Lets start with Sailstar. Sailstar was a company in Rhode Island that built sailboats from the early 60's to the late 70's. In the mid 60's Sailstar was purchased by the Pearson brothers, of Pearson Yachts fame (who made the first successful fiberglass cruising sailboat). After the purchase, Sailstar started building progressively larger boats which were soon sold under the name Bristol Yachts. Bristol Yachts became famous for large, fancy cruising sailboats and the Sailstar name was dropped, along with the line of smaller boats.
The Conquest 19 is considered to be the centerboard version of the Carl Alberg designed Bristol Corinthian 19. Below the waterline, they are very different boats, however. The wineglass shape and deep keel of the Corinthian have given way to rounded bilges and a keel/centerboard. Above the waterline, they are very similar. I guess if you like the classic styling of the Corinthian (or the Alberg designed Cape Dory Typhoon), you'll like the Conquest.
Selling my boat.....
Why am I selling my boat?
Why does anyone sell a perfectly good boat? If I had the money (and the storage space, and a different wife) I'd keep all the boats and bicycles (and race cars) that I have ever owned. But reality gives us finite resources and very finite places to put things, so we sell things. The fact is, this is a great boat, but it's not a great boat for me.
Unfortunately, she doesn't fit the water around here real well as we either have small inland lakes (where I live they are just a few hundred acres) or the Great Lakes (about an hour away, but maybe a bit too much for my sailing skill). I've sailed her many times on Lake Norman in North Carolina (17,000 acres) and she's happily at home there, and most likely would be on other reservoirs in the south. She would also probably do well on Lake St. Clair, Tampa Bay or other protected waters.
As for me, I need to get either a bigger boat that would be better for weekends with the kids or a smaller boat that is more appropriate to our smaller local lakes. Either way, I need to sell this one to get another one!
Unfortunately, she doesn't fit the water around here real well as we either have small inland lakes (where I live they are just a few hundred acres) or the Great Lakes (about an hour away, but maybe a bit too much for my sailing skill). I've sailed her many times on Lake Norman in North Carolina (17,000 acres) and she's happily at home there, and most likely would be on other reservoirs in the south. She would also probably do well on Lake St. Clair, Tampa Bay or other protected waters. As for me, I need to get either a bigger boat that would be better for weekends with the kids or a smaller boat that is more appropriate to our smaller local lakes. Either way, I need to sell this one to get another one!
What is wrong with the boat?
Here is what needs to be done for the boat to be completely restored (and nearly perfect):
It needs bottom paint. There are a few light scrapes and rough spots, but no bubbling or blisters. The old bottom paint is some form of ablative (chalky) bottom paint that is very thick, but rubs off easily (if you touch the bottom your hand looks like you were holding blue chalk). I've heard you can remove it with a pressure washer. There are no major repairs needed to the bottom, but you'll probably find some spots you want to smooth out if you are picky. If found that I actually enjoy working with epoxy, so I'd probably do that and then put a hard shell bottom paint on it if I was going to keep it on a trailer. At least that was my plan.
The top paint is 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of Rustoleum Topside paint (which is their real marine paint. It is not as good as a 2-part, but is rated at least as well as Petit or other 1-part topsides). It currently looks great and everyone comments on it. The first person that saw it painted asked if it was a new boat.
The reason I had to paint the topside was due to some damage I got while docked during a big storm in North Carolina (50+mph winds). The rubrail got knocked off and took a bit of the hull and deck with it (no more than an inch, so only a small bit). The guy at my boat shop said I could repair it with epoxy putty, but I elected to redo the entire side. I took it down to bare 'glass about 4-8" in each direction and rebuilt the entire side. It took an entire month working 2-8 hours a day, but it was worth it. Aside from the rubrail, it looks better than it did before (and at the same time I was able to fix a couple of soft spots and other problems). I also added a hatch and inspection port to the rear deck, so I got a lot done out of that problem. The only issue resulting from the repair is a bit of waviness in the rubrail (I reused the old one, I couldn't afford a new one) and a bit of deck (outside of the genoa track) that doesn't match the original (both bits are hard to photograph. The difference is pretty minor). To make the boat pristine, you would need to replace about 15' of rubrail, but I can assure you that the bit underneath is very well done (I glassed the deck and the hull together, it is very strong).
