Spencer 29 30

The 29 doesn't exist, really; it's the Serendipity 28 with a case of "vendors tapemeasure". The original study plans, the measured ratings for the Serendipities, and the original tests all say that they are about 28' LOA. So does the guy who has the rights to the plans. Even the old ads for the plans say 28'. We had one when I was a kid and I still have one which measures 27.95 LOA, on her rating certificate. God knows why someone decided that they were 29' and why everyone else copied them.

The 28 is easy to handle but fairly slow in stock form unless very well sailed and equipped; ie equal to a typical '70s 25-26 footer. If you modify one then they can really light up for a boat of their style and age when well sailed. What can I say, I'm biased; so much that I kept my modified one when I got a 36'er. They are not particularly big inside for a 28'er because they are light and low in hull freeboard but they are very light and easy to handle. Their one significant issue that cannot be solved, IMHO, is the lack of form stability which means that they can roll at anchor in swell.

The glass 28s were allegedly about 1 1/2" thick around the bilges so they float a little bit lower than they should, but not by much. Most wer fitted out by their owners so interior design and finish is a complete unknown. One wooden boat with 'glass deck was built by someone who must have spilled a cup of coffee on the plans and left out the main frames, so she dropped her keel. The boat, as designed, is tough. They were designed to be built in ply but almost all the Aussie ones were cold moulded cedar or glass. I'd happily take a good one anywhere reasonable although the original short masthead rig is annoying to me.

The 30 was built by the same guy and is bigger and faster than the 28 (aka the 29). They are just like almost all the rest of their peers (ie Defiance S&S 30, Pion, Currawong, etc) in performance and in being as tough as old boots if properly built and kept. These boats were designed to bash around the oceans. I've never sailed a 30 but would expect her to be easier to handle and faster downwind in a breeze, the weak point of many comparable boats, because she has less IOR distortion. She's smaller inside than the East Coast, Cavalier 32, etc but the Spencers tend to cost less too.

If I recall correctly, as claimed in the ad, Conquista was the original Aussie S30, built by John Rochfort. She seems to have charged around SA waters for years. I don't know why you'd want wheel steering on any half tonner; you end up with a small wheel you have to wind back and forth and they are less accurate with poorer vision when under sail, and can trap you at the back under motor.

I have a good mate who was looking at that size range and I tried to get him into a Spencer 30. He ended up with a smaller, slower, wetter boat that leans over all the time and need rescuing. The S30 would have been a far better boat IMHO.