Been looking at buying a ss24 and was wondering if any owners or previous owners have any comments on their performance and suitability for cruising WA coastline and maybe Shark Bay. Has any of them had osmosis blistering hull defects or any trouble with rigging,keelbolts,chainplates etc. They are now 40yrs plus so want to know how they are still going condition wise......thanks

A 24 foot boat is a good sheltered water one, but not for sailing the coast of western australia for long distances. Would suggest short coastal hops in favourable conditions.

Boats of that age will have osmosis, but the 24's have generally stood up well to most things.

Excellent design, stable with high freeboard and plenty of room below for a 24footer. Good build record too with literally 100s of Spacesailers around, but of course do your due diligence.
Fixed Keel so you will need to consider a tender....but makes it a better vessel for the strong breezes of the Midwest/Gascoyne of WA.

Hi nbjs

Did that trip in 1976 in a 32 footer.
Would have no hesitation doing it in a GOOD Spacesailor.

As to your question " Has any of them had osmosis blistering hull defects or any trouble with rigging,keelbolts,chainplates etc. They are now 40yrs plus so want to know how they are still going condition wise....."

That is all relevant to how well a boat has been maintained. A great boat would none of those problems.
A good boat would not have osmosis, but could have some other fixable problems.
A poor boat would have osmosis plus a couple of the other problems.
Time to start looking and poking about. That is the only way you will find out. Here is not the place for that.
Here is the place for other stuff.

A great boat will cost you more.
Here is a great one. And someone to contact for further info.
www.spacesailer24.rizz.com/

As for your trip.
A good Spacesailer will do that and many have. It all depends on your sailing skill ans time. That is not a trip that you can rush.
23 foot is a small boat. So, why are you thinking so small.

For some inspiration, here is a little trip on a 23 footer.


Gary

I had a SS24 for years. Great boat, big inside for small outside. We sailed Gosford to Tassie and back in her which is further than the Sydney to Hobart. No big deal, just normal sailing care required. Nice heavy solid keel and not a bolted on one gave me confidence. Always wanted to go to Lord Howe in her but because of work commitments never got the time. Only annoying problem was the output motor prop would lift out of the water in large seas so motoring was generally not an option. But on the other hand for downwind you can pull it off and stow downstairs and get a lot more speed. Be aware being a smaller boat you really feel the weather. Boats seem to be much cheaper lately, maybe you could step up a level. When a mate sailed his Mottle 33 to Vanuatu and back I was converted to that idea and got one, bit more comfort than an SS24 for bigger trips
Lots of SS24 photos here
members.optusnet.com.au/spacesailer24/Spacesailer_24_Photos.html

Thanks for the feedback everyone...yes the spacies do seem to have a good reputation as a great little seaboat...im glad to hear that others have done the WA coast in them... thats quite impressive for a small yacht.I do have some" old" experience... I sailed my 32ft steel in the early 80s from Freo to Dampier taking in the abrolhos,shark bay exmouth the murians and the monte bellos{some of it solo} and have done numerous Freo to Gton ocean races on a friends 30ft and 45ft I still sail a windrush14 most weekends now. I have a Masters 5 fishing and charter skippers ticket{10yrs crayfishing} and a yachtmasters all attained during the 80s. 3 kids and a morgage put an end to that life and now Im free to satisfy my urge{midlife crisis?}.Gary... in answer to "why thinking small"..3 reasons..1 Cost...I dont have a lot of disposable MOOLAH and the bigger they are the more they cost to buy and maintain....2.I will be mostly sailing SOLO or 1 other so small is easy. I was looking at trailer sailers for a while but just dont like how tender they are.. unless someone can tell me of a good sturdy one.. although I do like their ability to access shallow water especially seeing that my objective is to spend a lot of time sailing Shark Bay...3.I would prefer an outboard to an inboard...So for all those reasons the Spacie24 seems to be the best fit...Draws 4'...Disp..2t... Trek....I would love to step up to a Spacie27 which is very much like the 24 ..It draws 4'7" ..Disp 3t...{ I think most have an inboard.[}wouldnt mind that compromise really }but havnt seen one in my price range..maybe one might come soon. Also there is not a lot of facilities for pulling yachts out of the water north of gero so bottom cleaning will be done in water mostly and problems with skin fittings and stern drives,propellers etc would be tidal jobs....{hence prefer outboards}.....So the urge is strong...the will is there... time is ticking away...just waiting for the right yacht to come along...again thanks.
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Trek said..
Only annoying problem was the output motor prop would lift out of the water in large seas so motoring was generally not an option.

This. I've no experience on a SS24, but that was the reason behind getting rid of my old 26'. Too many times I got caught in strong winds with little or no motor drive. I should preface this with the observation the effect was lesser offshore with a longer wave period, but there were times I would be lucky to be doing half a knot. I got so tired once I dropped the anchor and took a break. When I went to retrieve the anchor, I found the wind and sea state was so much I couldn't physically take up any slack on the rode and the outboard was useless for any drive. Ended up after an hour of being beaten silly, I cut the anchor line and sailed back on a 3rd reefed main only, the boat was more in the water than above it.

The other thing I remember was with the size of the tank that complements most outboards, in heavy conditions your fuel state can get critical very quickly. So, I'd be wanting to be capable of sailing the boat in the filthiest weather, as in certain conditions an outboard just becomes weight.

This is all redundant dependent upon the type of sailing of course. If you're parked at a dock in foul weather, or enjoying an idyllic light air day, an outboard is a great piece of kit :)

My 28'er had no problems offshore in nasty stuff with an ultra long shaft 9.8 Tohatsu. I tend to think you need an ultra long shaft, and also a fairly big outboard that allows you to get fast enough to move the stern wave aft, which immerses the prop more. Obviously bracket height is a major issue so have an adjustable height could be important.

Only hassle with an SS 24 is trying to get south in a typical south westerly blowing 20-25 knots. When I last did the trip there was a Custom 30 yacht that tried leaving 3 times from Jurien Bay to Fremantle and he could not make any headway in the prevailing south westerly with the 2-4m swell and wind waves. You would need to have plenty of time to wait for a favourable breeze, ie be prepared to wait 2-5 days if necessary and perhaps take 2-3 weeks from Shark Bay to Fremantle.

Ilenart

ILenart yes the west coast southerly can blow a dog off its chain....I once helped a couple of friends sail their 42ft Bilge keel ketch from Exmouth to carnarvon.We left Exmouth and sailed 80 miles on a port tack then turned and sailed 80 miles on a starboard tack and ended up 10 miles south of Exmouth. Bilge keelers tend to have a lot of leeway but the wind and current didnt let us go south very far...eventually we got there but only after the wind dropped a bit.It certainly pays to wait for fair winds. ...

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nbjs said..
ILenart yes the west coast southerly can blow a dog off its chain....I once helped a couple of friends sail their 42ft Bilge keel ketch from Exmouth to carnarvon.We left Exmouth and sailed 80 miles on a port tack then turned and sailed 80 miles on a starboard tack and ended up 10 miles south of Exmouth. Bilge keelers tend to have a lot of leeway but the wind and current didnt let us go south very far...eventually we got there but only after the wind dropped a bit.It certainly pays to wait for fair winds. ...

I did something similar in a full keel Roberts 45 ketch. Left Wedge Island with a SSW blowing 20knots, sailed 8 hours on one tack out and 8 hours back to shore and we were around Lancelin. Run of the reasons my next boat was a UFO 34, excellent upwind performance :)

Ilenart