one or two others and the interior fit out seems to vary. I think some of the later ones were more 501-ish. We have two berths in the focs'le, a drop down double in the saloon using the table and a port side what I think is called a quarter berth where my legs go down under the chart table. Needs practice to get in and out but perfectly comfortable. SWMBO loves the fact that by shutting off the heads from the saloon and sleeping up front she has virtually an en suite and when she gets up early I am tucked up out of the way.

What looks like a sixth berth on the starboard side of the saloon has been truncated into a sofa and replaced by a really useful chest of drawers alongside the stove. Agree about slab reefing, stanchion bases etc but if you have the same roller reefing genoa we do (it's large compared to the main) we find reefing earlier than you might think makes for a more comfortable passage. We did 6/7 knots last week in a 4 gusting 5 on the beam with a reef in the main and the genoa.

A touch of genius from our local boatyard installed a holding tank when we were off to Holland by beefing up the bin locker under the for'ard berths and glassing on a lid with inspection hatch. If you'd like a copy of the original owner's handbook, send me a PM but you'll probably find it's more for interest than practical use as the boat you're looking at will have been upgraded and modernised.

When we bought the boat the engine was replaced with a Beta 14 which seems moer than adequate although a few more horsepower obviously wouldn't be wasted.

I'd love a copy of that manual but I can't seem to send you a PM?

 

[Bobc]

Very good boats. Built at Deacons yard in Bursledon (Hamble).

 

[johnalison]

I sailed in company with and on a 501 for a number of years. It had bilge keels and was a bit of a pig to sail, with poor directional stability. In addition, none of the kit worked smoothly, but it did its job. I always felt nervous entering the companionway as the step was adjacent to the galley sink, and a slip on there could have resulted in a broken ankle. It was underpowered with a 10hp diesel but the 15hp replacement left very little space around it and the owner found servicing hard.

 

[Joker]

I have owned two Trapper 500s, and they were a delight.They were fin keel [and lead, rather than cast iron].

In the first of these, I managed to win the round the Island race. Not around the Isle of Wight, but instead, around Alderney. More by luck than anything else.

If you are looking at a Trapper, then walk around the foredeck. If there are any crackling or crunching noises, walk away. The deck was constructed as a balsa sandwich, and if water gets into this, the balsa rots. Repairing it could be expensive.

 

[PaulGS]

We had a 1980 Trapper 500 for 5 years and found her to be a great sailing boat. I sailed her single handed and with as many as six aboard and she handled it all very well.
In most cases the stantion bases will already have been strengthened but it's worth checking.
Ours had an 18hp Yanmar with calorifier which replaced the old engine and punched her through everything the Clyde threw at her.
I replaced the original roller reefing main with a slab reefed, loose footed Elvstrom Sobstad sail and it made a huge difference to the pointing and almost took away any weather helm in all conditions.

All in all a great boat (and I'm not selling one)

I wonder if your 500 is the same as the one I'm looking at on FB?

facebook.com/marketplace/item/1178124309513399