Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, Gibert Marine was a big name in French boatbuilding: a big name producing a big number of boats, some of which were – well, pretty big.

The Gib’Sea range ran all the way from the 6m (20ft) Pico and Pico Plus up to the 16m (52ft) 522.

In between were several dozen others over the years, mostly mainstream family cruisers that competed directly with the mass-market offerings from Beneteau, Jeanneau and Dufour (until Dufour bought Gibert in 1996).

Apart from the sporty Plus range, Gib’Seas are known for being undramatic, roomy and reasonably robust. Many also came with the option of a centreplate.

Among the more popular models sold in the UK were the 76, 77, 84, 282, 105 and the Rob Humphreys-designed 312.

Another was the Gib’Sea 242, a voluminous little ship that, because of her trailable dimensions, often came in centreplate form and with an outboard motor operating via a well in the cockpit.

The Gib’Sea 242 is an obvious competitor for Beneteau’s First 235 and the Tonic 23 from Jeanneau, both of which were available with centreplates.

Slightly larger, home-grown alternatives include lift-keelers such as the Hunter Delta 25, Evolution 26 and Super Seal, and it was among these that Ron Salinger started his search for something bigger after selling his 5.8m (19ft) Prelude.

Ron wanted something more comfortable for coastal cruising that he could still keep on his mooring in Christchurch.

Anything that wouldn’t float in less than 0.50m (1ft 8in) of water was out of the question, but looking at a few possibilities made him realise that using a hydraulic pump to lift a wet and often smelly lump of cast iron into the cabin wasn’t what he wanted.

That eliminated the Evolution for starters, so he carried on looking.

Then he stumbled across the advertisement for the Gib’Sea 242. He knew nothing about the boat, but it seemed to fit the bill.

The right size and the right price, this one crucially was a centreboarder, with an external grounding plate providing the bulk of the ballast and an iron plate that swung up into an enclosed case.

An arrangement like this can be simpler to use than the more heavily ballasted, fully retractable daggerboards of the Evolution and Hunter because the relatively light centreplate is lifted with a line led aft over the coachroof to a winch.

Drawbacks include marginally greater minimum draught (0.4m/1ft 4in) than with the flush-bottomed alternatives, a higher centre of gravity with the keel lowered than those with ballasted daggerboards (the Super Seal’s is unballasted), and reduced hydrodynamic efficiency because of the grounding plate and flat (unprofiled) centreplate.

Nonetheless, a test report highlighted no major drawbacks, so Ron was happy to take the sailing performance on trust and, happy with everything else he saw, became the owner of a Gib’Sea 242.

Space and pace on the Gib’Sea 242

Interior space is probably the Gib’Sea’s greatest asset. The builder’s desire to make her trailable limited the beam to 2.48m (8ft 1in), but the topsides are near vertical along much of her length and, combined with ample freeboard and a chunky coachroof, create a good deal of internal volume.

Whether this combination makes for a pretty boat is a matter of opinion. Equally subjective might be the completely open-plan layout: if you like lots of open space you’ll love it, whereas those who value privacy might feel less comfortable.

As for sailing performance, the Gib’Sea 242 doesn’t have a bad reputation – and there’s no reason why she should have.

Nothing about her lines, figures or ratios points towards any lack of ability, but when Ron tried to beat westwards from Christchurch for our planned photo shoot in Poole Bay, the 15 knots of wind was the winner. I headed east in my photo boat instead.

Photos in the can, we sailed on two subsequent occasions that gave me the opportunity to have a proper look at the boat and see what was needed to get her going.

After an initial outing in very light airs that revealed little, we had another go in 12-15 knots of breeze.

We started with full main and about four rolls in the headsail, later letting out a couple of rolls and tucking a slab in the main – a new one that Ron had bought to replace the original.

Exactly what we did with the sails will probably be the subject of a future article, but suffice it to say for now that a little tweaking made a big difference.

We eventually got her going upwind at between 4.3 and 4.7 knots and tacking through around 90°. She would point higher at the expense
of much of her speed: making progress with this boat means sailing full and bye.

As well as needing to be sailed fairly deep to maintain speed and minimise leeway by generating lift from the flat centreplate, this is a boat that has to be kept reasonably upright.

If she’s allowed to heel beyond about 20°, the vertically lifting rudder becomes heavy. The unprofiled wooden blade is unbalanced because the whole assembly – stock, tiller and all – slides up the transom.

Getting things just right is the key with this little Gib’Sea 242. She’s sensitive to being underpowered, when she slows right down and bounces around with the keel generating no meaningful lift.

