Has anybody heard of the Aquarius sailboat before? I don't find much on the web for it. Is it a good boat and are parts easy to find for it? The one I am looking at is a 23 footer.
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What I found / my opinion
It seems like a pretty roomy trailerable boat with moderate performance, which is not unexpected given the swing keel design. A plus is that it was designed to be self righting, even with the centerboard up. Watch out for water in the plywood deck coring, leaky chain plates and wooden bulkhead damage and for rudder damage (one owner reported that he damaged his when he pulled it out of the water without removing the rudder...bet he isn't the first or only one to do that).
Where do you plan on sailing? It is probably a good boat for sailing in protected waters, but if you plan on more than fair weather sailing I don't think it was designed for it. The price should be pretty reasonable and quite dependent on the presence and condition of the trailer (the original one with a single axle was marginal at best from what I read, buying a new trailer would likely be cost prohibitive), the condition and number of sails and the age of the outboard.
Don't worry about parts. The common stuff is readily available or was custom fabricated originally anyway (rudders, rigging, stanchions, etc...). The uncommon stuff nobody can get for any old boat (my old boat needed an anchor locker hatch and I couldn't find one and it was too much trouble to make one) so it shouldn't be a significant deterrent.
It seems like a pretty roomy trailerable boat with moderate performance, which is not unexpected given the swing keel design. A plus is that it was designed to be self righting, even with the centerboard up. Watch out for water in the plywood deck coring, leaky chain plates and wooden bulkhead damage and for rudder damage (one owner reported that he damaged his when he pulled it out of the water without removing the rudder...bet he isn't the first or only one to do that).
Where do you plan on sailing? It is probably a good boat for sailing in protected waters, but if you plan on more than fair weather sailing I don't think it was designed for it. The price should be pretty reasonable and quite dependent on the presence and condition of the trailer (the original one with a single axle was marginal at best from what I read, buying a new trailer would likely be cost prohibitive), the condition and number of sails and the age of the outboard.
Don't worry about parts. The common stuff is readily available or was custom fabricated originally anyway (rudders, rigging, stanchions, etc...). The uncommon stuff nobody can get for any old boat (my old boat needed an anchor locker hatch and I couldn't find one and it was too much trouble to make one) so it shouldn't be a significant deterrent.
Aquarius-owners@yahoogroups.com
Join this Yahoo group -- you will learn a lot. Aquarius-owners@yahoogroups.com
I sailed one for 15 years -- e-mail me if you want details.
Join this Yahoo group -- you will learn a lot. Aquarius-owners@yahoogroups.com
I sailed one for 15 years -- e-mail me if you want details.
I have an Aquarius 23. Big, well-behaved tub of a boat for weekending, but capable of 6+ mph without any serious hard work. The thing is stout...the interior is almost completely rotted out, but I couldn't feel any flexing with a 15-knot wind across the beam. I'm slowly rebuilding almost everytihng, so in a couple more years I'll have a "new boat."
The Station Wagon of Trailerables
I looked at one of these prior to buying a Hunter 23.5.
I really liked it & probably could have gotten it for a good price, but the admiral liked the light & roominess of the 23.5 cabin far better.
The Aquarius was one of the first successful trailer-sailers. I've heard it referred to as the station wagon of small boats - a boxy old gal, great for getting away for a weekend.
I looked at one of these prior to buying a Hunter 23.5.
I really liked it & probably could have gotten it for a good price, but the admiral liked the light & roominess of the 23.5 cabin far better.
The Aquarius was one of the first successful trailer-sailers. I've heard it referred to as the station wagon of small boats - a boxy old gal, great for getting away for a weekend.
The age of Aquarius
The Aquarius sailboat was built in Costa Mesa CA. Starting with the Aquarius 23, the boat was designed by Peter Barrett (who later worked with North Sails and also designed the C&C Mega 30). There also was an Aquarius 21, an Ensenada 20, a LaPaz 25 that were offered as trailerable boats. They were very popular and was the basis of NASA (which was the North American Sailing Association) which promoted trailerable sailboats. You could become a member and then travel around to rendezvous across the country. The A-23 was a large trailerable boat with a skiff lead keel that ran nearly from stem to stern and also had a SS swing keel. The layout of the boat slept 5 and the way the bulkhead was situated for mast support, the keel did not take up space in the cabin and the head area was large and pretty private. The boat had a shell of a hull and so was not very heavy and actually sailed quite well. She had a pop top which gave you around 6' of headroom beneath and the cockpit was a good size too. The rudder was an inboard spade type, which had a bronze shaft. It thread through a fiberglass box which fit in to a hole in the after part of the cockpit. It was something that was somewhat cumbersome and had to be pulled before launching or retrieving the boat or you could break the rudder post. This box had a solid teak top and a ss strap to hold it in place. It was a unique design and worked well and also provided the self bailing aspect of the cockpit. There was a V cut out in the transom for the outboard which was mounted on the centerline.
