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1980 Aquarius 24 Pilot Cutter

Listed
Expired
$12,999 USD

Seller's Description

Aquarius 24 Pilot Cutter, 1980 sailboat for sale LOA 32 LOD 24 LWL 20 Beam 9 Draft 4 Disp. 8900 lbs. Ballast 2900 lbs. lead fully encapsulated Transom stern with outboard rudder and tiller steering

Hand laminated fiberglass Headroom 6’3 U.S. Coast Guard documented vessel

Walrus is in Alameda, Ca. , San Francisco’s East Bay, with a transferable slip . Slip fees are approximately $280. per month. Beautiful, heavily built, full keel pilot cutter, aft hung rudder, custom rigged as a Chinese Junk Sloop. IMHO Walrus may be one of the finest options for a solo sailor or couple out there. This boat is well equipped and more than capable of sailing anywhere her captain desires in safety, ease and comfort. Her design is based on Lynn and Larry Pardey’s Serrafyn as well as other Lyle Hess designs. Aquarius Pilot Cutters rarely come on the market. This one is being offered far below market value in the hopes that she goes to someone who can really appreciate her. Yamaha high thrust 9.9 outboard with electronic ignition and hydraulic mount: practically brand new, approximately 15 hours. Carburetor and fuel system just flushed and serviced. The motor looks and runs like brand new. Walrus came from the factory set up for an outboard. No diesel was ever installed, and there are no motor mounts or prop shaft. One could be installed if so desired. Ratcliff self steering wind vane with Stainless Steel trim tab. Installed , and working well. There is room for a portable potty or composting head in a purpose built spot under the forward double berth. Beautiful Tanbark, flat cut Chinese Junk sail w/ wood boom, yard and battens. Excellent condition Freestanding Aluminum mast, mast step and partners are extraordinarily well done. 35 lb. CQR anchor w/ chain and nylon rode. 3 x group 24 batteries w/ charger 10 Bronze Perko opening ports

Interior:

new galley cabinetry , folding navigation desk , saloon table cabinet drawers , brand new cushions. The deck has brand new tread master. The fresh water system needs to be hooked up. I have just purchased a whale foot bump , faucet and Plastimo 25 liter flexible tank that will go with the boat. Navigation lights: the stern and masthead light need to be wired up. The other nav lights work as they should. West Marine VHF radio Teak binocular box , with a nice pair of Olympus Binocs. Walrus is an extremely seaworthy , beautiful and unique vessel , that is built like a tank and can sail away TODAY. Asking price: $12,999. Feel free to ask any and all questions, and to set up an appointment to see her. I am available to show her at any time. Thanks for looking

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Specs

Designers
Frank Parish
Lyle C. Hess
Builder
Top Sail Yachts Inc. (USA)
Association
Aquarius Pilot Cutters Owners Group
# Built
33
Hull
Monohull
Keel
Long
Rudder
Transom hung
Construction
FG

Dimensions

Length Overall
29 11 / 9.1 m
Length On Deck
24 0 / 7.3 m
Waterline Length
20 0 / 6.1 m
Beam
8 11 / 2.7 m
Draft
4 0 / 1.2 m
Displacement
8,900 lb / 4,037 kg
Ballast
3,200 lb / 1,451 kg (Lead)

Rig and Sails

Type
Cutter
Reported Sail Area
410′² / 38.1 m²
Total Sail Area
?
Mainsail
Sail Area
?
P
?
E
?
Air Draft
37 0 / 11.3 m
Foresail
Sail Area
?
I
?
J
?
Forestay Length
?

Auxilary Power

Make
Volvo
Model
?
HP
18
Fuel Type
Diesel
Fuel Capacity
?
Engine Hours
?

Accomodations

Water Capacity
40 gal / 151 l
Holding Tank Capacity
?
Headroom
6 3 / 1.9 m
Cabins
?

Calculations

Hull Speed
5.4 kn
Classic: 5.99 kn

Hull Speed

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.

Formula

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

A more accurate formula devised by Dave Gerr in The Propeller Handbook replaces the Speed/Length ratio constant of 1.34 with a calculation based on the Displacement/Length ratio.

