Cruising an Excalibur 36 ?

[Alex Ballard]

I'm part of a syndicate that sails Morgan le Fay out of Poole Harbour in the UK. Been with her since 1971, and in that time she's grown older and creakier just like her owners, but still looks after us very well. There are at least three Excaliburs in Poole, including Morgan, Phaon's Avalon, and Taliesin. About 15 years ago, I knew where at least 25 of the boats were, and managed to get 8 together for a sail in Poole. But I lost touch with many of them; perhaps this will inspire me to look some of them up again....

[camelotofwessex]

By the way, we have the 1963 yachting world annual with all the articles from that year, in it is the original study plans, an article by VDS about designing it, a write up about it, a letter from the first Owner of our boat and the racing results including RORC championship and fastnet. If anyone would like a copy

[Sir G]

Hi Camelot,
Thanks for the offer. I'd love to take a look at these documents. Thank you in advance.

[Paladin787]

Hi Camelot, I would love to see the docs and report.

[peter law]

Hi Georges (pendragon) my name is Peter , i just bought SPINGO , in Scotland , she is still there on the hard , will be sailing her back to the sw of Ireland , in a month or two hopefully , is there a excaliburs owners acc ? best wishes , peter

[Stephen.B]

Hi Peter. I am also a new Excalibur owner, having bought INO in Holland last summer. We had a lovely sail back to the West Coast of Scotland - up the North Sea & through the Caly canal. She sailed well with no vices at all. Fun illy enough the reason we decided to buy an Excalibur was that i saw Soringo in Kip Marina last summer & really liked the shape ! Good luck with the delivery trip - let us know how it goes. Keen to stay in touch with other owners & learn from them. Best wishes, Steve

[peter law]

Hi steve
Great to hear from you ,
Sailed spingo back to Ireland in February , had a great sail down , she was a dream to sail , very happy with her , still on the east cost and hope to sail around to co kerry on the sw of Ireland soon as I get the weather , peterlawless1@hotmail.com , email for photos of work done or ideas , if you like ,
Best wishes , peter


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[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Peter Law, & Stephen B.

[Camelaird]

Re sail number K331 - she is mine. CAMELAIRD, currently sailing in the Solent UK, I bought her in 2002 and, like any vintage VdS she is a constant project. That said she has been great and looked after my both I and my family for many years.

[ARCHANDRIEL]

Originally Posted by Georges

Hello all,

I'd like to hear from other Excalibur owners, to keep track of the yachts.
I now know of the following Excaliburs:

Akali, owned by a German, moored in Friesland Netherlands
Astolat, Owned by a Dutchman, moored in Friesland, Netherlands
Avalon of Arne, in the UK (Phaon?)
Banyas, Denmark?
Galaad, for sale in Australia
INO, Uitdam, The Netherlands
Merlin, Dutch owned, lost at sea, probably overrun by a ship
MIKII, Terschelling, Netherlands
Paladin, nicely restored in the UK(i'd like to hear from you, need to replace my portholes)
Pendragon of Wessex, British Columbbia, Canada (for sale in 2006)
Pendragon, Uitdam, Netherlands (my ship)
Sherpa Bill, UK? Where nis this ship now?
SIMBA for sale in devon?
SPINGO, for sale in Scotland?
Sorcha, Hawaii
UNDA, in Germany?
An Excalibur with red sails K331?
Excalibur of England ????

That is 18 out of 51 build

So, Excalibur owners,

Please keep in touch, let me know how you are doing

Regards,
Georges (Pendragon)

Hey George. There is an excalibur called Pendragon here in Victoria British Columbia Canada! I'm thinking it's your old boat!

Would any current owners like to reach out to me to have a chat. I am looking at one presently and I would like to chat about this boat design.

[Bluewaters2812]

Hi, I haven't been on this site for years. I now own an Excalibur 36. Sailed her from Ireland to Eastbourne, UK. Her name is Igraine Of Camelot and I intend to keep the name, so she can be added to the Excalibur list. Everything on her is old but solid. All hank on and no self-tailing winches.

She tracked exceptionally well on the crossing without an autopilot. I managed to trim her to hold a steady 140degrees. The top speed (admittedly in flat waters and a 15knot wind on the port beam), was a very impressive and surprising 9.4knots! There was a 1.5knot following current too.

I really would like to know more details on the mast height, forestay length etc etc but can't seem to find any info on this. Do you perhaps have any info?

[Zetterstrom]

Interested in the Excalibur, how are they sailing today, still a attractive boat? Would like to get in touch with someone sailing one today
Sincerely
Thomas
Sweden

[Bluewaters2812]

It's strong, it points exceptionally well and is quite fast. Under genoa alone I sailed from Ireland to the coast of Cornwall at an average of 4.5 knots with a beam wind of around 15knots. Under main and large genoa in flat seas with a beam reach of around 15-20 knots I attained a max speed of 9.4knots, but averaging around 8 knots for around 8 hours. I am very pleased with her performance and she is sea kindly. No creaking of furniture, just the rush of the sea. She is a bit of a wet boat, so a dodger is crucial. Hope this helps.

Oh, and I intend sailing to France from the English coast later this month.

[Zetterstrom]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

It's strong, it points exceptionally well and is quite fast. Under genoa alone I sailed from Ireland to the coast of Cornwall at an average of 4.5 knots with a beam wind of around 15knots. Under main and large genoa in flat seas with a beam reach of around 15-20 knots I attained a max speed of 9.4knots, but averaging around 8 knots for around 8 hours. I am very pleased with her performance and she is sea kindly. No creaking of furniture, just the rush of the sea. She is a bit of a wet boat, so a dodger is crucial. Hope this helps.

Oh, and I intend sailing to France from the English coast later this month.

Thanks a lot! Means a lot! I’m planning to look at Galahad later this week. What do you say I shall look extra in to concerning hull, rigg etc . Any week points after all these years?

Thank you
Thomas

[Bluewaters2812]

I can't really talk to any weak points to be honest because these boats are built so strongly. I would obviously check the rigging carefully and perhaps pay extra attention to the spreaders and their attachment to the mast. I only have the tiniest of drips on a port side v-berth window when it rains hard. I think the seal is failing slightly at the bottom corner but this is normal for any boat. I would add that because it is a heavy displacement boat I would make sure there is an oversized anchor. Obviously, depending on whether or not it has been replaced, check the age and condition of the engine and hoses especially. On my boat the seacocks are all bronze and in good condition. I tightened the backstay a lot (it was seized and very loose but after a week of lubricant it freed up and I was able to tighten the backstay). This improved the looseness of the spreaders considerably. I am interested to know what you find regarding the spreaders.