The Westerly Centaur, the most popular British-built sailing yacht retains an enthusiastic following, yet can be picked up for a very attractive price; even the best examples rarely fetch more than £8,000.

In total, 2,620 boats based on the Centaur hull were sold between 1969 and 1980, including 97 fin keel Pembrokes and 79 centre cockpit Chieftains.

There are many good reasons for the boat’s success that still resonate with buyers today.

Although the big boxy coachroof is far from sleek, its big windows flood the interior with natural light in a manner that was exceptional for its era.

The Westerly Centaur also broke new ground in Europe compared to the standards of the late 1960s, with designer Jack Laurent Giles influenced by American boats of the era.

At 2.6m (8ft 5in), the beam was a 15% increase on the Westerly 25 that this model replaced, while the cockpit was extended all the way aft to the transom.

These features combined with higher freeboard and longer waterline to create much more interior space, including long berths for up to six people, a heads compartment across the full width of the boat between the saloon and forecabin, plus a reasonable galley and well-thought-out stowage.

The result was an extremely attractive package for any owner who put space and comfort above speed.

Nevertheless, despite this extra accommodation volume and a decision to offer the boat only with bilge keels, the Westerly Centaur’s sailing performance also represented a big step forward compared to earlier very inefficient bilge keel designs.

Jack Giles of Laurent Giles and Partners had recently been involved with extensive tank testing to inform the design of Lord Riverdale’s 50ft twin keel yacht Bluebird of Thorne, which represented the pinnacle of her owner’s 40-year interest in, and development of, twin-keel boats.

As a result, the Centaur’s aerofoil-shaped keels are toed in by 2° and splayed out from the vertical, such that the leeward keel is more upright when the boat is heeled.

While it’s a lot better than earlier bilge keel production yachts, the Westerly Centaur isn’t a spirited performer upwind but can be fast on a reach, while the extra wetted surface area adds to drag when sailing downwind in light airs.

Engines, however, tend to get a lot of use compared to more recent designs, especially upwind and downwind in light airs.

Very early boats were offered with a choice of a 7hp Volvo Penta MD1 or a 15hp MD2 diesel.

As early as 1971 Westerly was recommending the newer MD2B 25hp model, with the single-cylinder 10hp MD1B as an alternative.

However, the larger unit was never a necessity – Volvo Penta reportedly gave Westerly an extremely good deal on that model – and many boats have since been successfully re-engined with a 14hp Beta unit.

Early boats had a 5-6 berth layout, including two quarter berths and a dinette in the saloon that could be converted into a slim double.

By 1971 some 400 boats had already been sold and a second interior layout was offered, with the dinette replaced by an L-shaped settee to port, with a more conventional table just off the centreline.

This became known as the B layout, while the original was referred to as A.

By the mid-1970s a C layout was also offered, with the galley moved aft near the companionway, allowing for a short settee to starboard opposite the saloon table.

This layout also has only one quarter berth, with the equivalent space on the starboard side given over to a useful large cockpit locker instead.

Both smaller and larger variants followed the launch of the Westerly Centaur, with the 23ft Pageant, of which more than 500 were built, launched the following year.

A 31ft range started production in 1972 and was offered in four variants, with an aft or centre cockpit and twin or fin keels.

In total, more than 1,000 of these were sold, including a number with ketch rigs.

Indeed, a ketch rig option for the Westerly Centaur, with wheel steering and a short bowsprit, appeared in the 1974 brochure, but few buyers stumped up for extra cost and complexity associated with this and they are something of an oddity today.

Construction is of heavy chopped strand mat and it’s often said that boats of this era are extremely tough and robust.

Sadly the truth is a bit of a let-down and, as with 1970s cars, quality control was not always perfect, while the limited structural engineering tools available at the time underestimated loads on the splayed keels, especially when the tide lifts the boat out of a drying mud berth.

Keel roots therefore need careful inspection by a surveyor, even if most boats by now ought to have been strengthened in this respect.

For anyone doubting the importance of this, a former colleague’s parents’ two-year-old Pageant sank on its muddy drying mooring when one of the keels detached on a rising tide. I have also seen similar problems on the later Griffon.

Early Westerly Centaurs had a fairly rudimentary spade rudder with a lot less structure than would be specified for a similar appendage today.

Many of these will also have been beefed up by now, but this is still an important point to check.

Later boats had a more substantial skeg-supported rudder that appears to have been well-engineered.

