hi all i was wondering how the compass 29 suits as a liveaboard and cruiser, would it be cabaple of long distances and how well does it handle at sea thanks

Stable, robust and safe. Terribly f....ing slow and don't point. They also suffer from strong weather helm.
My sister had one for a few years and I liked it but it is not a sailing vessel. Roomy and comfortable for it size but the 28 sails far better.

The companion way on Compass 29s are problematic. They do not have a sliding hatch and they are a pain going up and down from cabin to deck and vice verca.

There are plenty of them for sale quite cheap which is a message in itself.

I have noticed with the speeds of the Compass 29, that they don't seem much better than a Top Hat!, I would have thought they would have been more of a speed increase with the extra 4 feet.
MB, why do you think the 28 sails better than the 29?, the extra beam for not much more length slows it down?
Apparently the Duncanson 29 is from the same mould??, with just some changes to the cabin.

If you like the capabilities of the TH (which I do), the next logical step is to a Compass if you want a bigger boat, but you also want extra speed for the extra length & the extra $.

Funny thing about the companion way(Top Hats are the same, without a sliding hatch), I used to get a sore back from going up & down into the cabin, got to the point where I wouldn't go below if it wasn't urgent. Then I started going down to the cabin in reverse, couldn't believe I didn't think of doing that years ago . Now its just automatic, don't think about it, just turn and go into the cabin backwards, problem solved

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BlueMoon said..
I have noticed with the speeds of the Compass 29, that they don't seem much better than a Top Hat!, I would have thought they would have been more of a speed increase with the extra 4 feet.
MB, why do you think the 28 sails better than the 29?, the extra beam for not much more length slows it down?
Apparently the Duncanson 29 is from the same mould??, with just some changes to the cabin.

If you like the capabilities of the TH (which I do), the next logical step is to a Compass if you want a bigger boat, but you also want extra speed for the extra length & the extra $.

Funny thing about the companion way(Top Hats are the same, without a sliding hatch), I used to get a sore back from going up & down into the cabin, got to the point where I wouldn't go below if it wasn't urgent. Then I started going down to the cabin in reverse, couldn't believe I didn't think of doing that years ago . Now its just automatic, don't think about it, just turn and go into the cabin backwards, problem solved

My view is that they made the 29 a foot longer and a foot wider (approximately) than the 28. Shrouds were repositioned, mast slightly different location. It sails like a slug.

The Dunc has a far better sailing reputation although I haven't been on one. This article by David Bray notes the Dunc 29 deck moulds were applied to the Compass 28 design. I believe it is a myth they swapped hull moulds as Don Lees and John Duncanson were designers in their own right.

http://www.boatpoint.com.au/content/features/2001/compass-yachts-a-buyers-guide-8361

But it is quite spacious for a little boat and is very forgiving. I don't have a problem with the Compass 29 hatch, just sit on the coaming, grab on at the top and swing through to land on the cabin sole.

Sorry, last point to give a view on the original question. If you don't mind going slowly they would be a good cruiser and very small liveaboard.

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winsten said..
hi all i was wondering how the compass 29 suits as a liveaboard and cruiser, would it be cabaple of long distances and how well does it handle at sea thanks

I used to have one & the new owner, who didn't have a clue how to sail, managed to sail her form Lake Macquarie to Cairnes (where it is for sale now).

As stated above - Stable, robust and safe ...................But it is quite spacious for a little boat and is very forgiving.

By no means the fastest boat but a good "first boat".

I never had a problem with the companionway ( I'm not what you would call a big fella!!) but I used to "just sit on the coaming, grab on at the top and swing through to land on the cabin sole." When I was too tired or too pissed for this I would "just turn and go into the cabin backwards".
I did see one last week though where they had put a sliding hatch in.

I always thought the compass 28 was made for the charter market that's one of the reasons there so abundant
Sailing to me is like life its the journey not the start or or a finish to the marina slow, fast if your worried about buy a cat
I own a old H28 walker I like how there set up .
Kurt owns a H28 made in N.Z. mines a Ketch Kurts a sloop both good boats as an option to keel kick if there some in your area

One other thing to consider do you want a tiller or wheel steering I think most 29 are wheel

What state are you in Winston

hi hg and I are probably a little bias towards the h28 but there great little boats the compass h28 is actualy 29.1ft long.

Before I bought my boat I was looking at the compass 28/29 and also missed out on a walker h28 I liked a few weeks later my boat appeared on the market the compass nz h28
I think the h28 is a better live aboard option more room inside and out
my h28 does seems to be faster than local compass 28/29`s
there not the fastest boast but more than adequate for cruising mine points well to.

there easy to handle good for single handing
i don't live aboard but do stay aboard in comfort and im 6"2 tall. I would like to take it up to north Queensland one day and i would have no issues with comfort except for maybe showers on deck

a lot will depend on the condition of the boat especial the motor ,sails, systems ect
the walker and compass h28 would be worth a look at they are both very capable boat's if maintained and can be found around the same price as a nice compass 29

heres a link to some passages undertaken by the nz h28
http://h28.org.nz/index.php/main-2-passages
2 brothers apparently sailed one around the world years ago too

a link to 2 different Tasman crossings on u tube

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MorningBird said..

BlueMoon said..
I have noticed with the speeds of the Compass 29, that they don't seem much better than a Top Hat!, I would have thought they would have been more of a speed increase with the extra 4 feet.
MB, why do you think the 28 sails better than the 29?, the extra beam for not much more length slows it down?
Apparently the Duncanson 29 is from the same mould??, with just some changes to the cabin.

