express 26 sailboat data

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Bombay Express 26 VS S2 7.9

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We are looking at a few boats in the 26 to 28 range. We would appreciate any input on the Bombay Express 26 and S2 7.9. Thank you for all input.  

It would be difficult to find two more different boats in the same length as those two. The S2 is a performance hull/racer/cruiser whereas the Bombay has shoal draft, full keel, barndoor rudder with almost catboat rig proportions despite the headsail/sloop configuration. The S2's lift keel with give you the same shallow draft access as the Bombay, and possibly both are trailerable. I suspect the S2 will sail circles around the Bombay but if in good shape the Bombay will probably get you more comments from passersby. I think you need to decide what kind of sailing you really want to do, what kind of boat truly appeals. To be zeroed in on these two indicates to me that you don't know yet...  

I'll just second Faster's notion that you are still in the beginning stages of a search. Both might be nice choices, but very different boats. Unless you are in a geographical location with a very limited selection of sailing yachts for sale, consider more research and ask more questions here (or there).  

I can only answer the S2 7.9 questions a bit... and I've only owned mine for a year but here goes. The Bombay Express 26 (which is obviously a more traditional layout full keel/centerboard boat). Bombay Express 26 BOMBAY EXPRESS 26 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com I'm going to stop there and say, other than both boats mentioned have the ability of shallow draft, and easy trailer launching, I think the similarities end there (I guess they both have tillers and have sails might also qualify, but that's stretching, you could also say they both float). The Bombay Express seems more pointed towards heavy cruising ruggedness, and less emphasis on fast. The S2 was a racing boat by design, especially for the MORC racing of the early 1980s. Lemme see if I can get give a brief summary of my S2 7.9, and there are several other owners on this site, I hope they chime in too.. The S2 is quick as a J/24, so it's really a racing boat (older, non-planing, symmetrical type of racing boat, but it's not really a cruiser for sure). The boat is easily trailered, in that it has a lifting weighted (600lbs) daggerboard (straight up lift, using 4:1 tackle and coach roof winch). The fractional rig is super simple, single upper, single lower, forestay and adjustable backstay. There are basically 2 different masts, old and new, so 2 different rig tuning guides... but basically the S2 mast is a telephone pole and doesn't really "bend" much. Mast is deck stepped (making trailering easy)... Most report that using the spinnaker pole to the spin ring, with a halyard through the end, you can winch up the mast... I use an A-frame (to me its safer for one person) boat draws about 18" of water keel up and rudder kicked up Boat draws 5' keel down The rudder is massive, 75lbs of glass, transom hung, and provides a pretty light steering arm due to its size. The boat is a BEAST to weather. With a well cut roachy main, and a 107% standard number 3, you'll outpoint most boats, with similar draft, and many with longer waterline. For a 26 foot boat, it has a rather large boom, at 12.5 feet. Care should be taken to properly size your traveler line, and blocks... most prefer a cascaded mainsheet, and 3:1 traveler.. boat came standard with 2:1 traveler, and 5:1 mainsheet. I'm weird in that we sail a mostly light air lake, I'm at 2:1 traveler, and 4:1 mainsheet. There are turning blocks for the boat standard behind the primaries, to provide a more unobstructed path for the genoa sheets, but most don't use them, some have removed them. The toe rail is alum, and spin sheets are run back to snatch blocks on the toe rail then back to the primaries. Boat does OK downhill, but prefers you to sail as deep a possible... it'll feel real slow, but for a DDW to bottom mark it may very well get there first over hotter boats with assyms. This usually surprises the Melges 24 owners. As it heats up, DDW can be real fun with centerboard up, no worries about turtling, the S2 has about 1000lbs of ballast in the hull bottom beyond the weight of the centerboard. The S2 7.9 comes in basically 2 models... Fixed keel Masthead model (rare they made like 50), and lifting keel fractional model (they made like 500)... within that they made inboard and outboard models. For racing many prefer the outboard model... the inboard model has less ballast, because of the weight of the motor. Many outboard models were actually inboard models converted to outboard, and some haven't compensated for the 200 or so pounds of ballast difference between them. Easy to see those boats, if you see an outboard model, floating about 2 inches higher than the waterline, it was probably an inboard converted to outboard. The boat is quick to speed, easily sailing 4 knots in 8 knots apparent with a full main and 155 number 1 (class states only a number 1 and number 3 carried, so 155, and 107%). It starts to heel quickly, with a fairly roundish bottom. But the ballast stiffens up the boat quickly once you hit say 20 degrees. The boat will take a beating and keep sailing, and can take large amounts of wind (we have pictures of a club mate sailing his S2 7.9 in 45 knots sustained with a double reef and a storm jib). You lose bite from the rudder between 35 and 40 degrees of heel, and you would be dragging and slowing pretty handily at that anyway... 20-25 degree of heel is ideal for making headway to weather, flatter can be faster too depending on sea state. The boat is heavy (my opinion) at 4500lbs disp. Sailboatdata shows the boats at roughly 4100, but actual class weighed boats are typically between 4400 and 4900. My own boat is roughly 4700 (yep that includes my 60lb outboard). The cockpit is tight, just enough room for about 2 people other than the skipper, 3 is OK, if they are cozy, 4 if they are SUPER cozy (class rules state 4 sailors min, 5 is typical for racing). Skipper gets their own space behind the traveler. The tiller arm is long and requires lifting for the skipper to switch sides on a tack. Many have shortened the tiller by 4-6 inches to make enough room to prevent that, and haven't reported my loss in control. it takes about 30 revolutions of the winch handle on the keel winch to bring the keel up, its the only self tailing winch on the boat, all are 2 speed winches. Below, I'll go over briefly... because it's a smaller boat it doesn't have much below. It has about 5'6" standing headroom (highest spot)... and is generally 5' for most of the usable cabin. Huge V-berth, probably 6.5' wide with full sitting headroom. 2 quarter berths that are at least 6.5' long. The boat has an enclosed head (centerboard trunk pretty much demands it)... does not have a door on the head, but a curtain. Some boats have full marine heads with storage, some have porta-potties, obviously the porta-potty option is the simpler option for most, and some were retrofitted to that for just that reason. Boat has a modest single battery config, some upgraded to 2 batteries, simple 9 switch panel, and just an ice box. The boat also has a manual pump 5 gallon water tank to the sink next to the ice box. Hope that describes the S2 a bit.  