Westerly Centaur specifications:
LOA: 7.93m/26ft 0in
LWL: 6.50m/21ft 4in
Beam: 2.6m/8ft 5in
Draught: 0.9m/3ft 0in
Displacement: 3,040kg/6,700lb
Ballast: 1,270kg/2,800lb
Owners’ association: westerly-owners.co.uk

Alternatives to the Westerly Centaur

The late 1960s and 1970s were arguably the heyday of British boatbuilding, with scores of yards active, some of which expanded at astonishing rates, and with hundreds of designs in build.

Here are some contemporaries of the Westerly Centaur that might make good alternative choices, including a couple of European cruising yachts that sold in even greater numbers.

Whichever boat you choose, it’s important to remember that the equipment and systems, including engine, sails, standing and running rigging of vessels of this size and age can cost far more than the value of the boat itself.

Boats in poor cosmetic condition where some of these items need replacement may therefore be worth nothing, while a well-cared-for boat with lots of recent equipment may represent very good value at a price of £6,000 or even £8,000.

Sabre 27

This is perhaps the most obvious British-built option, even though only around 400 were built between 1969 and 1979.

It’s an Alan Hill design with a slightly wider beam than the Westerly Centaur and spacious accommodation, though with softer exterior styling and a little less headroom forward.

When new, the Sabre in many ways was seen as a better boat than the Westerly Centaur and even won the 1971 Family Cruiser title awarded by PBO’s sister title Yachting World.

However, builder Southampton-based Marcon couldn’t match Westerly’s scale of output and suffered production problems, including poor sealing of deck fittings and even hull deck joints on some examples. This eventually led to a dampening of demand for new boats.

However, today there are few boats where these issues have not been solved over time, while the active owners’ association publishes a comprehensive technical handbook that deals with problems owners may encounter, as well as advice and experience in updating the boats and their equipment.

The five-berth layout includes two quarter berths, a fold-out chart table, an excellent linear galley to port and an L-shape settee and saloon table to starboard.

Forward of this is a small heads compartment to starboard and hanging locker to port, while the generous beam means the forecabin berth is wider than many.

Both fin and bilge keel options were offered, with the former having a definite performance advantage, especially upwind.

A number of owners, including PBO contributor Ken Endean, have had their boats for several decades and cruised extensively with them.

Sabre 27 specifications:
LOA: 8.24m/27ft 1in
LWL: 6.75m/22ft 2in
Beam: 2.80m/9ft 0in
Draught: (fin keel) 1.42m/4ft 8in
Draught: (twin keels) 0.91m/3in 0in
Displacement: 3,084kg/6,800lb
Ballast: 1,400kg/3,090lb
Owners’ association: sabre27.org.uk

Macwester 26 and 27

These CSJ (Jim) Roy designs have their roots back in 1964 when the first Macwester 26 was launched.

It proved a hit at the 1965 London boat show, where visitors were impressed by the accommodation provided by the wide beam.

However, the shallow bilge keels proved inefficient and the boat gained a reputation for having a lot of weather helm, which is exacerbated in examples with old and badly stretched sails.

These issues were solved with the introduction of the Macwester 27 in 1972, with tank testing used to determine a much more efficient underwater profile.

This led to significantly deeper bilge keels, with draught increasing from 0.75m to 1.2m – a 60% difference.

The keels were also set at more efficient angles and splayed at an angle of around 10° from the vertical, while the deeper draught also allowed for a more efficient rudder.

Combined, these changes transformed speed and handling. Although other elements of the hull shape of the two boats remain the same, the original moulds of the 26 were destroyed after some 400 boats were built and new ones were produced for the 27.

I found sailing a Mark 2 Macwester 27 from 1977 upwind in gusts of up to 25 knots to be a pleasantly surprising experience.

Granted, the boat had hank-on headsails that set far better than a deep reefed roller genoa, but these were far from new and the Macwester still outshone most other yachts of its length, including some fin-keelers.

The 27 also benefited from a new interior that helped create a much more desirable yacht.

Significantly, the forecabin has standing space aft of the double berth, with hanging lockers on each side, making this one of the earliest designs to offer this.

On the downside, however, the heads, which is offset to starboard, is rather small.

These models are among the 1,200 yachts in the 15ft-36ft range the Macwester yard built in Shoreham and later Littlehampton between 1965 and Roy’s retirement in the late 1970s. Atlanta then took over the yard.

