Hi all, new member. Last owned/restored skiff before kids. Now looking at resuming my sailing.
I need a boat that can be sailed single handed. It would be optimal if I could have 6 on board for drinks ;)
Currently looking at tophat 25s, Endeavour 26s, Cavalier, Holland, etc
I have my eye on a currently advertised Supersonic 27 mkii. Diesel inboard, fractional sloop rigged, 5-6 berth. Scott Kaufman designed but I cannot find anything further.
Resembles the Choate built 27. Anyone have any smart leads?
Also, any comments on suitability for coastal cruising?
Thanks in advance.
T
SuperSonics build by Doug scrivener from about 1975 onwards
not sure about a mark two
generally masthead rig
one was made to rate 1/4 ton by shaving the stern
called liberator
phil y will be along shortly
scott Kaufman still around but in the usa
bit or age now but solid all rounder of their day
If you have the money you can certainly singlehand bigger than those boats - if you want the kids to stay overnight.
Not to say you won't have fun on the Supersonic but as an ex racer, the Young 88 is my pick for gun monos around the 30ft mark and would be nice to singlehand. If we had a mono it would be a Dragon or a Young 88, or a Masrm 720 or ........
The Supersonic 27's where actually built as quarter tonners, they were the longest of the quarter tonners in Australia. I have a friend that crewed on one to Lord Howe Island when he was young and silly. The yacht handled it OK but the crew got a bit of a hiding and it was the end of my friends sailing career! There was a flush decked version I think was based at Batemans Bay that was sailed solo by a bloke that visited here once.
They were designed as Quarter Tonners, but didn't rate low enough. As Lydia says, Brian Scrivener then did a mould that tortured the stern more about the AGS and modified his Librian to rate QT. Dunno how many others had the stern modified. At almost the same time as the SS27 was launched, Scotty Kaufman launched Okka which was Australia's first lightweight fractional quarter tonner. Okka and the Farr 727 pretty much killed the QT as a popular class in Oz.
I think the "Mk 2" related to the change from a squared-off coachroof to one with rounded deck edges and a long slope down to the foredeck. The SS is a solid boat, like Hollands, Tasman 26s, Cav 26s etc. Probably more room than Hollands and Cav 26s; the only Cav 26 I've been on felt a bit claustrophobic down below due to the short coachroof. The Holland has a similar coachroof but more volume in the hull and seems to have a more open layout.
All that style of QTs were pretty much designed for bashing around the ocean every weekend. My old boat was a little big longer and a reasonable amount quicker (28' but half ton speed rather than quarter ton speed) and had no issues rattling up and down from Port Stephens to Batemans Bay. My main issue with those QTs is that they were designed to rely on having a big Number 1 headsail to get going in light and moderate winds. You may either have to put up with less than brilliant light air performance under a #3, deal with sail changes and tacking a big genny, or perhaps put a few $k into a nice modern short-overlap all-purpose headsail that would be better than using whatever #3 the boat currently has.
The Choate 27 isn't really comparable. Although it's a Kaufman of similar LOA, it's far lighter and not an IOR boat. The Choate rates 150 in US PHRF, which is a lot faster than a J/24 and would be quicker than an S80. In contrast, as an early '70s QT type the Supersonic would rate 225 or higher, putting it about 90% as fast as the Choate. The SS 27s are normally about as quick as a Holland 25, noticeably slower than a Seaway 25 or Sonata 8.
The one from BB was Rascal, which ended up with a slightly bigger rig after the first owner decided it wasn't worth trying to get it down to the QT rating. Did quite well in JOG's fading days.
