"SDO" <***@lineone.net> wrote in message news:***@posting.google.com...
: Hi, we are thinking about purchasing a Snapdragon 890 and wondered
: what sort of reputation they have within the sailing community. We are
: both day skipper qualified and are buying on the basis of doing some
: weekend sailing in UK waters and eventually taking it over to Spain.
: Any constructive comments appreciated.
Dunno about the 890 but the old sanpdragon 26' built by Thames marine (I
think) were built like brick outhouse being of very heavy layup. The mast
and rigging were also oversized. I believe most if not all were were BK.
Like most BK the bilge was too shallow and a little water caused havoc if
the the engine was run the coupling throwing it all over the place. The
design priority tended toward accomodation rather than performance.
They were reasonable downwind though. I crewed on the 26' for a couple of
seasons and it got through a few F7 channel crossings without worry apart
from the green (inexperienced) crew. The engine common on the 26 was a
"Dolphin" 2 stroke (12hp?) fitted with a 12v/24v dynostart. Reverse was
achieved by stopping and starting the engine backwards. Althought the
engine was quiet and powerful when running it was too temperemental to be
recommended. And the stop start reverse was scary approching a berth at
speed!