Macwester 27 specifications:
LOA: 8.22m/26ft 9in
LWL: 7m/23ft
Beam: 2.79m/ 9ft 1in
Draught: 1.2m/3ft 11in
Displacement: 3,350kg/7,385lb
Ballast: 1,120kg/2,469lb
Owners’ association: macwester.org.uk

Jaguar/Catalina 27

Westerly wasn’t the only British yard to incorporate American design influences at this time.

Jaguar Yachts in Essex went a whole stage further and licensed a model from the US for its 1971 Jaguar 27, as it had a few years earlier for the Jaguar 22.

The Catalina 27 was designed by Frank Butler and Bob Finch who wanted to create a 27-footer with civilised accommodation incorporating standing headroom and a spacious saloon, as well as a separate heads and forecabin, that would still sail well.

The boat was an instant success, with more than 7,000 built, though it’s not known how many of those originated in the UK.

With its slightly longer overall length and wider beam, the Jaguar 27 proved a formidable alternative to the Westerly Centaur, even though it was initially only offered with a fin keel.

Despite the spacious accommodation it also proved to be a boat with good handling characteristics that could achieve respectable speeds by the standards of the 1970s and, if properly set up, take heavy weather in its stride.

Twin keels arrived in the mid-1970s and have a deeper draught (1.1m / 3ft 8in) than most boats of this size, which confers better sailing abilities, especially to windward.

An unusual feature is the very wide main hatch, which makes the boat one of the best of its era for use in hot climates, as the arrangement helps promote both natural light and ventilation.

At the same time, unlike most boats of its era, the 8ft-long cockpit has comfortable coamings.

Many Catalinas have found their way to the southern USA, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, while on this side of the Atlantic there’s a good number of Jaguar 27s in the Mediterranean.

Many of those are former Sailing Holidays flotilla boats; the company ran a fleet of up to 80 Jaguar 27s for three decades, repeatedly refitting the heavily-used boats and proving just how solid the basic structure is.

Early boats had a dinette in the saloon that converted to a narrow double berth, plus a quarter berth to starboard and a linear galley opposite the dinette.

Later Mark 2 versions have an L-shape galley next to the main hatch, plus more conventional settee berths in the saloon and a central table. These boats also gain additional headroom under the main hatch, where 6ft 3in (1.9m) is available.

Jaguar/Catalina 27 specifications:
LOA: 8.2m/26ft 10in
LWL: 6.6m/21ft 9in
Beam: 2.7m/ 8ft 10in
Draught: (twin keel) 1.1m/3ft 8in
Draught: (fin) 1.3m/4ft 4in
Displacement: 3,100kg/6,850lb
Ballast: 3,107kg/6,850lb
Owners’ association: catalina.sailboatowners.com

Kingfisher 26

This 1967 design is a more staid bilge keeler, with a much narrower beam and a shorter waterline than the Westerly Centaur, which impacted interior space and performance.

The first few boats were fitted with an outboard motor in a well, but by 1968 inboard motors were standard.

The interior accommodation is much more basic than that of the Centaur, with a small galley and nav station next to the companionway, two saloon settees and a heads area spanning the boat between the saloon and forecabin.

Nevertheless, if one is available at a good price with decent sails, engine, upholstery and rigging the Kingfisher 26 could make an excellent low-cost option for anyone who doesn’t need the extra accommodation of the Centaur.

A number of Kingfisher 26s built from 1976 to 1978 were fitted with junk rigs and were aimed at those planning longer-distance cruising, even though the sail plan made for slower progress than the standard sloop rig.

Kingfisher 26 specifications:
LOA: 7.92m/26ft 0in
LWL: 6.40m/21ft 0in
Beam: 2.28m/7ft 6in
Draught: 1.0m/3ft 3in
Displacement: 2,721kg/6,000lb
Ballast: 953kg/2,100lb
Owners’ association: www.kyoa.org.uk

Snapdragon 27

This model was launched in the early 1970s as the second largest of Thames Marine’s extensive range of comfortable 20-29ft cruisers built on Canvey Island.

The Snapdragon is a slightly larger boat overall than the Westerly Centaur, with more waterline length and the same beam, but a wider and longer coachroof, at the expense of narrow side decks and limited foredeck space.

Unusually for a boat of this size and era, the heads compartment is offset to port, leaving space for a hanging locker to starboard of the short passageway to the forecabin.

The saloon layout has a dinette to port opposite a decent galley and settee/quarter berth to starboard.

There’s also a large cockpit, though the bilge keels are less efficient than those of the Centaur, which limits upwind performance.

Still, the two boats are very similar on other points of sail, with the Snapdragon potentially having a small advantage thanks to the longer waterline.

