# Bristol Corsair 24 vs Marieholm International Folkboat (IF 26)at



## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

Starting out with the idea that we would sell up everything and move ourselves and two dogs onto a live-aboard cruiser, we quickly realized that it would be a much more costly and prohibitive a thing for us to swing at the moment. This being the case we have narrowed it down to boats that we can keep on a mooring in Mission Bay, San Diego (we live in Ocean Beach) for a modest $650/year. The main catch being the 25' maximum LOA

Depending on whether or not we can convince the IF 26's eligibility for a mooring (actually a 25'10" LOA), it will be hard to decide between the two boats. Assuming both boats are in comparable condition and price (they aren't but for comparison sake...), is there anybody out there who is familiar with both boats and might have an opinion on which they might suggest, drawbacks of one to the other, etc?

Both my wife and I sail, and I have researched everything to exhaustion and am now just hoping to get a big picture take from folks.

Thanks!


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## omaho5 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Bristol 24*

I sail one one at my boat yard from time to time. For a twenty four it has room. It has much more room than my Cape Dory 22.
The 24 is a very good heavy weather sloop.
I would not want to spend continuous long periods on it though.
In this range I would look at a Cape Dory 25D-Not the straight 25.
Roomy and stout.
Hard to fault the 25D in any way. Much better for resail, too


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

I would agree with omaho, but I don't know about the availability of CD25Ds in your area. Having sailed extensively on a typhoon and two 30s, I cannot in any way fault the sailing ability of Cape Dorys in a fair wind and the lines are beautiful. One cannot forget about the Cape Dory roll, though. I am not very familiar with Mission Bay and do not know what kinds of swells you would be facing, but really any heavy displacement full keel boat may not be fun. Why, may I ask, have you narrowed the choice down to the two boats mentioned herein?


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## omaho5 (Jun 5, 2008)

Lobstahpotts knows best. San Diego is pretty MELLO sailing as I recall.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

Indeed. It will no doubt be a fun adventure for you guys, and hopefully the first step to the cruising life we all wish we were living.


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

My hope is to get some offshore practice on the boat, slowly working towards my lifetime goal of (maybe solo) ocean passages/circumnavigation. There are also large kelp forests in the area, particularly around an isolated surf break that I love ("Ralphs" at the end of Point Loma).

I am not opposed to considering something else, but I am working on a relatively small budget (<$10,000). That being the case, I don't feel as confident in light air models (Cal, Catalina, Coronado) of similar vintage and length (<25'), and Pacific Seacrafts, etc. are often more than I can budget. I have considered just going the slip route, which would open up a number of boats, but it would run me close to $3000/year more for storage.

Lastly, I am very fond of more traditional boats, reminiscent of wooden sailboats. These tend to be much less common... I have had my eye out for a Cape Dory for close to a year down here and haven't come across one for sale.


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

I am a little concerned that the air is too often too light down here, but the owner of both the Bristol and the IF said that it has never been much of an issue for them. I race fairly often on faster boats, so this doesn't necessarily need to fill that niche for me. Though, I don't want to have days where I stayed at home because 5kts doesn't cut it.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

Location is indeed the problem. Compared to many other brands, relatively few Cape Dorys were made and many of them have stayed relatively close to East Taunton, although they have spread out globally.

Are you averse to buying a boat in another location and transporting? It would require more initial outlay, but transporting is not as difficult as it may seem. There is a current discussion on the Cape Dory Board re: whether a 25 will fit into a shipping crate, and the consensus there seems to be that it should. If you are at all interested, the article can be found here:Cape Dory Boats - View topic - Does a Cape Dory 25 fit in a 40 foot shipping container?

Also, are you willing to buy a "fixer-upper" per se? What kind of experience do you have and do you have the time to commit to fixing a boat, potentially while living on it?


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

I wouldn't pass on the folkboat. Not real roomy for its length but a great sailing boat, even in light air. From the examples I have seen very well built.
A Marieholm International Folkboat Page


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## omaho5 (Jun 5, 2008)

You could consider a Pearson 26...Very nice sailing boat. Needs a good survey.


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

I just heard from the IF owner that the title states it is 25.0', so I think I may be able to get it on a mooring (a potential deal breaker for me).

Overall, I really like the IF despite its space limitations down below (I'm 6'4"), and it is a much better deal than the Bristol. I also feel more confident pushing it offshore, which I hope to do sooner than later. The interior could use a little work, but I'm handy and have an industrial Pfaff for cushions and such.

I'll post any developments here once I have something locked in. Thanks a ton for the input and any more that you might feel like adding 

Also... Does anybody know if IF decks are cored? The current owner did a DIY wiring job through the deck, which seems to have been done well, but I am concerned about possible rot in the coring. He believes it is solid fiberglass, and everything feels stiff up top.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

Not sure about the composition, but you could allay any concerns about moisture very quickly with a good meter and hammer to test things out. No matter what you decide on, a thorough survey is important.