On the other hand, too much power makes her heavy to helm, so it’s a relatively fine line.

As with any boat, good sails are essential for getting the best from her. Reducing the drag from the outboard would help, too.

The well doesn’t allow the engine to be tilted up to bring the leg clear of the water, so the combination of the turbulence from a hole in the bottom of the boat and the three blades of an outboard’s propeller results in a lot of sloshing and gurgling.

It really is sailing with the handbrake on. On some boats, such as the small Hunters for example, not only can the engine be tilted up, but the aperture can also be filled with a fairing plug to smooth the water-flow.

Theoretically, performance should be better on port tack because the outboard is on the port side. The problem is that by the time the
prop lifts out of the water, the helm is loading up and it’s time to shorten sail.

Given a small enough outboard, you could at least lift it out and stow it elsewhere. That would be hard work with Ron’s 4-stroke Yamaha
9.9hp, so it has to live in the well.

A simple solution for the performance-conscious would be to use a smaller engine: 5hp should be ample in most conditions, if not up to coping with the entrance to Christchurch Harbour against a spring tide on a blustery day.

If I had a Gib’Sea 242 I would be tempted to have a play with the outboard arrangement and also to change the rudder to a cassette type, whereby the blade slides up and down through the stock and the bottom can be angled forward for balance.

Then, without the distraction of having your shoulders wrenched from their sockets, helming would be more comfortable and you could see how the boat goes when powered up a little more.

Size matters

Ron was hoping the Gib’Sea 242 would be faster than the Prelude by virtue of her greater length. ‘That she’s not always any faster has made me realise how well the Prelude sailed,’ he says.

Nonetheless, the Gib’Sea’s extra length and weight can’t help but give her the advantage in some conditions, especially in a seaway, together with a more comfortable motion.

Compared with the Prelude’s, the larger cockpit is comfortable too.

There’s space for two to sit on the high side and the angled coamings make a secure perch for the helmsman.

A shallow, open-fronted locker to starboard houses the petrol tank for the outboard, while warps and fenders live in a full-depth locker to port.

On deck, it’s easy enough to move around, though the stanchions supporting the single guardwires are on the low side – around knee height for most people.

Inboard chainplates for the caps and lowers allow easy passage outboard of them along the side decks, which are edged by a slotted aluminium toerail.

In the bow are an anchor locker and a single bow-roller. A 2:1 purchase lifts the centreplate, with help from the coachroof winch unless you’re feeling strong.

Along with most of the other lines, it’s led back over the starboard side because the space aft to port is occupied by the opening hatch over the heads.

One anomaly here is the mounting of the clutches a long way forward of the winch – forward of the sprayhood, in fact, making life a little awkward.

Controls for the swept-spreader fractional rig are simple, but usefully include a full-width traveller across the bridgedeck and, essentially, a purchase on the split backstay.

Apart from replacing the mainsail, Ron’s major project since buying the boat has been to replace the bush around the centreplate’s pivot bolt.

It had completely worn away and led to a substantial job that involved jacking the boat up to drop the plate out.

Accommodation on the Gib’Sea 242

Down below is one big space: there are no bulkheads on the Gib’Sea 242 and the double berth in the stern is open to the rest of the accommodation.

For a boat with a hull just over 7m (23ft) long, it’s a remarkably roomy layout, incorporating a compact galley to port forward of the separate heads compartment.

Even a respectable chart table has been fitted in opposite the galley.

A drop-leaf table sits atop the centreplate case, to starboard of which a settee berth runs into the child-size double in the bow.

With the port settee being shorter because of the galley, most of the berths are on the starboard side, so a fully-occupied Gib’Sea 242 might adopt a substantial night-time list.

Not having any interior mouldings, the accommodation features a fair amount of timber. It’s simple but neatly finished on the whole and was wearing well.

The main sign of age was the drooping of the vinyl headliner in places. Vinyl also lines the hull sides.

At 1.6m (5ft 3in), headroom is generous for a shallow-hulled boat of this length.

Verdict on the Gib’Sea 242

The Gib’Sea 242 is potentially a very nice little boat.

A flat centreplate and an outboard dragging through the water inevitably do her no favours in performance terms, but all things considered, she doesn’t go badly.

Besides, simplicity, economy and practicality are important factors too. It’s a question of compromise.

It would be an interesting challenge to make a few mods and see what she’s really capable of. If you don’t feel the urge to do that, either enjoy her as she is or, if you have no need for shallow draught, buy a fin-keel version.

Either way, you’ll have a roomy, generally agreeable little cruiser