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Which boat would you recommend?

  • 22 Oct 2026 21:38
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    Message # 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Hello fellow junkies!

    Since I stumbled over Ilvy some years ago, I'm intrigued. Since I sailed her once (thanks to Paul) I'm infected.
    For several reasons I'd start with a pocket cruiser (if I really ever take the plunge ), something around 20 feet. Can you please share your experiences with such boats as the Newbridge Navigator, the Kingfisher 20+ JR or the Coromandel (or other comparable boats I have not noticed yet)?
    All of them would be affordable and somehow available. In fact I don't need a twin keeled boat in the Baltic, but I'm looking for a simple solution. I don't plan on converting a boat like Paul did - just converting friends and students to this incredibly simple way of sailing. 
    Which boat would you consider more satisfying in its sailing performance?
    Thanks a lot in advance, looking forward to hearing (reading) about some first hand experiences!

    Fair winds and happy returns to everyone

    Heiko 
  • 23 Oct 2026 10:10
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    Reply # 13757966 on 13757378
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Welcome Heiko and I hope you get lots of replies, as there are quite a few Coromandels, Kingfishers, Navigators and boats in that size range and type, in the JRA.

    Here's a couple of homework assignments for you in the meantime: 

    If you go to the Directories, in the Members' Area, in the left side panel of the website, and scroll down to Membership (online and printable) you can use the search box there. If you enter "Newbridge" you will get 9 hits, mostly Coromandels, and you will be able to find contact details of owners and where they are located. "Kingfisher"  resulted in 9 results, "Coromandel" 11 and "Navigator" 1 - some of them overlapping results with "Newbridge" but that opens up possibilities for direct contact at least by email if you want to.

    If you prefer to just browse, there is a Boat of the Month gallery - the URL link for it is just at the bottom of the Boat of the Month feature - if you click on that you can look at all the past Boat of the Month reviews and many of them are Coromandels, Navigators, Kingfishers - and others of about the same size. You can scroll down through them year by year and read the reviews, look at photos etc. In this year's alone there is Minnow (not sure the model) September, and a Coromandel in April. In 2025 a Coromandel in October and a Corribee in September. 2024 there is a Coromandel in October. 2023 a Kingfisher in November. There are lots more if you scroll further, and other similar boats too.

    Best of luck. 
  • 23 Oct 2026 10:21
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    Reply # 13757975 on 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Guten Tag, Heiko! 

    The 3 boats you mention are the only trailer sailers fitted with a junk rig. I recently had a Coromandel and cruised aboard her for a single season. I found her comfortable to live aboard solo during Summer and found her performance adequate. I never tested her in more than a force 5 - a "yachtsman's gale". She looked after me well and inspired confidence. A previous owner had rigged her with a split rig, which gave better performance, so she wasn't a typical Coromandel. Other Coromandel owners say they have fairly heavy weather helm resulting from a mast position a little too far aft. Coromandels are lightly built and I was not impressed by the quality of her construction.

    If I were choosing now, I'd prefer a Kingfisher. They are more heavily built and have a reputation for being solid and reliable. (A Kingfisher 26 took me across the Atlantic and back twice, under bermudan rig.) I think they are more comfortable than Coromandels because they have greater volume. I would feel more confident going far offshore in a Kingfisher. One or two have made ocean voyages, which I woudn't do in a Coromandel. The only black mark against Kingfishers is their bolted on steel keels. I have no doubt that they are strongly attached, but you will have the joys of corrosion and osmosis, all combined in one sweet package.

    Happy hunting!
  • 23 Oct 2026 17:18
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    Reply # 13758288 on 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Servus Heiko!

    I owe a KF 20+, Pete Hill recommended me to buy it because roomy for its length and heavily built. He sailed the jester challenge on one of them and says that it’s like sailing a much bigger boat. I sail my own one along the coast of Italy with my family (two adults and two kids). It is ann essential kind of living on her  but we can sleep, cook, eat and have a lot of fun without problems. We can also eat down below… a beat squeezed but without drama. The original version has a separate head. I removed it and we use a bucket when underway.

    The boat feels solid and quite stiff. The double keel allows not only grounding but also exploring shallow waters, easy storing of the boat on wooden planks on dry ground or easy loading on a trailer. They also help to dump rolling. Her weight and the keels give the boat momentum and a pleasant motion when underway.

    The only thing I miss is headroom….that’s why I sometimes look for KFs 26 on the web ( Antares looks great Asmat!)

