Practical Boat Owner – August 2019

CHOOSING THE RIGHT YACHT

four-berth accommodation; and sold in
large numbers.
British designer Ian Proctor is most
famous for the many top dinghies
(Wayfarer, Wanderer, Topper, Gull, Osprey)
that bear his name. But he also came up
with a brace of popular pocket cruisers for
builders Rydgeway Marine in the 1970s.
Both the 5.26m (17ft 3in) Pirate 17 and
5.82m (19ft 3in) Prelude 19 were offered
with lifting keels (as well as with fin or twin

keels) and both make splendidly versatile

little cruisers. Both sold in the hundreds.

The drop keel version of the Pirate 17

draws 0.6m (2ft) with the keel up and

weighs around 612kg (1,350lb). So it’s

definitely trailable. But it’s equally capable

at sea, as proven by Phil Ashwin who

sailed his Pirate single-handed over 1,700

miles around Britain to raise money for

Help the Heroes.

The larger Prelude 19 is equally versatile,

while offering considerably more space

below. The four-berth layout works well

and there’s also a compact galley unit and

a loo under the forepeak berths. The

Prelude was so popular that around 500

were built.

As a final proviso on all these boats,

always bear in mind that moving metal

parts living in salt water need maintenance

and occasional spares. So check that the

lifting keel is in good working order.

days (sure beats those bigger boats that
have to sail via Gibraltar).”
Over several years Alan and his family
crew took Tiger Lily on trailer-sailing
holidays to South Brittany, the Adriatic
coast, the Costa Brava, Elba, Friesland
Limjfjord (Denmark), La Charante
Maritime, the south-west Baltic and the
Stockholm archipelago (as featured in
newsletters on Swift18.org). It just shows
how many cruising areas versatile little
trailer-sailers can reach.
“In the Mediterranean my two daughters
(aged 12 to16), my wife and I lived on it for
several weeks.”
On the maintenance front, Alan said that
when drying out on a gravel shore the
pivoting keel was prone to getting a stone
caught when winding it down so he
carried a spare mechanism just in case.
But he never had to use it. He reckoned
any capable engineering company could

make a replacement mechanism if they

had the old one to copy.

Jake Frith is also a Swift 18 owner. He

told me he wanted to upgrade from a

Wayfarer dinghy to “a lift-keeler with a bit

of a cabin. But something that would draw

next to nothing as I hate marinas...”

“You can get into amazing places – we

spent two nights tied up to the wall in

Beaulieu a couple of years ago. Nobody

came and hassled us for money – try that

in a boat with a bigger fixed keel... and we

can get up to the Quay at Keyhaven, to

the rocks at Chapman’s Pool, up to

Wareham Quay etc.” He also occasionally

• with a decent forecast – sails cross
  Channel in the summer.
  He added that the boat has aged well
  thanks to the inner mouldings. But he
  recommends checking the foam/balsa
  between deck and headliner before
  buying. He also plans to find a way of
  reducing the turbulence in the keel
  trunking (often found on pivoting keel
  designs) and in the boxy skeg behind it.
  As with any elderly yacht, a bit of DIY is
  often on the agenda.

Swift 18

Beneteau Pirate 17 Prelude 19

First 18