Tell us where you plan to sail, where you want to keep the boat, what kind of sailing you want to do (day sailing only, weekend overnight, short cruise), and you will get a lot more relevant answers and better advice on what boat might work well for you. There are a lot of very reasonably priced good boats out there, so you don't have to settle for a second best choice. I like BE 26. It is a well made boat that can be a lot of fun sailing and spending time in remote, quiet anchorages.  

As trailer sailors (which is the only reason I can think of you might have latched on to these two boats)... many people fixate on the "trailerability" part. Even my light (by my S2 standards) Capri 22 was a huge hassle to trailer sail in a day. To be honest, I would NOT want to trailer something this big OFTEN. Which is why for me, this is a 2 times a year trailering experience... and that is it. 6000+lbs of boat and trailer are not my idea of a cup of tea to drag down the road, much less the fact that the boat is 9'4" wide, technically over the limit width wise (by a foot) without a permit. That being said, dragging it somewhere for a long weekend wouldn't be out of the realm. So don't think you are showing up at the waters edge with either of these, raising mast, sailing for 2-3 hours and going home after. While in a desperate pinch I've done it - trailer sailed a day sail - I arrived at the ramp at 8am, launched by 10am, and sailed until 5pm, and was home by 8pm. That's a long day, longer and way more complicated when you have trailer failures thrown in between to make things "interesting." Those things are par for the course, and one of those gotchas that all boaters know... the difference is ours is double complicated by adding trailer issues on top of boat/gear/rigging issues. Sometimes tow vehicle issues on top of that as well. Just some "food for thought." If your purpose is to try to day sail one of these large "trailerables." Oh and other well trailerable common boats in that size? Seaward 26rk, Oday 26, Catalina 25, Oday 25, Hunter 25.5, Beneteau First 26 swing keel if you can find one... and a plethora more especially slightly smaller at 22-23 feet.  

Wow...I appreciate the input and candid replies. Thank you all. I suppose I should have begun the post with a bit of background. My wife and I are novices to sailing. We enjoy going out for daily cruises and some overnights. We own and sail a Pearson P30 which is docked on a deep water canal behind our house. The problem we have is the water gets real thin at the mouth of the canal and we can't get the boat out most of the time. We are tired of waiting on the HOA to dredge the canal and have put our P30 up for sale. We have had a few trade offers; this is where the post should have started. Thank to you all for any input and advice. d  

That is good info and puts your query in a better perspective. I'd guess your P30 will be midway between your two candidates performance wise, and both, of course, will offer fewer amenities below for weekending and beyond. If you're after a good spritely daysailer with as good or better performance than what you're used to, then the S2 is probably the better choice. If owning and sailing what is something of a 'character boat' appeals despite what is likely going to be less stellar performance and maneuverability the I can see the appeal of the Bombay - always accepting that the condition of the two boats is otherwise similar...  

I'd argue that the rudder on the S2 makes it a PITA to truly go shallow. I've seen great systems for pulling up the kick-up rudder, but not real great ones for pushing it back down. SHNOOL who for the helluva it this summer anchored in 2 feet of water, just to prove I could!  

I wonder if anyone's ever made a cassette rudder for an S2? Probably makes more sense than a kick-up style.  

Faster, you'd have at least 200 or so people interested if you could find one. My machinist buddy with his own business, is also an S2 owner, wonder if he can fabricate something.  

We looked at an Albin Vega last week. The boat was solid but in need of lots of TLC. Priced right. Any input on the Albin Vega is appreciated.  

I would avoid all boats that need a lot of TLC. It is a buyer market and lots of good boats out there which are ready to sail. Vega is a great little boat but if a boat is neglected it will have all kinds of expensive problems to resolve.  

The Albin is a pretty popular boat... built like a tank. That's as much as I know about them. More room below than the others.  

Have to agree with the above. While the Albin is a great, solid well regarded boat. starting out with something 'needing lots of TLC' seems unnecessary in today's used boat market.  

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Review of Express 26

Basic specs..

The Express 26 is equipped with a finn keel. The finn keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.45 - 1.55 meter (4.76 - 5.06 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Express 26 is 2.07, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Express 26 is about 110 kg/cm, alternatively 617 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 110 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 617 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 19m 2 (204 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Express 26 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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• Sailboat Guide

Island Packet 26 MKI

Island Packet 26 MKI is a 29 ′ 11 ″ / 9.1 m monohull sailboat designed by Walter Scott and Robert K. Johnson and built by Island Packet Yachts between 1980 and 1982.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Originally called simply ISLAND PACKET and built by Traditional Watercraft, a company founded by Bob Johnson. Johnson had purchased the original tooling for the BOMBAY EXPRESS 26. A significantly modified version, the ISLAND PACKET MKII, (later ISLAND PACKET 26 MKII) was introduced in 1982 when Bob Johnson and partners formed Island Packet Yachts.

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