# Colvin Gazelle



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Does anyone here have experience sailing a Colvin Gazelle? I like their looks, full keel, shoal draft, raised cockpit, aft cabin and engine room. My only performance concerns are basically (1) are they tender and (2) do they point well in a strong breeze?

Of course, I''d be interested in any observations one can give me on their performance.

Chas


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I have not sailed on one but I have observed them under way. The do not appear to be especially tender but they don''t point very well. It seems to me that I have seen both gaff and junk rigged versions. The junk rig version in particular sticks in my mind as pointing particularly badly and making huge gobs of leeway. 

They have always struck me as a good boat for a slow reach up into the Arctic Circle to get iced in for the winter, but with minimal ventilation, a low weather deck ht, a high center of gravity, and comparatively small accomodations for their size and weight, not much use besides that. 

The most recent Colvin Gazelle that I observed underway I beleive was called something like Surrender and I think that she is still for sale in Annapolis, Maryland.

Jeff


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks, Jeff. I''ve seen the Surrender on the hard and I did like her aft cabin and open aft deck, though she does seem cramped for her size.

I just assumed that her narrow beam would make her a little faster than other 42s and her high ballast/displ ratio and hard chine would help make up for her narrow beam.

And, although Gazelles have the reputation for being quite seawothy, I really didn''t want to investigate the fabled sailhandling superiority of the junk lug sail over the standard marconi sloop rig.

Thanks for your comments.

Chas


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

In a strong breeze, with a heavy steel (cruising) boat, you probably wouldn’t want to point high, would you?	

These boats are designed for cruising at slow speed off the wind and downwind while occasionally bouncing off of stuff along the way.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I am Gazelle owner and can answer your questions. I can be reached at 561 866 2974.
Best Regards,
Albert Hackett


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## Sailingdiver (Jan 15, 2009)

Colvin's are workhorses. Tough, can carry alot, but not going to point high, ever.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Tenderness and pointing*

I sailed the Colvin Gazelle "Migrant" from Bellingham, Wa. to Phuket, Thailand. It has average tenderness for the first fifteen or so degrees of heel. However at that point she gets on her chine and stiffens considerable. 
She does not go to weather in big seas and a blow. In 35 knot reinforced trades she tacked through 170 degrees and made leeway. On a beam reach, once I gave up trying to beat into the trades, she flew along at 8-10 kts. Going down the Oregon coast in 35 kts my son got her surfing at 11 kts. Dick Johnson, the original owner reeled off 200 mile days. She is not a slow boat.


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## WanderingStar (Nov 12, 2008)

Interesting reports, but this thread is years old. I looked at a Colvin Pinkie before buying my ketch. I loved her looks, but needed more interior room, and wanted better performance. I got it.


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## Rocinante15 (May 19, 2015)

We just got a Gazelle ketch. Does anyone have all 4 sails roller-furled?


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

I have converted the flush deck between the main cabin and aft cabin , on a couple of Gazzelles, to pilothouses. Changed the interior from a collection of closets, to a huge interior, a huge improvement. The owners were extremely happy with the results.
Best use aluminium for the wheelhouse top, to avoid stability problems.


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

One of the most critical things you do on a steel boat is epoxy the inside heavily. So the first step in buying one is to make sure it is adequately epoxied inside, under the spray foam. Spray foam alone is not adequate protection for the inside of a steel boat. Nor is primer.Paint screwups on the outside can be rectified,Not so easy inside. 
A whack with a hammer and centre punch at low spots, can find any serious internal corrosion on a hull.


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## yelrah (Jan 23, 2016)

Hello Brent
My name is John Robinson and I live in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. I acquired the plans for the Gazelle and built and sailed her("Iola") in these waters before she was sold over 10 years ago. When Tom posted the plans he also included a drawing for the construction and lug-rigged sail plan for a dinghy of his design, the Auray Fisherman. I didn't actually build the dinghy then but would like to do so in my retirement to add to our caravanning lifestyle. Sadly, I lent the drawing to a friend who now advises me that he's lost it! I've started trawling the net in the hope of connecting with someone who similarly might have the drawing, from which I might obtain a copy, and have emailed the Colvin website (though Tom has since passed away) and I may yet get a reply from that quarter. In the meantime, I wonder whether you or other members might be able to assist me in my quest?
Look forward to what I hope may be a favourable reply, from yourself or other members who might have tuned in to the thread. 
Kind regards,
John Robinson


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