Hey guys,
my offer has been accepted and I'm about to pull her out and get it surveyed. I spoke to the surveyor today who was asking me why I want to buy a h28, that they were good in there day but that day has passed.
I see the pros of these boats and it's walker built, which is suppose to be very good by reputation. But what are the cons of these boats?
its a sloop rig with double furling headsails.
Im just after very safe and forgiving boat with nice traditional lines. I'm happy if it cruises along at 5knots. I know it won't be a light winds boat. But I live in south western Victoria, literally on the line of the roaring 40's so we aren't shirt of a breeze. Anyways anyone with experiences of these boats good or bad would be much appreciated. He's put the wind up me a little and now I'm question my decision.

www.38southboatsales.com.au

looks good , go for it !

Nice little boat I know a couple that lived on it years back in south oz.

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southace said..
Nice little boat I know a couple that lived on it years back in south oz.

Beautiful man, did they ever speak of its sail ability to you?
or did you go sailing with them?

Na never sailed with them but I seem to recall he was a shipwright and she was a short blond honey bunny.

Personally I would be offering 15k for starters. Mate just brought a turn the key dunc 37 for 20k.

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southace said..
Personally I would be offering 15k for starters. Mate just brought a turn the key dunc 37 for 20k.

Are you from the more northern parts of aus?
if so I just feel that the market is very different to down south.

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LandofNod said..

southace said..
Personally I would be offering 15k for starters. Mate just brought a turn the key dunc 37 for 20k.

Are you from the more northern parts of aus?
if so I just feel that the market is very different to down south.

No I'm in south close to Adelaide, a lot of the yachts in Adelaide have been sitting round for years and I know them when they pop up for sale, 25k for 28 footer 1980 boat is a high price. Although I see it's been re-powered in recent years, check the age of sails and rigging there's another 10k to spend.

Anyways apart from good deals, I'm more interested in the walker h28's as far as sailing and adventuring goes.

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southace said..

LandofNod said..

southace said..
Personally I would be offering 15k for starters. Mate just brought a turn the key dunc 37 for 20k.

Are you from the more northern parts of aus?
if so I just feel that the market is very different to down south.

No I'm in south close to Adelaide, a lot of the yachts in Adelaide have been sitting round for years and I know them when they pop up for sale, 25k for 28 footer 1980 boat is a high price. Although I see it's been re-powered in recent years, check the age of sails and rigging there's another 10k to spend.

Sails are good, crisp and good stitching. Main triple reef. Jib and Genoa are good.
Yeah some of the rigg will need replacing, don't know of many that do have all major elements new for 20k. As in new rig, engine, sails and good hull. They all need something.

She's a lovely looking boat, I seem to recall she was called windsong, the anchor needs to be replaced other than that for the right price you will love her.

Really? Wind song is a beautiful name. She's called Cariad 11 now. Which for me really has no charm.
yeah haha an old fisherman's anchor, I think it's the equivalent of a surfboard bolted to the roof of an old holden wagon.

did the 20 k dunc have a 4k wind vane ? and new engine ? cutter rig ? .................... The H28 will serve you well , dont suffer from buyers regret ,just enjoy ......

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LandofNod said..
Really? Wind song is a beautiful name. She's called Cariad 11 now. Which for me really has no charm.
yeah haha an old fisherman's anchor, I think it's the equivalent of a surfboard bolted to the roof of an old holden wagon.

Fishaman anchors belong in garden beds!

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SandS said..
did the 20 k dunc have a 4k wind vane ? and new engine ? cutter rig ? .................... The H28 will serve you well , dont suffer from buyers regret ,just enjoy ......

No but has full hydrolic steering connected to hydrolic auto pilot. And cutter rig with twin furler prosail. Yeah and don't regret buying someone else's problem.

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SandS said..
did the 20 k dunc have a 4k wind vane ? and new engine ? cutter rig ? .................... The H28 will serve you well , dont suffer from buyers regret ,just enjoy ......