It needs bottom paint. There are a few light scrapes and rough spots, but no bubbling or blisters. The old bottom paint is some form of ablative (chalky) bottom paint that is very thick, but rubs off easily (if you touch the bottom your hand looks like you were holding blue chalk). I've heard you can remove it with a pressure washer. There are no major repairs needed to the bottom, but you'll probably find some spots you want to smooth out if you are picky. If found that I actually enjoy working with epoxy, so I'd probably do that and then put a hard shell bottom paint on it if I was going to keep it on a trailer. At least that was my plan.
The top paint is 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of Rustoleum Topside paint (which is their real marine paint. It is not as good as a 2-part, but is rated at least as well as Petit or other 1-part topsides). It currently looks great and everyone comments on it. The first person that saw it painted asked if it was a new boat.
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| Click on the picture to see the waviness in the rubrail. |
Are there any soft spots or deck damage that need to be fixed?
No! I replaced all the soft wood I could find (there were 2) with epoxy coated plywood. No I didn't use marine plywood, but I did properly mount all hardware by drilling oversize holes and filling them with epoxy before mounting deck hardware (so the mounting holes are drilled through epoxy, not plywood). I recommend you do the same.
There is some soft non-structural wood under the forward cockpit seats. I honestly don't even know why the wood is there, as it is open to the bilge and doesn't seem to support anything. If I were to keep the boat, I would probably add a bit of epoxy coated wood here to keep the bilge away from the storage areas, but its not strictly necessary. The deck, cabin and cockpit are all firm and the wood in the cabin is dry.
The cabin bulkhead is fiberglass, and is in good condition. It appears that the cabin roof (deck) was replaced at some point, though that was at least prior to the previous owner (so no sooner than 15 years ago). It is very strong and exhibits no flex at all, though they could have done a better job cosmetically. In fact, the entire boat exhibits an "overbuilt but rough" condition underneath. This is what you see in the anchor locker -- they just taped (or tabbed) the bottom few inches of the locker as waterproofing with no regard to cosmetics so it pulled away from the wood a bit (it's not structural at all). I suspect it was that way from the factory.
The cockpit seats are fiberglass. They are in great condition and are reasonably comfortable. My dad (age 67) and my grandma (80) have both spent multiple hours in the cockpit.
There is some soft non-structural wood under the forward cockpit seats. I honestly don't even know why the wood is there, as it is open to the bilge and doesn't seem to support anything. If I were to keep the boat, I would probably add a bit of epoxy coated wood here to keep the bilge away from the storage areas, but its not strictly necessary. The deck, cabin and cockpit are all firm and the wood in the cabin is dry.
The cabin bulkhead is fiberglass, and is in good condition. It appears that the cabin roof (deck) was replaced at some point, though that was at least prior to the previous owner (so no sooner than 15 years ago). It is very strong and exhibits no flex at all, though they could have done a better job cosmetically. In fact, the entire boat exhibits an "overbuilt but rough" condition underneath. This is what you see in the anchor locker -- they just taped (or tabbed) the bottom few inches of the locker as waterproofing with no regard to cosmetics so it pulled away from the wood a bit (it's not structural at all). I suspect it was that way from the factory.
The cockpit seats are fiberglass. They are in great condition and are reasonably comfortable. My dad (age 67) and my grandma (80) have both spent multiple hours in the cockpit.
How does it sail???
The short answer is, she sails great, I think. See, I don't really know because I've never sailed any other boats in this size range. In fact, this is the only ballasted boat I have ever sailed, so I don't have a good reference at all (I sailed sunfish and a JY14 just a few times before this). My impression is this: it is stiff up to 10-12 knots of wind. At a certain point (around 12 knots apparent), it heels more than you would expect (I don't know how many degrees, but the lee rail is about 4-6" above water line), I suspect due to the rounded hull shape. After that, it is stiff again and frankly it is difficult to get it to go past that point.
