What caught my attention in Scotts book..

I almost forgot, I said I would explain my concern about something posted on the page 'In The News 2'..

So, getting back to what I was talking about in the review that Scott B. Williams wrote for the Grampian 26 in his book  'Bug Out Vehicles and Shelter' ....
( The review is found at bottom of that page here:)
- - Anyway, I had contacted Scott seeking clarification on what he meant by a particular statement in his book, on page 153.
Did you catch it?.. Scott had stated:

"..and while not as heavily built as some boats of that era, it is sturdy enough that at least one has crossed the Atlantic ocean..."

I sent an email to Scott inquiring about it:
"..It surprised me, and wondered what influenced the comment. It appears the general consensus (on the internet) indicates it to have been a very heavily laid up boat.
Now I'm not really experienced enough to know the difference between a well built boat or a poorly built one, and I realize it was  a budget priced cruiser at the time, but still; it's the first time I've seen it said that the G26 wasn't built as well as the others in it's class during the time..."

Scott replied promptly, and explained:

"... I recently owned a Cape Dory 27, for example, and it was built like a tank compared to the G26. The hull thickness is one measure of this. On the Cape Dory it’s approximately 1-inch thick below the waterline and still over a half inch all the way up the sheer.
The G26 hull is not laid up this heavily and it can be flexed when out of the water on the jack stands. This is not to say that it is not strong, just not as strong as some of these other boats. On the other hand, it is stronger and more heavily built than some lesser boats too, like for example some of the Catalinas. 

 The G26 was never intended to be a bluewater voyager, but some of these others have circumnavigated. Most of the heavier boats have a full or partially-full keel with an attached rudder, where the G26 has a separate keel and unsupported spade rudder.

 A good book on the subject is John Vigor’s The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat. The G26 has nevertheless made some offshore passages and could be improved using the tips in John’s book to be even more seaworthy. it all depends on what you want to do with it.

John’s other book: Twenty Small Sailboats to Take you Anywhere is also a great resource to compare boats in this class because he only covers boats from 20 to 32 feet in length and mostly older, out of production models that are now affordable. The G26 is not in the book, but that’s simply because he had so many to choose from and couldn’t include them all. 

 Don’t worry about it too much. The G26 is a good boat. Unless you are planning to circumnavigate or sail around Cape Horn, it will probably get you where you want to go and back again.


So in conclusion, I guess my concern was a bit unfounded. I know Scott knows his boats, and he has always spoke highly of the Grampian 26. It just took me aback when he said they weren't built as well as some others...
I look at it this way: A long time ago I had a 1976 Camaro that I was really pleased with, and the fact that a 1976 Mercedes is better built than my Camaro, had no bearing whatsoever in the fact that the Camaro was quality built. I wasn't concerned that my Camaro wasn't a Mercedes.
So in the same way; my Grampian may not be a Cape Dory, and, may not be actually be classified as blue water cruiser, but they've crossed the Atlantic in spite of any classification system, and that's good enough for me! The G26 is still a good solid boat in a class of it's own.