Kirieous about Feelings regarding the Kirie Elite 326?

[CLEWLESS V]

Ahoy All Kirie Elite/Feeling folk!
I'm Kirieous, about the Kirie Elite 326 (North America); aka Feeling 326 (Europe).
It appears to be a thoughtful progressive and well-built French compact lightweight racer/cruiser for it's time.
Given the small production run of only 335; they are like hen's teeth in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm interested to know how you feel about the 326 (deep draft) for fair weather family cruising in protected coastal waters, and occasional club race. I noted the 5',10" height saloon would be a non-starter the average crew; but not for mine; but the Volvo Penta is bit of a concern
Thanks,
Mark

 

[SycloneDriver]

The Volvo Penta engine is probably a 2002 18hp. I had that same engine in my 1988 First 285. I never had any trouble with it. Parts were expensive and not easy to locate but fortunately I never needed any.

I see you have a SJ 7.7m, I really enjoyed mine. I won many races and trophies with mine.

The Syclone / Typhoon connection is a bonus.

 

[CLEWLESS V]

The Volvo Penta engine is probably a 2002 18hp. I had that same engine in my 1988 First 285. I never had any trouble with it. Parts were expensive and not easy to locate but fortunately I never needed any.

I see you have a SJ 7.7m, I really enjoyed mine. I won many races and trophies with mine.

The Syclone / Typhoon connection is a bonus.

Roger that on the VP, 18hp 200X series, low hours.
Yes. The SJ 7.7 is still a blast, in it's heyday it also won numerous club races, on Flathead Lake, Montana. Then boat then came to the PNW and became our family boat. We'll keep it for the kids, but we are looking for 4-5 more ft of boat for ourselves

 

[jssailem]

in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm interested to know how you feel about the 326 (deep draft) for fair weather family cruising in protected coastal waters, and occasional club race.

The deep draft version has the draft listed a 5'2". That is very manageable in the PacificNW waters.
Looking at the various data reports I found this link that provided a list of similar boats.

Elite 326 Deep draft (Kirié) - Sailboat specifications - Boat-Specs.com

The Elite 326 is a 31’4” (9.55m) cruising sailboat designed by Harlé-Mortain (France). She was built between ...

www.boat-specs.com

Fair Weather Family Cruising capabilities: I find that subjectivity could lead to confusion in response. While I like to sail mostly year round, the smaller windows lead to less light in the interior. On the many grey drizzle days when I wake to fog, I find the more open set up of large portals to be more enjoyable. While the boat is said to have good space aft, influenced by the French design, the listed hull speed of 6.98 knots for a 32 ft boat sounds interesting.

Water and fuel storage is important on boats that may cruise north in the Inside Passage. The listed 37gal water might be a bit light for a family of 4.

Regarding the racing... Of course the occasional club race would be doable. Race in cruising class and affirm your handicap. New sails, an understanding of navigation and tidal currents, and of course the ever changing weather patterns will be important to your race results.

Good luck. See you out on the Salish Sea.