Achilles 24 Triple Keel Yacht Bilge Fractional Rig Sailing Boat

Achilles 24 in great condition. If you do not know the make do a little research on line and you will find they are much loved by their owners club. I had someone in a marina tell me a month ago that they have had 14 boats since they owned an Achilles and nothing they have owned sailed as well as it.they are famous for their resistance to osmosis - it is thought that it is because they had no pigment in the gel coat.So why doesn't every one own one? They are one of the few bilge keel boats that point well to the wind, because they are more of a fin keel with 2 skegs, they have a nearly 50 % ballast ratio so they are very safe, they are a 1.2 tonne boat stripped out. 1.5 with outboards, anchors, etc.

There are good in a blow because of their low windage, but here in lies the reason everyone doesn't want one; they do not have standing head room inside, you have to kneel or sit to cook. Plenty of room when sitting or sleeping, but you can only stand when you have your head out of either of the hatches. I have owned this boat for 2 years have sailed it down from Sharpness around landsend and to plymouth where it is now moored on a non drying mooring in the plym. Since i owned it i have replaced the keel bolts and resealed the keel, taken the hull back to its gel coat and coated it with 5 layers of coppercoat. There is much discussion online as to whether this is an effective antifoul but whether you think it is or isnt, it is still 5 coats of epoxy on the bottom of your boat and you can always paint antifoul over it is your not a believer.The thing i love about this boat is how forgiving it is, when its healed to 30 degrees, sure you loose all kit that you didnt strap down inside but you dont get any crazy weather helm.

And the ability to take the ground is fantastic for those times you mean to do it on a quiet beach or when you miss judge the tide and end up on one anyway I have also redone the wiring, fitting 2 batteries that charge separately from both the outboard and solar power and have a switch for both or either, all the bulbs inside and out are now led - masthead tri-light, anchor light, for and aft port/starboard. The only one that isnt is the steaming light, cause i figure if you are motoring who cares what power the steaming light is using.I have fitted 2 bilge pumps on separate wiring and separate pipes and skin fitting, one is a low power pump as the boat is left on the river always floating and the other a high flow pump on a float switch - just incase. Both have non return valves in the pipes as does the 2" bore manual pump that was already there. I replaced the anchor chain. It now has 20 meters of 8mm chain and 25 meter of anchorplait warp.

The main anchor is a custom made stainless danforth that was on the boat when I bought it there is a another galvanised one in the locker i use if i need a stern anchor (for beaching or tight anchorages) I put new stainless cleats on the back and added over sized washers to all but the midship cleats - cause you cant have too many cleats. There are now 3 on the back, 2 midships and 1 on the front.I fitted both an electronic and dinghy type wind vane I have bought and fitted a new spray hood which works well and keeps the main hatch area dry when it is on its mooring, it is made from a sunbrella fabric so it is supposed to be water proof and sunproof for 10 years, unfortunately the solar panel gets in its way slightly so its not as tight at the front as i would like (think you can see this in the pictures. Also used sunbrella fabric to replace the cushion cover inside as my girlfriend said the old vinyl ones were like lying on a dead body. Also fitted an extra piece of board so the back 2 bunks can be a double, or you at least have room to flail your arms about in the night. We have found the back bed more comfortable, plus it leaves the toilet available.

I did however fit and heat and soundproof insulation in the front cabin because otherwise you get condensation in there if you spend the night, it works well and makes all those clanging masts a bit quieter in a marina. The only other thing i did was to fit a DSC radio that outputs an AIS signal to an NMEA usb jack. The radio takes the NMEA feed from the gps adds the AIS form the vhf aerial and you can display your position and other shipping on a laptop using a £30 set of charts like seaclear from visitmyharbour. Oh i think i also pretty much replaced every line on this boat except for the topping lift - although i have bought one to fit. Also fitted jacklines (webbing straps that run the length of the boat to clip onto ) This boat will also come with the yellow dinghy show in one of the pictures, but no dinghy out board - you can use the main one on it as it has its own tank, but it is bloody heavy to move over as it is a 4 stroke.

The dinghy fits upside down in the forepeak of the boat or i often tow it, it will also roll up and fit easily in one of the bunks or under the cockpit. To list what this boat comes with and is included in the price is as follows: Main sail - very good condition previous owner said it was a couple of years old, reefs by rolling around the boom.Foresail - similar excellent condition It has mainsail covers but they are a mishmash of 3 different ones, none of which fit very wellSpinnaker - never used, have pole put need an extra line and crane/hound put on the mast Mariner 5 hp 4 stroke sailmate engine new in 2013 £1000 - 2 fuel tanks strapped in lazerette lockers a 22 & 12 litrelifting outboard bracket on stern for spare or if you choose to move motor from well in cockpit (i have the plug)Stainless Anchor and 2 year old chain/warpsJackstays/lines - 1 year oldNew main & fore halyards, new jib sheets - all 1 year old Self tailing winch for jib halyard, small winch for main halyard, 2 single speed winches for jib sheetsa six person canister life raft - 6 months out of date.All new waterproof connectors on mast electrics and vhf - so mast can be stored down easily New spayhood - admittedly self made but I have a semi industrial machine and used a dacron thread and glue tapeNew electric & led bulbs - all labelled on back of fuse box2 electric + 1 manual bilge pumps6 or 7 fenders plus 2 pick up buoys & and a lot of ropes in the lockersswim ladder and alluminium lader for the beach, boat hooks2 x 2 year old 110 ah batteries with split charge controllers for solar/ outboard charginggimbled 2 burner stove with grill - gas bottle in rear lazerette, new gas pipe bought but not fitted20 litre fresh water tank in bow with hand pump to sinkdepth, speed, wind and gps instruments all with repeaters in cock pit.VHF DSC that output AIS - also displays ais on screen and can set up collision alerts (switch off in marina)seat cushions that clip on in cockpit. Water proof - dont worry i didnt make these.Throwing safety line and cage, water activated mob light,and horseshoe buoyNew Richie compass ready to fit in cockpit - blue backlight dashboard mount style.8 sqr m radar reflector on stayssimrad TP10 auto pilot It has stuff that needs doing to it - what boat doesnt, but its all small stuff. The only thing that might be a bigger job is that i am not happy with the water line, i dont know if it is just because i have filled it with so much crap, spare engines, diving kit etc or whether it was never right. Now i have takes the spare outboard off and the kit out it looks better, but if i was keeping it i would add another 4 inches of coppercoat or antifould to the sides.I would also move the position of the display for the wind indicator, it is polarised to 25 degreed i think so you have to crouch down a bit to see it - it really need to be higher, but it didn't seem worth the effort of moving it.You can sail this boat away from plymouth, if you were thinking longer distance i would put a larger radar reflector on it - but its your call.The other advange of a triple keel is it will fit on a flatbed trailer as shown in one of the pictures (it is on backwards in photos because it was first put into a canal with very similar shallow slipway) this was a friends car trailer similar to the type that can be hired.I think the crane in plymouth is about £100 for a lift onto a flatbed or trailer if you dont want to float it on viewing is recommended - selling because i am looking for a bigger blue water boat.

2 things I forgot to write in the original ad are that the entire deck has been painted with a. Non slip grey pain by the previous owner. I don't love the colour, would probably change it for a white textured paint if I was keeping it but I can't deny it does make for very sure fitting when wondering about the deck. The other is that the mooring is paid for until the end of March - don't know how it works with cattewater about change of ownership and waiting lists though.