Snapdragon 27 specifications:
LOA: 8.28m/27ft 2in
LWL: 6.93m/22ft 9in
Beam: 2.59m/8ft 6in
Draught: 0.88m/2ft 11in
Displacement: 2,800kg/6,200lb
Ballast: 998kg/2,200lb
Owners’ association: snapdragonmirage.org.uk

Jeanneau Sangria

Henri Jeanneau, primarily a builder of small motor boats, added his firm’s first sailing yacht to the range in 1964, but it was not until 1970 and the launch of the Phillipe Harlé-designed 25ft Sangria that Jeanneau first hit the sailing mainstream in a big way.

Over 12 years of production this boat outsold the Centaur, with 3,000 built according to Jeanneau. However, the firm had very limited representation in the UK at the time so few were imported.

Just five years earlier Harlé had designed the legendary 21ft Muscadet that was one of the most capable offshore yachts of its size and did much to cement the reputation of the Glenans sea school in Brittany.

The Sangria, which was only available in fin keel format, with a hefty bulb that markedly lowers the centre of gravity, was similarly a capable boat with notably good sailing performance.

Despite the Sangria’s maximum beam being marginally greater than the Centaur, its interior is much smaller.

The saloon has only two settees and a rudimentary galley next to the companionway, while the short coachroof means the forecabin and heads lack headroom.

Following the success of the Sangria, a collaboration between Harlé and Jean-Marie Finot produced the 30ft Folie Douce in 1970.

This kept to a similar concept, but with significantly more volume and a much more sophisticated interior.

In the mid-1970s this model was re-branded as the Brin de Folie, with the coachroof extended forward of the mast to improve headroom forward.

Jeanneau Sangria specifications:
LOA: 8.0m/26ft 3in
LWL: 5.8m/19ft 0in
Beam: 2.7m/8ft 10in
Draught: 1.5m/4ft 11in
Displacement: 1,600kg/3,500lb
Ballast: 790kg/1,741lb
Owners’ association:: jeanneau-owners.com

Other alternatives

France was by no means the only European country to produce a cruising yacht that outsold the Westerly Centaur.

The long keel 27ft Albin Vega from Sweden was the most commercially successful of all, with almost 3,500 boats built between 1965 and 1979.

Designer Per Bröhall took much inspiration from the older 25ft Folkboat design, but added more beam, freeboard and a notably longer waterline, resulting in a boat with significantly more internal volume.

Bröhall and his wife spent months living on board the prototype to optimise the interior and stowage.

Therefore, although it’s a lot smaller internally than the Westerly Centaur, the boat is well laid out and benefits from generous berth lengths, even if maximum headroom is only 5ft 9in (1.75m) and narrower beam limits volume in the saloon.

One drawback is handling under power and even among long-keel yachts, the Vega has a reputation for being difficult due to the location of the propeller behind the rudder which makes for difficult manoeuvring, whether ahead or astern.

Nevertheless, Albin Vegas are well-proven sea boats, with notable voyages including Matt Rutherford’s 309-day, 27,000-mile circumnavigation of the Americas, via the Northwest Passage and Cape Horn in 2011/12.

The Trapper 500 and 501 are slightly larger designs that can sell within a similar price range to the Centaur, especially the older fin keel 500.

Although the design originated in Canada, Anstey Yachts (and later Trapper Yachts) in the UK built hundreds of examples between 1970 and the late 1980s.

A wide beam and more freeboard than many boats of the 1970s provided a large amount of accommodation.

The saloon has the dinette to port and settee berth opposite, giving space for seven people to sit comfortably around the table, though the galley is small.

This is a decent boat to sail; it’s responsive, well-balanced and faster than many other pure cruising boats of this era.

In 1981 it was renamed the Trapper 501, with a higher standard of fit-out and the addition of a popular bilge keel option.

Other options include the Mirage 27 and Leisure 27, as well as the more modern and sportier Trapper 300.

The Sadler 25 was also a contemporary of the Centaur and has excellent sailing qualities, but offers far less accommodation volume, even though the maximum beam is slightly greater.

The larger Cobra 850, which was introduced in 1976, also sold well, with the high freeboard and even wider beam of 2.9m (9ft 6in) giving more accommodation volume.

It was available in both fin- and twin-keel versions, though neither were sparkling performers.

The Seawolf 26 is a sportier option, with a similarly wide beam that’s carried further aft and a deeper fin keel, or bilge keels with a 0.9m draught, though relatively small numbers were built.