2020-09-08 by Yames
I've had my '93 Seaward Fox (17' LOD, 19' with sprit) for a year. Spent it upgrading, reinforcing, refurbishing and varnishing. This design has been through many changes: fractional sloop, sloop with taller rig and full batten main, and full batten cat rig with carbon fiber mast, shoal keel with centerboard, to winged shoal keel. Bow sprit appeared in 1990? My '93 is in a sweet spot for me: Full batten tall rig fractional sloop (170 sq. ft sail area), winged shoal keel with very rare (for this design) rudder mounted under hull, not on the transom, and a full glass liner up to the sheer line on the inside. Amazingly, the boat is completely stock except for an added CDI roller furler on the jib.

The unusual rudder placement allows the outboard to be mounted in the low 'cutout' in the transom where the tiller would have been for a transom-hung rudder. This cutout has varied in depth over the years (mine is the lowest variety). The result is a motor that is easily accessible right in the cockpit, no hanging off the stern to get it started or hanging it on a bracket. Only caveat is I've realized that the transom wasn't designed for this, I need to improve the mount.

I've sailed the boat five times now in conditions ranging from near calm to 14 knots with numerous whitecaps and a messy 2 ft chop over a 2 ft sea. The sail plan is basically a Gary Hoyt/Gary Mull full-batten cat-sloop rig with an aluminum mast in place of the expensive, irreplaceable carbon fiber mast. I really like it. My previous boat was a '76 Ranger 23 with a tall rig. I loved it, everything was adjustable and it went to windward like a team of Clydesdales in any sea. I'm older now and more minimalist toward tweaking the rig. The Seaward Fox sails quite well with virtually no fuss. In 14 knots her helm was completely balanced and she drove quite well with her jib and a single huge reef taken in the main. In 12 knots she's happy with a full main. She heaves to very serenely even in a blow. She moves along in light air. She doesn't point quite like the Ranger, but she's better to windward than I expected. All around, she seems to be a great cruising boat, just what I was looking for.

I'm impressed with how stable the Seaward Fox is (8 ft beam on 17 ft hull), and how comfortably and predictably she sails. She wants to be sailed 'flat' with maybe a max of 15 degrees of heel, unlike the Ranger that lived with a rail in the water. The only negative I've noticed is she doesn't have the 'edge' I could feel in the Ranger when it was dialed in. The Seaward Fox doesn't tell you as quickly when you let her drift out of the 'zone'. The Seaward is my first purpose-built cruising boat, this is probably the sensation most cruisers are looking for.

So far, there's a certain 'rightness' to everything about this boat. I really like the slightly tubby but purposeful semi cat-boat hull. The cockpit is bigger than on the Ranger 23. The cat-sloop rig is simple, and it seems you adjust to conditions primarily with sail area rather than tension on the forestay and numerous sail-adjustment lines. I think everything from the bow-sprit anchor stowage to the rub rails on the sides to the rounded 'cat-eye' windows look just right, and the 100% gel coated interior looks smart and clean.

My previous boats were racers, whose designs were largely constrained by rating rules. It seems that this cruiser evolved over the years in a way that racing boats couldn't, to arrive at a very optimal design.

Date Posted: 2020-09-08
Comment ID: 1664
Posted By: Yames
Sailboat ID: 71
Sailboat: Slipper 17 / Seaward 17 Sailboat by Starboard Yacht Co / Hake Yacht