Thanks so much SandS, I feel like that's exactly what Im being afraid of. You are right. For me the only compromise is a v berth but I see some have refitted them to fit a berth forward, or even possibly a small alteration to the saloon port bunk to make it a lower small double. Either way I think once the money is out of my account and I have a beautiful boat I'm not going to be thinking about the money anymore.

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southace said..

SandS said..
did the 20 k dunc have a 4k wind vane ? and new engine ? cutter rig ? .................... The H28 will serve you well , dont suffer from buyers regret ,just enjoy ......

No but has full hydrolic steering connected to hydrolic auto pilot. And cutter rig with twin furler prosail. Yeah and don't regret buying someone else's problem.

If someone thinks of a yacht as a problem , they would be better off with out one . Hydraulic steering on a 37 is a no feeling not necessary nightmare . And it rhymes !!

Hi

She is a nice looking boat and some mates of mine sailed HG's Walker H28 Driftwood across from Melbourne to southern Tassie last year and were impressed with how she went

The only thing i would suggest you might want to think about is whether she is big enough for any plans you might have in the future

We bought our 28 foot Sailmaster 845 4 years ago after having a Spacesailor 20 for a couple of years and at the time we thought it was big enough but now i wish that I had bought something around 34 to 36 feet as I think this is probably a good compromise between easy to handle and not too expensive to maintain and a decent amount of room inside for spending a bit of time on board

Regards Don

That is a great boat. Been lusting after it, and would have put in an offer if it was closer to Sydney.

Built like brick outhouse, and the preferable cutter rig. Ideal for voyaging. Forget about a forward berth, they are only for sleeping at a marina. Those settee berths with lee cloths is what you need if you want to go sailing. And that is what the original old designer L Francis Herreshof said. (Must find the original quote, but it was something like if you want to bonk your lady, do it at home.)

Sail performance is not wonderful to windward, but life is a compromise. Do you want excitement or reliability/safety?

Congratulations Lando she looks great. My old dad has had two H28s and the current one is Walker built. Very solid build and quite adequate sailing performance for a cruiser in my view.

My tip is avoid the temptation to stow heavy stuff in the bow. I did the delivery from Yamba down to Sydney in a junky swell and we found she was very tender on the helm and would veer off course if you blinked for too long. When we got back we pulled as much weight out of the bow and stern as we could (probably around 400Kilos - life raft, old chain, spare anchors, paint tins, tools etc.). This has made her a much better behaved boat and she it is now a pleasure to sail.

Happy cruising
Bill

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LandofNod said..
I spoke to the surveyor today who was asking me why I want to buy a h28, that they were good in there day but that day has passed.

As always, it depends on what you plan to do with the boat. If you want to go fast and win races, he's right and you're nuts.

But if you want to do day sails and longer cruises in Bass Strait, which will one day surely give you a solid arse-kicking no matter how careful you are, a high ballast-ratio floating brick dunny with full keel, protected rudder and thick solid lay-up like that is ideal. Then you'll be right and he'll be nuts.

Starting at $15k sounds sensible. Good yachts can be alarmingly cheap these days.

Cheers, Graeme

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termite said..
Congratulations Lando she looks great. My old dad has had two H28s and the current one is Walker built. Very solid build and quite adequate sailing performance for a cruiser in my view.

My tip is avoid the temptation to stow heavy stuff in the bow. I did the delivery from Yamba down to Sydney in a junky swell and we found she was very tender on the helm and would veer off course if you blinked for too long. When we got back we pulled as much weight out of the bow and stern as we could (probably around 400Kilos - life raft, old chain, spare anchors, paint tins, tools etc.). This has made her a much better behaved boat and she it is now a pleasure to sail.

Happy cruising
Bill

This also applies to most boats I believe.

congrats Lando on the H28.
There's two Walkers in our club, including one owned by my brother in law, which is just about to be rerigged.
My dad had one with wheel steering which made it even more like a little ship.
Keep us updated!

congrats Lando on the H28.
There's two Walkers in our club, including one owned by my brother in law, which is just about to be rerigged.
My dad had one with wheel steering which made it even more like a little ship.
Keep us updated!