Here's how I feel about the heeling: it heels a bit more than I would expect given its size and weight (the 189 square feet of sail probably has a bit to do with that). Once it heels a bit though, it settles into a very stable and stiff platform. It doesn’t seem to want to go over any more after that. It is also nice that it has such high cockpit coamings, as even with the lee rail in the water you're no where near putting water in the cockpit.
I've had it in about 20-25 knots of wind under full main and jib and I was fairly comfortable with it (though my kids were a bit scared) and the lee rail was just about at the water line. It probably could use a reef in the main before then (there is one reef point), but you can do without it if you have to. She seems to balance better with the genoa and main, by the way, and the jib probably matches the reefed main above say 15-18 knots.
I also can't comment very well on how fast she is. I can say that she is almost certainly faster than the Bristol Corinthian which is considered her sister ship (the Conquest has a 17.5' waterline vs the Corinthian 14.5'). Also, the Conquest hull is much flatter in the aft end with rounded bilges as opposed to the wineglass shaped Corinthian. (If you are wondering why these two boats are considered sisters when they are so different, keep wondering. It must simply be the fact that they are the same length and made by the same manufacturer).
With 189 sq feet of sail up (main and jib), I would say she is about as fast as an Oday 20 or Balboa 20 which have nearly identical sail area, displacement and waterline lengths. She is very good in light air. I once had her on a broad reach in light airs (maybe 3-5 knots of wind) and we paced a Catalina 22 for over an hour, so that may be a fair reference as well. The Catalina was flying a big genoa and I was just on main and jib.
Here's how I feel about the heeling: it heels a bit more than I would expect given its size and weight (the 189 square feet of sail probably has a bit to do with that). Once it heels a bit though, it settles into a very stable and stiff platform. It doesn’t seem to want to go over any more after that. It is also nice that it has such high cockpit coamings, as even with the lee rail in the water you're no where near putting water in the cockpit.
I've had it in about 20-25 knots of wind under full main and jib and I was fairly comfortable with it (though my kids were a bit scared) and the lee rail was just about at the water line. It probably could use a reef in the main before then (there is one reef point), but you can do without it if you have to. She seems to balance better with the genoa and main, by the way, and the jib probably matches the reefed main above say 15-18 knots.
I also can't comment very well on how fast she is. I can say that she is almost certainly faster than the Bristol Corinthian which is considered her sister ship (the Conquest has a 17.5' waterline vs the Corinthian 14.5'). Also, the Conquest hull is much flatter in the aft end with rounded bilges as opposed to the wineglass shaped Corinthian. (If you are wondering why these two boats are considered sisters when they are so different, keep wondering. It must simply be the fact that they are the same length and made by the same manufacturer).
With 189 sq feet of sail up (main and jib), I would say she is about as fast as an Oday 20 or Balboa 20 which have nearly identical sail area, displacement and waterline lengths. She is very good in light air. I once had her on a broad reach in light airs (maybe 3-5 knots of wind) and we paced a Catalina 22 for over an hour, so that may be a fair reference as well. The Catalina was flying a big genoa and I was just on main and jib.
Does she sail close to the wind?
I always have a hard time with this question, partly because of my limited experience with other boats. In my opinion, she is average (at worst) in sailing close to the wind. With a total draft of 3'11" (centerboard down), she isn't a race boat, but she should be able to hold her own against most other similar designs.
Does she tack through 90 degrees?
Yeah, I think so. If its not 90 degrees, its pretty close. Like I said, this isn't a race boat, so don't even dream of 80 degree tacks. On the other hand, I know that I don't have to bear off much to get the boat speed up quite a bit. Frankly, my gps tracks look like they are 90 degree tacks, and thats about as much as I can say about how close-winded she is. I hope that's good enough for you. If not, buy a Melges or a J-boat.
Does she tack through 90 degrees?
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| Close-hauled. Click the picture and look at the tell-tale. |
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