Practical Boat Owner – September 2019

BOATS

Versatile Westerly
I can’t list my favourite twin keelers up to
23ft (7.0m) without including a Westerly.
There were of course several, but the best
is probably the Pageant 23.
The most versatile and popular smaller
twin keel Westerlys came from the pen of
designer Laurent Giles. His earlier cruising
designs were legendary for their
sea-kindly performance.
Before moving on to designing the
groundbreaking Centaur 26, he took the
precaution of tank testing twin keels. The
lessons he learnt were applied to this and
subsequent designs, including the
Pageant in 1979. So for a twin keeler of its
era, drawing 2ft 10in (0.86m), its sailing
performance was among the best of its
size. And a 48% ballast ratio is extremely
reassuring when the wind pipes up.
A diesel (of varying sizes depending on
the year built) also pushes her along at
good speed when the wind drops.
The Pageant’s accommodation,
however, is its major attraction – especially
to cruising families. On an LWL of just 20ft
(6.1m), she packs in a quarter berth, a
saloon settee converting to a double

berth, a long linear galley, a separate

heads compartment, a hanging locker

and a twin berth forecabin... with ample

headroom throughout.

It was little surprise, therefore, that she

sold like hot cakes and 530 were built.

The only problem was a keel attachment

weakness on a few earlier boats, so check

on this before buying. Perhaps the

prettiest Pageants were the 20 or so built

around 1979 with all wood interiors.

Perfect pocket cruiser

The Corribee 21 is another evergreen that

continues to attract buyers; including

PBO’s Sam Lewellyn. The Mk I version

appeared in 1963, followed by the

lengthened Mk II in 1975 and Mk III in 1982.

I first looked closely at a Corribee when

a well-used example popped up on the

pool at the Earls Court boat show

alongside our Hunters. Perched in its

cockpit sat a petite 17 year-old girl who

had just sailed it around Britain, winning

the 1995 Young Sailor of the Year award.

Her name was Ellen MacArthur.

I later asked Ellen why she chose a

Corribee and she replied: “I always felt

that the Corribee was the perfect pocket

cruiser.”

Ellen’s Iduna had a long keel rather than

the twin keel option. She made some

hatch modifications in case she was

knocked flat – making the companionway

entrance smaller. She said her Corribee

“was a superb little boat for sailing round

Britain, and for her size is extremely

seaworthy. She handled beautifully – even

Tank testing ensured the

Westerly Pageant’s twin keels

were designed for optimum

performance

The Pageant’s

accommodation is

a major attraction

Ellen MacArthur honed her

sailing skills in a Corribee