South Coast 26

[hero4theday]

Hi people with more wisdom than I,

I have found a South Coast 26 for sell. I dont know much about these boats and was wondering if any of you had any experince with them. Any issues that I should know about. I will be sailing on lakes here in TN.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I suggest contacting the owner's assocation: http://southcoastus.tripod.com/

 

[saltygator]

Check the chainplates where they attach to the bulkheads (if they do on the 26). I had a SC 23 and the chainplates ripped out of the bulkheads do to rot.

Good Luck,
John

 

[dscribner]

Hero,

Make sure she's trailerable before you buy. Sounds like a stupid thing to say but we bought a Lancer 25 almost by accident. We knew nothing about sailboats, and I mean NOTHING! We bought this one with a shoal keel. She's just about as big as you want to go and still trailer regularly. I'm not saying your 26 isn't, by any means! I'm just saying, if you plan to trailer, she's a bigg'n Check the weight, the draft, the keel (swing, dagger, fixed, shoal) the trailer for brakes (and breaks!) ,the mast for stepability, the width (8'-0 max for permit free travel). Ours fits all the criteria but that was dumb luck.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

The South Coast 26 is a completely different animal than the Lancer 25. It has a bulbous keel that raises and lowers with a 12 electric winch mounted on a table permanently placed on the centerline of the cabin. At the trailing edge of the table top is a removable teak box which covers the winch. The winch has a switch which rotates both directions for up and down. The keel lowers efficiently to it's lower position and a wedge system is incorporated so it locks in place, making it solid like a fixed keel. The SC 26 is a good trailerable boat that offers larger interior space than some, with standup headroom for most, an enclosed head, berths for 4, a galley with a huge ice box. It is only 8' wide so can be trailered without a permit and is easy to launch and retrieve off of the trailer. The mast is not as big as some sections you see on similar boats of the same size, so it is easier to raise and lower. You have to get inside to see if it will suffice your purposes. It is not a fast sailing boat, so if you have the need for speed, pass on it. But, if in no hurry and you want to have a larger boat that is trailerable and easy to handle, then it might be for you. People who travel in the Florida Keys liked the boat for the shallower waters, yet when you are in deeper water you can lower the keel for better sailing. The same hull was used on the Parker Dawson 26 which is a center cockpit boat with a swing keel (much different approach).

 

[hero4theday]

Thanks for all your input. Its is trailerable. The wife likes it. I think that was the 2nd most important test it had to pass. The first is does it float and it does. Im planning to take a closer look this weekend. I'll check out deck for soft spots among other things. Thanks for the info.