Need help identifying my boat

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Lknwaterdog

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Aug 4, 2009
2
2 not sure Lake Norman
I recently picked up an old sailboat and have no idea what her make is. I have looked for the HIN and searched the registration numbers but can not get any information. I was hoping someone might recognize the hull and be able to put me on a trail.

She is 25' with a 7' beam, has a combined lead keel/rudder, enclosed housing for a small outboard, Mast is about 27', has a v-berth and a small galley. Also I am attaching some pictures.

Thanks!
 

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Warren Milberg

Warren Milberg

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Dec 1, 1999
2,391
Hunter 28.5 Chesapeake Bay
Perhaps a '60's version of the Tartan 27? Does it have a keel/centerboard? A main beam that you bump your head on that separates the forepeak from the main salon? These are really quite good old boats and a couple of them have been restored to near new condition at my marina.
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Definitely a Seafarer(Rhodes) Meridian. You can identify it by the cove stripe near the stern.

It was designed by Phillip Rhodes and is a nice pocket cruiser. This could be a nice little boat with enough work and money.

 
Joseph Shirley

Joseph Shirley

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Jun 13, 2005
559
Irwin Barefoot 37 CC Sloop Port Orchard WA
It could be a Meridian, but because of the bridge deck and the large lazarette I think it could be a Pearson Ariel.

The Ariel had an inboard so I'm not to confident about my guess.

Have fun

Joe S
 

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K

kendall

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Aug 2, 2005
374
pearson ariel grand rapids
Agree, similarities to the meridian are too strong.
Ariel is out because it does have a more rounded and longer cabin, more rectangular stationary ports, along with a lower -looking- cabin top.

PS: Ariel was either inboard or outboard, outboard sat in lazerette, which was located much closer to the transom.

Ken
 
L

Lknwaterdog

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Aug 4, 2009
2
2 not sure Lake Norman
Thanks everyone. Sorry it took me so long to respond. After going back through the boat and reviewing everyones thoughts I am sure it is a Phillip Rhodes Meridian.

I have been scouring over the boat to try and find a HIN to verify this but don't seem to know where to look. Does anyone have knowledge of this?

Thanks again for the incredible response!
 
Nicholson58

Nicholson58

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Nov 30, 2009
11
Camper & Nicholson 58 Ketch Muskegon, Michigan
Whatever it is, I can recommend a coat of AWL GRIP. Our yard let us do all of the prep and then moved it inside for the professionals to shoot. We saved a lot of money and have a really fantastic finish. BTW, use an all plastic pump garden sprayer with straight Clorox to remove/kill the black mold. No scrubbing needed. If you do this inside make sure yu use a portable breathing supply.
 
C

COOL

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Feb 16, 2009
118
Islander 30 mkII Downtown Long Beach
Lknwaterdog said:
I have been scouring over the boat to try and find a HIN to verify this but don't seem to know where to look. Does anyone have knowledge of this?
Click to expand
The number is usually imprinted in the starboard corner of the transom,
but boats built in the '60s predate this convention. At the most you may
find a hull number or some sort of builders plate somewhere in the
interior.
 
K

kendall

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Aug 2, 2005
374
pearson ariel grand rapids
Also, if you have the original furnishings, the hull number will often be scribbled on the bottom of drawers, tables bulkheads etc.

Ken.
 
SamLust

SamLust

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Jan 2, 2008
547
Hunter 33 (Cherubini design Forked River, Barnegat Bay, NJ
For whatever it's worth, just to give you an idea of how little rhyme or reason there was before 'HIN"s and their placement became mandatory in the mid 1970's: I had a 1970 Clipper Marine Mk 21 (Crealock designed 21 foot swing keel.) I found the maker's hull number, 249, hand written onto a company business card, laminated into the fiberglass of the transom inside the lazarett. Happy hunting.
 
C

captqrunch2

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Aug 13, 2010
1
Hallberg-Rassy Monsun Austin, TX
No HIN

Lknwaterdog said:
Thanks everyone. Sorry it took me so long to respond. After going back through the boat and reviewing everyones thoughts I am sure it is a Phillip Rhodes Meridian.

I have been scouring over the boat to try and find a HIN to verify this but don't seem to know where to look. Does anyone have knowledge of this?

Thanks again for the incredible response!
Click to expand
-----------------------------------------------

I owned a Seafarer Meridian, Hull #8 (or 9) if memory serves. On my boat, the only identifier was a bronze plaque screwed to the forward face of the mahogany trim piece that carried the traveler. You can just make it out in the overhead photo of my restored Meridian. The plaque had the yard's name (De Vries Lentsch, Amsterdam) and logo, and the stamped hull number. There were no numbers anywhere else on the vessel.

Points to differentiate with an Ariel: the Meridian's ballast was steel and bolted to a keel stub; all deck hardware was high quality Merriman and Wilcox-Crittenden bronze (looks like your boat still has the massive W-C foredeck cleat); exterior trim was mahogany; spars were spruce. .... the exterior wood on my boat was shot after just 20 years in the Texas sun.

The Meridian was the best balanced sailboat I've ever been aboard. She would sail a straight course with no hand (or line) on the tiller, upwind and downwind, pretty much regardless of wind strength. A number of Philip Rhodes' designs were known for this.

BTW, if anyone knows where my old boat is, I'd love to hear from them. I sold her in 1993 to a fellow in West Texas who told me she was headed for Lake Amistad on the border.
 

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