Cannot swear to the gospel truth of this, but I did a quick google search and got linked to a forum post about a 1974 IF. Scroll down to post #20 (by memopad) and there is reference to finding a hole in the deck with soggy plywood and a need to replace core. Not sure if your boat is of the same construction, but that could be what you're looking at. Marieholm IF - Sailing Anarchy Forums


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## MarkCK (Jan 4, 2009)

lobstahpotts said:


> Location is indeed the problem. Compared to many other brands, relatively few Cape Dorys were made and many of them have stayed relatively close to East Taunton, although they have spread out globally.
> 
> Are you averse to buying a boat in another location and transporting? It would require more initial outlay, but transporting is not as difficult as it may seem. There is a current discussion on the Cape Dory Board re: whether a 25 will fit into a shipping crate, and the consensus there seems to be that it should. If you are at all interested, the article can be found here:Cape Dory Boats - View topic - Does a Cape Dory 25 fit in a 40 foot shipping container?
> 
> Also, are you willing to buy a "fixer-upper" per se? What kind of experience do you have and do you have the time to commit to fixing a boat, potentially while living on it?


If the boat is under 8' in length why would you ship it across the country in a shipping container. I would think that putting it on a trailer and moving it that way would be more economical. None of t he boats mentioned is a trailer sailer per se, but with the proper set up transporting it on a one shot basis should be fairly routine.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

I believe the context of that debate was for shipping it on a freighter to another cruising locale, but something interesting to consider certainly. I am not sure about the economics of trailering cross-country, I would assume one may need to hire a service for higher displacement boats in this size range, versus shipping with a number of other boats/cargo. It would be something that needs to be researched and considered as to what is most effective and cost effective.
Alternately, take an early sabattical and sail it back to San Diego! That would be a great adventure right there.


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

Shipping a boat across the country commercially on a trailer is likely to take half of the op's 10k budget.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

Indeed, which is where the issue comes into play. This is why I would suggest investigating other options, and of course shopping local if the right boat is available. However, if the perfect boat is just in the wrong place, that shouldn't be enough to remove it from the realm of possibility which is why I point out the various remedies for the location dilemma.

It sounds as though the budget of the op is low enough that the choice is fairly restricted to the area, though. This has been the bane of more than one prospective buyer of boats...


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

The latest Practical Sailor has a review of the IF, if that's of any help.


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

Here is an album of photos I shot. I focused primarily on the things that didn't look good to me, rather than the rest. The sails all looked good. As did the cabin, decks, etc. You can see a photo of the through-deck fittings that he installed, as well as some questionable water damage beneath a stanchion in the headliner.

Thanks for the article and the thread at Sailing Anarchy! I didn't turn those up yet.


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## lobstahpotts (Jan 1, 2011)

That awl-gripping looks lovely. No matter how you cut it, a live aboard below 25 LOA is going to be tight, so for a relatively similar price and condition, getting whatever extra bit of space you can may be useful. If you'd like to get offshore the IF would seem to have the better track record. Plus, you've said the design is attractive. Assuming there aren't any major problems, and it doesn't appear from the pictures that there are, at least that I can see, from what I've heard here I'd go for the IF.
There are a couple areas of concern, the biggest being that water damage. That is something I would say makes a survey very very important. Don't want to mess around with water damage.


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

The owner of the IF and I have reached agreement on a price and I'll be having it surveyed this Sunday. Unless there is something major I haven't noticed, I'll be the proud owner of my first cruising boat!!!

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!


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## juggleandhope (Jun 4, 2012)

how did it go? did you buy the boat? at what price? how do you feel about the boat now you've had it?


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## ryanjdillon (Jan 1, 2011)

I did buy the boat. It has been fantastic, but I am now unfortunately selling it as I will be attending graduate school overseas. My biggest concern with the boat was that it might be too slow for San Diego light air, but it has really perfomed very well and sails wonderfully. The previous owner had a "super genoa" made for it, which really powers the boat up in light air, and I have gone out on a number of very windy days when only boats much larger than mine were out. My second concern was the overhead in the cabin (4'8") and my being 6'4". It never really turned out to be an issue for me as I am usually on deck or sitting/lying down in the cabin. I would not like the idea of living aboard for an extended period of time; though, I can't imaging being comfortable living aboard on any 25-26ft boat.

If anyone is interested, the following is a link to my selling page for the boat:
Folkboat For SALE


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## juggleandhope (Jun 4, 2012)

thanks for the update and congrats on an overseas grad school.


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