    About rust: I let remove the rust from the keels and treated them with some antitrust and epoxy 4 yard ago. They still  look good…

    Ciao

    Mauro 
  • 23 Oct 2026 20:30
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    Reply # 13758465 on 13757378
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    And we have a Knowledgebase that indexes articles from the website and magazines:

    A search for navigator coromandel Corribee kingfisher gives a good many results which I will post below, but the formatting won’t work so just go to the Knowledgebase and put in those search terms yourself kb.graymatic.com/index.php

    HaslerKingfisher Original Sailing Instructions
    How to sail a junk rig, specifically a Hasler Kingfisher yachtlin

    1264JRAJunk rigged Kingfisher 26 on East Coast of Ireland
    Sailing YouTube video of a Kingfisher 26, experimenting with use of a 360 cameralink

    1265Newbridge Boatsnewbridge coromandel junk rig version brochure
    an original or early brochure for the coromandel junk rigged versionlink

    1313Blondie HaslerRigging instructions for a Kingfisher 26
    Original 1970s instructions for the rigging on a Kingfisherlink

    1314JRAJunk Rigged Boats in Ireland
    YouTube video with footage of five boats sailing in Ireland. Nunki (Venturer), Galway Girl (Corribee), Palinurus (Westerly), Baidin Bui (Kingfisher), Yvonne (Kingfisher)

    link1316JRANewbridge Coromandel Siskin Sailing

    YouTube video of a Coromandel in the Netherlands sailing in blustery conditionslink

    689Hasler's sailing instructions for the KINGFISHER 20+.
    linkNewsletter Issue 13May 19866

    90I. Iliffe.Sailing a KINGFISHER 20+ LORCHINKA through the French Canals
    linkNewsletter Issue 13May 1986

    708KINGFISHER 20+ LORCHINKA in the Med.
    linkNewsletter Issue 15May 1987714Light weight Genoa on a H.P. COROMANDEL.
    linkNewsletter Issue 16November 1987

    717Ralph HillA Cruising Rig, Square, Dhow, fore & aft, and Junk Rigs discussed and details of his Junkette rig on a KINGFISHER 26
    linkNewsletter Issue 16November 1987

    728Karl HoltmanOwning and sailing my KINGFISHER 20+
    linkNewsletter Issue 18November 1988

    731Wilf TurnbullMethod of raising & lowering a hinged mast on QUEST a COROMANDEL, fully illustrated
    linkNewsletter Issue 18November 1988

    linkNewsletter Issue 19May 1989

    762Wilf TurnbullModifications to the sheeting of a COROMANDEL peaked junk rig
    linkNewsletter Issue 21Summer 1990

    819Sir Henry Pigott - Veteran circumnavigator.
    linkNewsletter Issue 27Summer 1993852Alan WilliamsThe rebirth of a NAVIGATOR 19
    linkNewsletter Issue 31April 1996

    873Alistair BerryFirst Cruise in COROMANDEL HO-CHOI
    linkNewsletter Issue 33April 1997630Admiral FisherJunk Rigging a KINGFISHER 30 by Admiral Fisher. Stayed masts versus Unstayed masts.
    linkNewsletter Issue 4January 1982983Voyage of a lifetime - A KINGFISHER 26 across the Atlantic and back.
    linkNewsletter Issue 44January 20051066Azores and back Jester Challenge in a Kingfisher 22.
    linkNewsletter Issue 52December 2008

    1068Chris ScanesChris Scanes on camber in junk rig sail panels.
    Describes development of cambered panel thinking and advantages of lens type, specific example being for a Kingfisher 26link97JRAOriginal Kingfisher sailing instructions
    link

    1237Mauro PauThe Refit of Shui Jen
    Choosing, refitting, and sailing a Kingfisher 20+linkPage: 41

    1324Mauro PauFirst Time Solo and a Family Sailing Holiday
    Kingfisher 20+ in the Adriatic. Sailing preparation, characteristics, experience, familylinkPage: 16

    1388JRAJunk Rig Joy
    YouTube video of a Kingfisher 20+ arriving Dublin from Wales in 2023 in blustery conditions and cruising in and near Dublin Baylink1413Mauro PauCruising the Gulf of Trieste in Shui Jen
    Sailing a Kingfisher 20+ with familylinkPage: 341426Jake KavanaghMore Mods to Pod
    PVC Rubbing strakes and bath-moulded sliding dome hatch for a Corribee mark 2linkPage: 201465Jes BatesConverting Mwera to Junk Rig
    Conversion of a Corribee 21linkPage: 36
  • 27 Oct 2026 14:27
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    Reply # 13761579 on 13757378
    Anonymous member

    Hello fellow junkies! 

    First of all thanks for all the answers!
    Secondly please accept my apologies for not replying more timely. So many information to process plus the penchant for perfect wording although not being a native speaker - ingredients for the perfect storm of procrastination...


    More to come (hopefully)


    Heiko