Porter's Boat Search

[CharlieJ]

I really miss my Meridian. One of the finest boats I've owned. 52 years old this year. Would love to still have her.

[Porter Wayfare]

Well, I hope somebody is happy today--an $860 bid took it.  I've spent more on gas just going to see a boat!  I feel like I'm in junior high again, learning how to date.

On the dating tack, CharlieJ, why don't you still have her?

[CharlieJ]

On the dating tack, CharlieJ, why don't you still have her?

Because Laura does. I now have a 21 foot trailerable I bought back. Necessity was mine before.

[Porter Wayfare]

Well then, since we agree on the Meridian's qualities, CharlieJ, what do you think of this: a Whitby Continental 25? It's a folkboat derivative made in Canada.



It's 25.25 LOA, 7.25 Beam, 3.8 Draft, 288 SA, 5500 Disp. Sailboatdata page here: http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=542

[Captain Smollett]

A "pre-Alberg  30" of sorts.  ;D Designed (adapted?) by Kurt Hansen, who commissioned Alberg to design essentially a 30 ft version of the Folkboat. Thus the A30 was born, and Whitby (Hansen) built em.

I've read they are very good boats, and they look it. Could hardly go wrong with Folkboat roots.

Look forward to Frank's comments. ;)

[Frank]

Great boat in sooo many ways. Folkboat hull shape but with way more headroom thanks to a doghouse cabin top. They are initially tender..as are most similar designs. The biggest problem with these boats is simply "age". They haven't been built for a very long time. The keels are cast iron and both the keel bolts and glassed over timbers they are bolted to should be checked. The deck should be checked for soft spots...all the typical stuff for oldies. I have a very soft spot for these. They look great, sail great and the interior is really well done for a skinny hull. They were actually called "Continental 25's".

[Travelnik]

If you're looking for an Ariel, this site has some from $800 on up.

http://boats.smartcarguide.com/pearson-26-ariel

[Porter Wayfare]

David Old Jersey has stirred up the soup again with a post about Fairey Atalantas.  And in reviewing bookmarks about Atalantas and the beautiful one near Vancouver www.aurorawoodwork.com/Tenga.htm‎,   I came across this Karlskrona Viggen for sale in NY.  http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/35629   have a feeling it might be SailFarer River Wytch's boat http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php/topic,2709.msg28590.html#msg28590.  It sounded like a nice boat with a great pedigree.

[David_Old_Jersey]

If she is 21 foot that must be a draft of around 4 foot!

[Porter Wayfare]

That's part of what I don't get: River Wytch seemed to be pretty up on his Viggen, and I have a feeling he would have known she was 23' as shown in SailboatData: http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3221.  They give draft as 3.64'.  The profile they show is of the Albin-made Viggen which has the updated fin keel and skeg mounted rudder.

I sent him an email but I haven't heard back.

The price listed for the boat is $750  I don't know how many GBP that is, but it's not much as a starting asking price--kind of indicates a give-away.  So it may be she's been passed on and in a bit of a state.

I read a Google translated Swedish page about Viggens.  It must be that Viggen is the name of some sorted Tufted Duck because that's how it got randomly translated: sometimes "tufted" and sometimes "duck."  But it sounded like a well thought of boat.   "Like a Vega with four feet out of the middle."

[Jim_ME]

Hi Porter, for what it's worth, this is a very nice deign...

25 foot Contest sailboat - $100 (Hilton NY)
http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/3780522773.html

The deck [and cabin trunk] is solid fiberglass (no core), so that eliminates one of the potential problems from it having been sitting [and being an older boat, 1967].

Contests have a reputation for being quite ruggedly built (In the Netherlands, as Charlie's Tehani was) and in the same displacement range (or as an Ariel).  

They also have beautiful mahogany interiors, teak soles, etc. with tons of built-in storage (no photo of the interior in the ad so am wondering how exposed to weather it has been).

Has a split underwater body, but a fairly long keel for good tracking ability, and deep forefoot, soft bilges for seakindliness.

Many have small inboards, but could be pushed easily with an outboard on a bracket.

Here are the specs...
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=5401

http://www.contestyachts.com/media/922/contest-25-oud.pdf

Edit: I have found some Contest 25 sisterboat (in good condition) interior photos...[the first is an aft port-side galley, the others are for a forward-galley layout.]

