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Which boat would you recommend?

  • 22 Oct 2026 21:38
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    Message # 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Hello fellow junkies!

    Since I stumbled over Ilvy some years ago, I'm intrigued. Since I sailed her once (thanks to Paul) I'm infected.
    For several reasons I'd start with a pocket cruiser (if I really ever take the plunge ), something around 20 feet. Can you please share your experiences with such boats as the Newbridge Navigator, the Kingfisher 20+ JR or the Coromandel (or other comparable boats I have not noticed yet)?
    All of them would be affordable and somehow available. In fact I don't need a twin keeled boat in the Baltic, but I'm looking for a simple solution. I don't plan on converting a boat like Paul did - just converting friends and students to this incredibly simple way of sailing. 
    Which boat would you consider more satisfying in its sailing performance?
    Thanks a lot in advance, looking forward to hearing (reading) about some first hand experiences!

    Fair winds and happy returns to everyone

    Heiko 
  • 23 Oct 2026 10:10
    Quote
    Reply # 13757966 on 13757378
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Welcome Heiko and I hope you get lots of replies, as there are quite a few Coromandels, Kingfishers, Navigators and boats in that size range and type, in the JRA.

    Here's a couple of homework assignments for you in the meantime: 

    If you go to the Directories, in the Members' Area, in the left side panel of the website, and scroll down to Membership (online and printable) you can use the search box there. If you enter "Newbridge" you will get 9 hits, mostly Coromandels, and you will be able to find contact details of owners and where they are located. "Kingfisher"  resulted in 9 results, "Coromandel" 11 and "Navigator" 1 - some of them overlapping results with "Newbridge" but that opens up possibilities for direct contact at least by email if you want to.

    If you prefer to just browse, there is a Boat of the Month gallery - the URL link for it is just at the bottom of the Boat of the Month feature - if you click on that you can look at all the past Boat of the Month reviews and many of them are Coromandels, Navigators, Kingfishers - and others of about the same size. You can scroll down through them year by year and read the reviews, look at photos etc. In this year's alone there is Minnow (not sure the model) September, and a Coromandel in April. In 2025 a Coromandel in October and a Corribee in September. 2024 there is a Coromandel in October. 2023 a Kingfisher in November. There are lots more if you scroll further, and other similar boats too.

    Best of luck. 
  • 23 Oct 2026 10:21
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    Reply # 13757975 on 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Guten Tag, Heiko! 

    The 3 boats you mention are the only trailer sailers fitted with a junk rig. I recently had a Coromandel and cruised aboard her for a single season. I found her comfortable to live aboard solo during Summer and found her performance adequate. I never tested her in more than a force 5 - a "yachtsman's gale". She looked after me well and inspired confidence. A previous owner had rigged her with a split rig, which gave better performance, so she wasn't a typical Coromandel. Other Coromandel owners say they have fairly heavy weather helm resulting from a mast position a little too far aft. Coromandels are lightly built and I was not impressed by the quality of her construction.

    If I were choosing now, I'd prefer a Kingfisher. They are more heavily built and have a reputation for being solid and reliable. (A Kingfisher 26 took me across the Atlantic and back twice, under bermudan rig.) I think they are more comfortable than Coromandels because they have greater volume. I would feel more confident going far offshore in a Kingfisher. One or two have made ocean voyages, which I woudn't do in a Coromandel. The only black mark against Kingfishers is their bolted on steel keels. I have no doubt that they are strongly attached, but you will have the joys of corrosion and osmosis, all combined in one sweet package.

    Happy hunting!
       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
                                                               - the Chinese Water Rat

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