If you like the capabilities of the TH (which I do), the next logical step is to a Compass if you want a bigger boat, but you also want extra speed for the extra length & the extra $.

Funny thing about the companion way(Top Hats are the same, without a sliding hatch), I used to get a sore back from going up & down into the cabin, got to the point where I wouldn't go below if it wasn't urgent. Then I started going down to the cabin in reverse, couldn't believe I didn't think of doing that years ago . Now its just automatic, don't think about it, just turn and go into the cabin backwards, problem solved

My view is that they made the 29 a foot longer and a foot wider (approximately) than the 28. Shrouds were repositioned, mast slightly different location. It sails like a slug.

The Dunc has a far better sailing reputation although I haven't been on one. This article by David Bray notes the Dunc 29 deck moulds were applied to the Compass 28 design. I believe it is a myth they swapped hull moulds as Don Lees and John Duncanson were designers in their own right.

http://www.boatpoint.com.au/content/features/2001/compass-yachts-a-buyers-guide-8361

But it is quite spacious for a little boat and is very forgiving. I don't have a problem with the Compass 29 hatch, just sit on the coaming, grab on at the top and swing through to land on the cabin sole.

Sorry, last point to give a view on the original question. If you don't mind going slowly they would be a good cruiser and very small liveaboard.

David told me he used an article I wrote many years ago as part of the background for that Boatpoint piece, but that's fine since I often used to get info from him! The Compass/Duncanson link was a definite fact; I confirmed that with Don Lees, the Rose family (of Compass Careel fame) and I think with Duncanson as well.

The Duncanson 29 is the Compass 28 hull with a modified keel, separate skeg and skeg-hung rudder, and extended transom.

I've heard that the 28 and 29 are similar in pace, because of the extra beam on the 29. Neither of them are particularly fast. The Top Hat was, in contrast, designed as a racing boat initially, and in Victoria the timber ones with a short cabin top won a lot of Port Phillip races. The Top Hat's racing heritage explains the steep rise of the buttocks, which was a common rating distortion in late RORC days and can be seen in many of Illingworth's boats such as the Maica. In their early days the Top Hat was seen as a bit of a radical short-keeled racing machine and the H28 was an ultra-simple weekender or day sailer, so it's always interesting to see how they are now regarded as cruisers.

At the risk of topic drift, have any of you guys checked out L F HErreshoff's letters at the Mystic Seaport Museum site? There's a lot of H28 information on there.

I have once or twice checked that site Chris.
Ive a walker H28 ketch I'm trying to fit out for more than a weekender as I wanted no more than 30 foot .The walkers are heavily laded up old full length keel and I liked the twin settees in the main cabin ( ill probably sleep on the main cabin floor its a center of the boat) 30 foot a tight fit for long cruising you really have to think how to fit every thing you need . All boats are compromises

This walkers under contact I did tell Yarra about it
I have a feeling the boat markets starting to lift prices seem to be slowly on the up
http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/walker-h28-30-foot-ketch-rigged-yacht/177890

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BlueMoon said..
I have noticed with the speeds of the Compass 29, that they don't seem much better than a Top Hat!, I would have thought they would have been more of a speed increase with the extra 4 feet.
MB, why do you think the 28 sails better than the 29?, the extra beam for not much more length slows it down?
Apparently the Duncanson 29 is from the same mould??, with just some changes to the cabin.

If you like the capabilities of the TH (which I do), the next logical step is to a Compass if you want a bigger boat, but you also want extra speed for the extra length & the extra $.

Funny thing about the companion way(Top Hats are the same, without a sliding hatch), I used to get a sore back from going up & down into the cabin, got to the point where I wouldn't go below if it wasn't urgent. Then I started going down to the cabin in reverse, couldn't believe I didn't think of doing that years ago . Now its just automatic, don't think about it, just turn and go into the cabin backwards, problem solved

Speed is a function of the square root of waterline length. Hence a 29 footer is only going to be 8% faster than a 25ft boat. But actually the Compass 29 waterline length is only marginally greater than the Top Hat, hence the speeds are roughly the same.

There's a lot more than LWL, otherwise a Top Hat would be about as fast as an Elliott 5.9 sportsboat. The Compass' waterline would extend significantly under sail due to the fairly long overhanging counter, whereas the Top Hat's counter was chopped off to suit the RORC rating rule. I'd imagine the Compass would also have lower SA/L and SA/D figures too.

Is there any doubt that for a given water line length a fin keeler will point higher and sail faster than a full or 3/4 keeler??

Forget about comfort. Anything less than !,000 ft long is uncomfortable at sea.

Well, there's not much difference in the length of keel of the Top Hat and Compasses (Compi???).

And with respect, there can be an enormous difference in comfort in small boats. Try taking a 30' 2300 kg lightweight IMS racer, a 30' 4000kg (?) Currawong 30, and a 28' 2100kg RORC lightweight upwind with #3 and deep reefs through the south coast waves. Although all the boats are within 2' LOA and two of them are within 200kg disp, the way the newer boat slammed through the waves was awesomely uncomfortable at times.

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Chris 249 said..
There's a lot more than LWL, otherwise a Top Hat would be about as fast as an Elliott 5.9 sportsboat. The Compass' waterline would extend significantly under sail due to the fairly long overhanging counter, whereas the Top Hat's counter was chopped off to suit the RORC rating rule. I'd imagine the Compass would also have lower SA/L and SA/D figures too.

We are talking similar long keel displacement designs, with similar hull shapes. However the Compass 29 is a bit beamier. The Top Hat also has a little counter. In the end, for this type of yacht, you have to get a lot bigger if you expect significant speed difference just from the length of the boat.