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

5.36 knots
Classic formula: 5.99 knots
Sail Area/Displacement
15.3
<16: under powered

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.

Formula

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.
15.28
<16: under powered
16-20: good performance
>20: high performance
Ballast/Displacement
35.9
<40: less stiff, less powerful

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.

Formula

Ballast / Displacement * 100

35.94
<40: less stiff, less powerful
>40: stiffer, more powerful
Displacement/Length
495.7
>350: ultraheavy

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.

Formula

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
495.68
<100: ultralight
100-200: light
200-300: moderate
300-400: heavy
>400: very heavy
Comfort Ratio
31.9
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat

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.

Formula

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam1.33)

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
  • LOA: Length overall in feet
  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
31.87
<20: lightweight racing boat
20-30: coastal cruiser
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat
40-50: heavy bluewater boat
>50: extremely heavy bluewater boat
Capsize Screening
1.7
<2.0: better suited for ocean passages

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.

Formula

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
1.74
<2: better suited for ocean passages
>2: better suited for coastal cruising

Notes

The Aquarius Pilot Cutter, launched in the late 1970s, was conceived as a limited production offshore cruiser with focus on easy handling, comfort and safety at sea. She takes inspiration from the working boats of the 19th century which were both fast and able to carry large loads, these boats have the hallmarks of an easily driven hull, good windward performance and an ability to carry large amounts of canvas to make up for heavy displacements and payload. In tune with tradition, the boat has heavy scantlings, lots of bronze hardware and even traditional tanbark coloured sails.

The boat was birthed when Frank Parish, an ex-airforce pilot, penned the Aquarius Pilot Cutter for his own needs and engaged the East Coast boatbuilders at Topsail Yachts in Portsmouth, Rhode Island to construct it. In designing his boat, Parish influenced by his own sailing experiences had the chance to meld his appreciation of traditional designs with modern construction. Being a large guy, he went for a roomy cabin with good headroom which necessitated a beamy hull that was capable of carrying a large amount of canvas to push it. At the time many compared the design to those of Lyle C. Hess, who was influential in remaking the traditional pilot boat design for the late 20th century, examples include the Bristol Channel Cutter, her smaller stablemate the Falmouth Cutter, and famously, Lin and Larry Pardy’s 24 foot Seraffyn and their subsequent 29 foot Teleisin. In particular, the internal layout of the Aquarius is identical to Seraffyn, though Parish says he never heard of Seraffyn until after the Aquarius had already started construction.

The Aquarius has modern sail controls with all lines, including reefing controls, leading back into the cockpit – ideal for single handing. Lazyjacks came standard. Belowdecks is a very practical and spacious setup, designed to maximise ventilation flow with no obstructing bulkheads. There’s berths that are 6’ 7” long and 6’ 3” of headroom, rare to see in boats of this size. She’s also well into heavy displacement territory for her size, but bear in mind her 410 square feet of canvas makes up for this (not to mention a healthy 460 square feet for gaffed rigged versions).

Construction is suitably overbuilt – hand-laid solid fiberglass with polyester resin, with a hull thickness varying from 3/8” at the minimum to 5/8” at the turn of the bilge and as much as 3/4” in the keel sections. The ballast is lead encapsulated. Deck and cabin house are fiberglass cored in 1/2” marine ply, and the hull to deck join is via an overlapping shoe box fit bedded with sealant and through bolted on 12” centers.

In total thirty three boats were constructed between 1979 and 1984, mostly marconi-rigged, but gaff-rigged versions were also produced, better suited to the light air sailing prevalent along the East Coast. At least three layouts were offered though the boat was built to order so a high degree of customisation can be seen between examples. The standard engine on offer was an inboard 18hp Volvo, but owners could optionally go with a transom mounted outboard freeing up internal space.

Links, References and Further Reading

» The Sailor’s Book of Small Cruising Sailboats by Steve Henkel

This listing is presented by SailingTexas.com. Visit their website for more information or to contact the seller.

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