The manufacturer also built Balboa boats and eventually all boats were renamed Balboa. The Balboa 20 (Lyle Hess design) was very well built, very small inside, but was considered to be an offshore trailerable boat because she was built so well. They also made a Balboa 26, which was a very good sailing craft, but limited in headroom below.
Eventually they did away with the rudder box in the A-23 and hung one off the transom on the centerline and then put an adjustable motor mount off to the side. They then called the Aquarius 23 a Balboa 23. It was a pretty successful company, but never reached the popularity of O'Day or Catalina. Would I buy one? Sure, if it is in good condition and I was in the market for a boat like this. They have a lot going for them in terms of easy to sail, launch and retrieve and have super good interior space.
The Aquarius sailboat was built in Costa Mesa CA. Starting with the Aquarius 23, the boat was designed by Peter Barrett (who later worked with North Sails and also designed the C&C Mega 30). There also was an Aquarius 21, an Ensenada 20, a LaPaz 25 that were offered as trailerable boats. They were very popular and was the basis of NASA (which was the North American Sailing Association) which promoted trailerable sailboats. You could become a member and then travel around to rendezvous across the country. The A-23 was a large trailerable boat with a skiff lead keel that ran nearly from stem to stern and also had a SS swing keel. The layout of the boat slept 5 and the way the bulkhead was situated for mast support, the keel did not take up space in the cabin and the head area was large and pretty private. The boat had a shell of a hull and so was not very heavy and actually sailed quite well. She had a pop top which gave you around 6' of headroom beneath and the cockpit was a good size too. The rudder was an inboard spade type, which had a bronze shaft. It thread through a fiberglass box which fit in to a hole in the after part of the cockpit. It was something that was somewhat cumbersome and had to be pulled before launching or retrieving the boat or you could break the rudder post. This box had a solid teak top and a ss strap to hold it in place. It was a unique design and worked well and also provided the self bailing aspect of the cockpit. There was a V cut out in the transom for the outboard which was mounted on the centerline.
The manufacturer also built Balboa boats and eventually all boats were renamed Balboa. The Balboa 20 (Lyle Hess design) was very well built, very small inside, but was considered to be an offshore trailerable boat because she was built so well. They also made a Balboa 26, which was a very good sailing craft, but limited in headroom below.
Eventually they did away with the rudder box in the A-23 and hung one off the transom on the centerline and then put an adjustable motor mount off to the side. They then called the Aquarius 23 a Balboa 23. It was a pretty successful company, but never reached the popularity of O'Day or Catalina. Would I buy one? Sure, if it is in good condition and I was in the market for a boat like this. They have a lot going for them in terms of easy to sail, launch and retrieve and have super good interior space.
Aquarius 23
phdoc. I hope you do not mind my jumping onto your thread but I am new to sailboatowners.com and cannoit find the link to Aquarius. You seem to have attracted replies from some very knowledgeable Aquarius fans and I would like to pose my question to this thread also. I have prevously posted it under the Balboa link.
I am the proud owner of an Aquarius 23. I belioeve that Balboa is the successor to the Aquarius Sailboat line so I am posting a question here (Aquarius thread now) in the hope that one of you can help me.
I have owned my Aquarius for over 20 years and she has served me very well. But for the last several years I ahve had an ominous clanking sound from the center board/swing keel. I suspect that the bearing, bushing or Pivot Pin (or all 3) need some attention.
Does anyone have any knowledge in this area; what is the level of effort needed to repair/replace? Where can I find the necessary replacement parts? Is there a Chandlery or repair facility in the Sacramento, Cailfornia area that could handle this work?
phdoc. I hope you do not mind my jumping onto your thread but I am new to sailboatowners.com and cannoit find the link to Aquarius. You seem to have attracted replies from some very knowledgeable Aquarius fans and I would like to pose my question to this thread also. I have prevously posted it under the Balboa link.
I am the proud owner of an Aquarius 23. I belioeve that Balboa is the successor to the Aquarius Sailboat line so I am posting a question here (Aquarius thread now) in the hope that one of you can help me.
I have owned my Aquarius for over 20 years and she has served me very well. But for the last several years I ahve had an ominous clanking sound from the center board/swing keel. I suspect that the bearing, bushing or Pivot Pin (or all 3) need some attention.
Does anyone have any knowledge in this area; what is the level of effort needed to repair/replace? Where can I find the necessary replacement parts? Is there a Chandlery or repair facility in the Sacramento, Cailfornia area that could handle this work?
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