I've had a Sovreign 7 Meter for over 20 years (dont even remember the manufacture date).
Bought it used and kept it ever since. Kept it moored on the Manatee River in Bradenton for about 6 years. I sailed it all over Tampa Bay, up and down the
Florida West Coast offshore and even raced it a few times with a PHRF handicap. It is a marvelous, forgiving, safe little boat.
As you now realize, it's not a
race boat but it IS the most stable boat I've ever been on and I've sailed and raced on a bunch of different
boats. I wouldn't
trade the Sovereign for anything else. Mine is a thick (1"), heavy, old fashioned
fiberglass hull. I had a jet ski crash into it broadside. Nearly killed the jet ski rider, and destroyed the jet ski, but the Sovereign sustained NO significant damage (OK, it had a couple scratches).
I love the
shallow draft. I can sail almost anywhere there's waist deep
water and push it off if it gets stuck (done it many times). I can nose into most any shoreline, dragging an
anchor rode off the stern (just to be sure). I start the
outboard and usually reverse off the shoreline. If I'm stuck, I wrap the
anchor rode around the
winch, give it a few cranks and I'm free and under reverse
power. Takes a little practice not to back over the anchor rode, but I've done it a hundred times leaving Red Lobster.
I solo mostly and it's and easy boat to handle even under full sail. After sailing with just the
jib and
mainsail, I purchased an asymetrical spinaker to help with downwind speed and it handled it just fine. I used the existing winches for both spinaker and
jib with no problems.
I purchased a
Honda 8hp
outboard with a
generator and hung it on the outboard bracket. The
Honda 8 is a little heavy and hard to mount/dismount dockside, but the
generator charges my
battery bank pretty quickly (generator is worth the weight). In the
cabin, I replaced the alcohol
stove with a non-pressure alcohol
stove. It fit the same counter cutout and I've been very satisfied. It cooks slow, but that's OK (that's why I sail instead of having a
power boat).
I've been in some really heavy
weather and seas
offshore but this little boat handled it just fine with a reefed main and a
storm jib. Never, repeat never been in real trouble with this boat. She is heavy hulled and well rigged....all original (but well maintained).
After about 7 years in the saltwater, I designed and built a custom
trailer for it, hauled it home to Lakeland and put it in a freshwater lake, at a
dock for another 10 years. I'd pull it out occasionally for a dip in the Gulf, but mostly kept it close to home on fresh
water. The shallow draft allowed lake sailing just fine. Bottom line, the Sovereign 7 Meter is a very solid, well built boat (so is the 23' and 24'). It doesn't really perform like a
small boat because it's not a lightweight
hull, like most other small
boats.
With proper
equipment, I'd set off for the
Bahamas with no reservations.....assuming you know now to sail and navigate offshore. In my opinion, the boat will handle it, if you can.
Good luck with your Sovereign. Keep her maintained and she'll take care of you for a long, long time.....at least that's my experience and my opinion. If you have any questions, you may
email me -
olecowpoke@gmail.com.