Hello Frobisher. I have a BR17, have done for the last 4 years or so, and overall I'm happy with my choice still. I chose it because it seemed to fit my needs; I was after a stable, lightweight boat that was easy to sail and suitable for a few hours day sailing in reasonable weather. I also wanted to be able to tow the boat to different locations so weight and length, ease of rigging and ease of launching and recovery were factors there too. The water ballast was an attraction because it offers enhanced stability and I thought that would be useful if taking out nervous or very young crew members. So that's (some of) the thinking behind my choice, here's how I think it worked out for me:
The good stuff. I reckon the BR17 sails pretty well. It feels stable (even without ballast) and I've never had the feeling of it being a bit 'tippy'. I generally sail with a crew member and though I'm prone to the occasional Laurel and Hardy moment the boat seems very forgiving. With the ballast in the boat feels really solid. I don't generally bother going out if the conditions are a bit lumpy but if I do the ballast helps to smooth the ride and also gives the boat extra weight to push through the waves. The boat weighs just 220Kg (plus the kit and the self-loading cargo) and in light winds goes really well. The light weight also makes it easy to push the boat around on it's trailer, at least on level ground, which can be useful if you do happen to be on your own.
The not-so-good stuff. Not much, really. In choppy conditions the centreboard slot would sometimes spout water. Not handy at the best of times but anyone working around the mast could be subject to a nasty bidet effect and receive a splosh of water exactly where they didn't need one. How we laughed. I considered using SlotStrip or similar to alleviate the problem but in the end went for the nuclear option and got Matt to make me a cover to fit over the slot which so far has worked well.
General stuff. The BR17 meets my needs for a 'fine weather' day sailer in which I can potter about on the water. I find it easy to sail and responsive. Having said that, I find the boat sails well and still feels secure in rougher weather too, it's just that I'm not out in rough conditions that often. I'm now based at Chichester harbour and was previously based on the Clyde estuary, in both cases sheltered waters (the Clyde has various islands to hide behind) but I don't know how they compare to the Shannon. Usually I sail with a crew of 2 (me plus one other) though it can hold 4 adults comfortably. My boat is gunter rigged (wooden mast, carbon yard) and I find the sails easy enough to handle all round though dropping the main into the cockpit, especially if the boat is rocking about much, takes a bit of practise, as does reefing (or shaking out a reef) but I guess that would be the same for most gunter rigged boats. I use the self-tacking jib which works well enough, leaving the crew plenty of opportunity to wrestle the top off the tuck box and hand out the contents. We have camped overnight on the boat a couple of times using a prototype tent made out of a tarpaulin and that worked out surprisingly well, though if you intend to do much cruising I reckon a BR20 would be much better suited. The engine options for a BR17 are less generous than for a BR20 because of the size of the engine well and the weight of the boat. It more or less comes down to a choice of engines in the 2.5HP range, I started with a 3.5HP Mariner (same physical size as the 2.5HP Mariner), found that wouldn't rotate for reverse so swapped to a 2.5HP Suzuki. The power is sufficient but it does mean a) I don't think there's an option for an external fuel tank and b) no reverse gear so the engine has to be spun around for reverse. I have it in my head that I did read about a BR17 with a Honda 4HP engine so maybe that size engine is feasible.
So that's the gist of my thoughts on my BR17. Obviously I've tweeked a few things on the boat and have others I would like to tweek that I haven't got around to yet but I won't ramble on about those now, I think this post is long enough. I hope all this helps.
Tim
BR17 Seagoon