[truewind]

What did you mean by "split underwater body"?  Is the hull made in two pieces joined together in the middle with the deck on top, so three pieces total rather than two?

[Jim_ME]

My understanding is that "split underbody" is a sailboat design term meaning that the rudder is separate (or split) from the keel (sometimes called a "modern underbody") as opposed to the more traditional "full Keel" with attached rudder.

Here's a discussion of the Pearson Renegade 27 where the terms are used.

Many of these designs have a short fin keel to maximize the keels "lift" while minimizing the wetted surface area and have the separate rudder either with or without a skeg.

Many of the Contest designs, including the 25 in this ad, have a long keel and wineglass (soft) bilges, similar to those of more traditional designs (such as Alberg's), and so have similar tracking and seakindly characteristics. They are also ruggedly built, including heavy rudder posts to help compensate for the lack of structural advantage of being attached to the keel. The Hurley 22 comes to mind as another such design. [Although if you look at the H22 Gallery of photos, there is one of a boat that was modified to extend the keel (or keel/skeg) to and allow the rudder to attach to it]

Some modern/split designs have short fin keels, beamy hulls with hard bilges, and while fast under some conditions, are not so sea kindly--can be miserable in rough conditions. An example would be Charlie's writings about his long slog to windward (to Mexico) in such a boat, which although much larger in size than his own boat, was much less comfortable. Craig also wrote about a similar experience on a large-ish boat--and how he wished that he was on his Ariel.

As wetted surface area is reduced, usually displacement is reduced, and the cost of the boat is also reduced. So in the late 60s as sailing/cruising began to have a broad appeal and boat builders were in more intense competition it created the market where a Pearson Renegade 27 (to use the above example) replaced the Pearson Triton 28, and could boast about the same amount of "room" below, with considerably less displacement (build cost). Yet, now (40 or 50 years later), Tritons are highly sought after as voyaging boats, often by owners prepared to make major investments to restore and refit them. The standard  ;) SailFar sailboat, the Alberg designed Pearson Ariel 26 is the smaller sister of the Triton, and the Alberg 30, the big sister. (There are of course many other high-quality cruising designs out there, which have been listed in other threads.)
 

[Porter Wayfare]

Mercy!  One of you guys should take this before I stumble.  A Seafarer Meridian cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963-Seafarer-Meridian-25-ft-/190866873017?_trksid=p4506.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8961597867321772486#ht_500wt_1182

Sorry, I couldn't get the link thing to work.  But anyway, take it.

[skylark]

http://www.marktplaats.nl/a/watersport-en-boten/kajuitzeilboten-en-zeiljachten/m688752633-sturgeon-22-een-opknapper.html?c=efb2ef4dc323389c4f92ed10afa33e3a&previousPage=lr

[CharlieJ]

Mercy!  One of you guys should take this before I stumble.  A Seafarer Meridian cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963-Seafarer-Meridian-25-ft-/190866873017?_trksid=p4506.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8961597867321772486#ht_500wt_1182

Sorry, I couldn't get the link thing to work.  But anyway, take it.

Link worked for me. She's a few years newer than Tehani, but still a Dutch built boat. Would make a great single or two hand cruiser. I speak from experience ;) ;)

[Porter Wayfare]

I mean,  I couldn't get the link to show up as just "Seafarer Meridian."

I thought you once said that the Dutch boats were solid fiberglass....  So what do you think is up with the soft spot on the deck?

[CharlieJ]

Hull and cabin (sides and top)  is solid, decks are balsa cored. I had to re-core the side decks and bow section on Tehani.

One reason I moved the chainplates outboard, so they didn't go through the deck anymore.

[Porter Wayfare]

Skylark!  At first I just assumed that you had reposted the link to the Meridian because I had said I couldn't get the link to work.  But I just tried it and that boat--a Sturgeon 22--is really a beauty.  A pocket Meridian.  Thank god it is not in the US--or maybe I wish it was....

I really like that boat.  Do you know any more about them?  Thanks.

[Porter Wayfare]

Here's all I can find about the Sturgeon 22.
http://www.sailingtheweb.com/sailboats/Sturgeon+22/Fibocon/

3.61 ft draft  3900 pounds.  What a beauty.

Edit: Well, maybe draft is more like 2'-6".  The picture does look kind of shallow.
http://www.boatoon.com/en/boat-marketplace/sail+boat/fibocon/fibocon-sturgeon-22/7068696079/details/