Congratulations.

All you need now is a copy of L. Francis Herreshoff'S "The compleat cruiser"!

I own a ketch rigged H28. Came with a turtle ashtray. Now I get it. They are slow. Get yourself a genaker for light winds. She will still go fine.

They really do handle rough seas extremely well (mine might be a bit heavier than the norm). If you ever get knocked down, they roll back like a graceful old lady.

Long keel gives you directional stability. Heaps less pressure on the autopilot. Great too if you run into anything. Been there; done that.

Cutter rig is the go, especially with the heavy weather down your way. Don't be scared of hank on sails and traditional sail plans. Awesome reaching and up wind.

I am happy about the sails person being an idiot. I am looking at upgrading to a bigger old school long keeler. Nice to see someone getting the prices down!

I think the Walker H28 was 30 ft, so check that out. Also nothing wrong with a fisherman anchor. If it's heavy with plenty of chain it will do the job providing the sea bed is ok.

Guitz
Glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks Fisherman anchors are not bad.
Pretty good in fact.

Gary

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garymalmgren said..
Guitz
Glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks Fisherman anchors are not bad.
Pretty good in fact.

Gary

Ive done 3 trips across bass Strait now with a hefty fisherman and 50 meters of chain. Only once off Clarke Is in Kangaroo Bay did we drag anchor in a 40 knot westerly, and in that anchorage there is shallow sand over a rock bottom. We deployed our 2nd anchor using the anchor rope and that sorted it out. The other yachts with different anchors also dragged.

Best investment ever was my over size Sacra Excel. With 10 mm chain I have had it hold in sand bottom @ 50 knot gusts. Not that I would ever deliberately put myself in that situation. Low freeboard on my traditional H28 also helps due the reduced windage area.

The Walker has a higher freeboard. I am sure she is still 28 length on deck. The bowsprit adds a few more feet to the overall length. Interesting point here is L Francis in one of his design books recommends strongly that no one ever modify the original design. This had no bowsprit. Hence the H28.

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surfershaneA said..
Best investment ever was my over size Sacra Excel. With 10 mm chain I have had it hold in sand bottom @ 50 knot gusts. Not that I would ever deliberately put myself in that situation. Low freeboard on my traditional H28 also helps due the reduced windage area.

The Walker has a higher freeboard. I am sure she is still 28 length on deck. The bowsprit adds a few more feet to the overall length. Interesting point here is L Francis in one of his design books recommends strongly that no one ever modify the original design. This had no bowsprit. Hence the H28.

Do you have a timber version or the glass Walker H 28. I think the Walker is close to 29ft with different lengths of bowsprit according to whether it is the standard or cutter headed version.

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Yara said..

surfershaneA said..
Best investment ever was my over size Sacra Excel. With 10 mm chain I have had it hold in sand bottom @ 50 knot gusts. Not that I would ever deliberately put myself in that situation. Low freeboard on my traditional H28 also helps due the reduced windage area.

The Walker has a higher freeboard. I am sure she is still 28 length on deck. The bowsprit adds a few more feet to the overall length. Interesting point here is L Francis in one of his design books recommends strongly that no one ever modify the original design. This had no bowsprit. Hence the H28.

Do you have a timber version or the glass Walker H 28. I think the Walker is close to 29ft with different lengths of bowsprit according to whether it is the standard or cutter headed version.

Mine is a rare steel version built at Woolloomooloo on Sydney Harbour. No doubt a foreign order from the Garden Island Navy Dockyard. She was on the front page of the NZ H28 Association website when she was refitted in Thailand at Pantawee Marine. They built the Hans Christians.

Thanks to me sailing her hard for the last ten years, and spending way too much time surfing, she is now overdue for a refit. After some commitments next month it will be back out with the grinder and paint brush.

Old girl has never failed me. Only myself to blame!