Questions about Vancouver 25 and Vancouver 27

[magentawave]

I'm thinking of going really small and have a few questions about the Vancouver 25 and Vancouver 27, please.

1) I'm planning on solo sailing but might have the occasional guest or two. Would it be possible to sleep three adults on both the 25 and 27 without them having to share the same berth?

2) Any idea where I could store a couple 8' to 9' long by 29" wide sup surfboards? Strapping them to the stanchions won't work because the UV and salt would destroy the bags in no time. The ideal place would be to build a long hard bimini cover with solar on top and the boards strapped underneath in board bags. Anyone know if that's possible? Like maybe what the measurements are from the cockpit sole to the bottom of the boom?

3) Does the 25 and 27 have a liner?

Thanks!

[magentawave]

BUMP. Anyone, please.

[Don C L]

So I don’t have a Vancouver, but perhaps I can advise on space use since mine is somewhat close to the 27 in dimensions. I have a friend with a Catalina 27 with racks outboard of the stanchions to hold his SUP, and it seems to work ok, but I wouldn’t advise it. I think your idea of having them under a bimini would be too cumbersome. The 27 with the higher house lends itself to mounting them inboard of the stanchions but that will block one side of the boat. Still, if you must have rigid SUP then I’d say that’s the best bet. My daughter has an inflatable SUP that (and I was surprised) is really rigid when inflated. It gets rolled up and lashed forward of the house, pretty simple and neat. Having had a 24 and now the 29, I’d say you are shooting for the Vancouver 27 ideally, for what you describe. I hope some Vancouver owners chime in!

[laika]

Hi! I've owned a V27 for about 10 years now. I started off solo and now cruise winters in the W Caribe with my GF. We have a UK Pheon-built V27F version. I can't speak to the V25, so my responses are solely based on my knowledge of the V27 and V27F.

Naturally, there is also a Facebook group (Vancouver Owners Association) which would also be a good place to look for info.

Originally Posted by magentawave

1) I'm planning on solo sailing but might have the occasional guest or two. Would it be possible to sleep three adults on both the 25 and 27 without them having to share the same berth?

Believe it or not, the V27F is short for the family version. They are less common than the V27 but most seem to be floating around the US market. The original Canadian-built V27s are probably more common in North America. They were not built to quite the same standards as the Pheon-built versions, but by all accounts are still good solid boats, the most notable difference being a lack of a tumblehome which the Pheon boats all have.

There is also a newer V28 that has been built since the mid-90s by Northshore Yachts I believe. They tend to have a higher asking price being newer. They are mostly the same boat with the extra foot added to the cockpit area.

The 27F has "4" berths.. a double V berth and two settees in the main cabin just fore of the galley and navigation station. We have slept 4 for very short periods and have had 3 onboard for slightly longer periods. It gets cramped with more than 2. I am 6'1" and there is standing headroom (barely) and enough room in the V berth for me and my 5'2" girlfriend to spread out.

The original and more common V27 has a slightly larger main cabin area, with two settees in addition to a quarterberth aft of the nav station to starboard. The slightly larger main cabin is nice, and the quarterberth would make a nice seagoing berth, but the tradeoff is no private v-berth area. Instead, the V is the head and extra storage area.

Both versions would be able to accommodate 3 people, each to their own berth. I would not want to make that a long term arrangement however.

Originally Posted by magentawave

2) Any idea where I could store a couple 8' to 9' long by 29" wide sup surfboards? Strapping them to the stanchions won't work because the UV and salt would destroy the bags in no time. The ideal place would be to build a long hard bimini cover with solar on top and the boards strapped underneath in board bags. Anyone know if that's possible? Like maybe what the measurements are from the cockpit sole to the bottom of the boom?

Height of cockpit sole to boom is about 5', but the boom only goes aft about midway thru the cockpit. So you COULD tie them under the bimini, but they would still jet out over the sides as the width of the boat aft near the cockpit is only about 6'. below the bimini, they would still interfere with your mobility in the cockpit I would think, plus the bimini structure might get in your way. Best long term place for rigid boards would probably be strapped to outside of stanchions, but I would not want them there on passage. Strapping them down to one sidedeck and sacrificing mobility on that sidedeck would be safest passage arrangement I think. Just treat bags as sacrificial anodes, or make sailcloth covers for them.

Personally, we have two 2 iSUPs onboard, one with a windsurf rig. 12'6x33" and 13X31". We roll them up and both fit easily in the port lazarette when on passage. When in port, we leave one or both inflated on the sidedeck, or just tie them to the stern in the water. Both can fit on a single sidedeck when inflated, leaving access to the other sidedeck open.

One other note, our boat originally had dinghy davits, which could maybe accommodate one or two SUPs. We removed in favor of windvane however. And still wouldn't be the safest option to have anything in them on passage.

Originally Posted by magentawave

3) Does the 25 and 27 have a liner?

None of the boats have a liner, so far as I am aware.

Hope some of this helps!

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Don C L

So I don’t have a Vancouver, but perhaps I can advise on space use since mine is somewhat close to the 27 in dimensions. I have a friend with a Catalina 27 with racks outboard of the stanchions to hold his SUP, and it seems to work ok, but I wouldn’t advise it. I think your idea of having them under a bimini would be too cumbersome. The 27 with the higher house lends itself to mounting them inboard of the stanchions but that will block one side of the boat. Still, if you must have rigid SUP then I’d say that’s the best bet. My daughter has an inflatable SUP that (and I was surprised) is really rigid when inflated. It gets rolled up and lashed forward of the house, pretty simple and neat. Having had a 24 and now the 29, I’d say you are shooting for the Vancouver 27 ideally, for what you describe. I hope some Vancouver owners chime in!

My boards are high performance and meant for surfing only. They're too short and don't have enough volume to have fun flat water paddling. I'll probably get a big inflatable sup for flat water paddling but inflatables are a joke in the surf.

The problem with storing the boards outside if they aren't under a cover (like a hard bimini) is that the tropical UV will penetrate the bags. Plus, those expensive board bags disintegrate when they're outside all the time.