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2
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3144
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Sun November 1, 1998
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administrator
Administrator
Registered: January 2000
Location: maryland
Posts: 1861
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Review Date: Thu April 16, 1998
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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This is a basic keelboat with a masthead rig. It has a center cockpit with a cuddy cabin forward (very similar to a Harbor 20 or an Alerion Express 20). It's not a high performance racing class, but it is reasonably nimble and stable. As a day sailer they're great, although the lack of a self-bailing cockpit is a bit of a drawback. The fixed keel adds to the stability of the boat, but forces you to launch with a hoist or from a really good (i.e., deep) ramp if you're going to dry sail or trailer it. Appearently the Victory was manufactured with two alternative keels, one with a bulb at the bottom and one without. My boat has the bulb keel, which I would highly recommend for windy areas such as SF Bay were I sail.
The Victory 21 and a pocket cruiser version, the Aurora(?), were built by Wesco Marine. Wesco eventually became Coronado Yachts. Capri (a division of Catalina Yachts) took over production of the Victory at some point in the late '70s or early eighties. The spars and rigging on the Victory and the Aurora are very similar to the original setup for the Catalina 22.
A couple of things to watch out for:
1) The aluminum spreader brackets have a bad reputation for failing catastrophically. I never had any problems with the brackets themselves, but decided to replace them with stainless steel when I replaced the spreaders.
2) The keel/hull junction is reinforced with a piece of plywood that is glassed-over and forms the sole of the bilge. Since this piece of wood can never really dry out it is subject to rot. Replacing the wood entirely is probably the right way to remedy this, but there are also some stiffening crossmembers glassed in on top of the plywood. I drilled holes and infused it with penetrating epoxy instead.
The up-side is that If you can find one of these boats in reasonably good shape they are usually dirt cheap. In the range of $1000-2000, depending on condition. They are a snap to sail, and are usually pretty forgiving for a small boat. Also, the classic lines of the hull and the radical sweep to the keel and rudder(solid bronze on early models) gives the boat a unique look.
There is now a Victory 21 web page at: http://users.sisna.com/darinc/
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Review Date: Sun November 1, 1998
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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The Victory 21 is extremely responsive and easily handled. The design is so well balanced that the boat can be "set up" to sail a course, by a fixing the rudder angle and sail trim, and then steered up or down from that course by shifting body weight. This balance stands it in good stead for maneuvering and heaving to. It sails under main or jib alone but is very responsive to the proper plan for conditions. She sails best in 15 to 20kts. With a reefed main and 70% jib it can easily handle 30kt and will tolerate 40kt with some room to spare. At the other end of scale, with a 150%, full main and good crew placement, she’ll ghost along in air barely discernible with a smoke trail. She can carry a chute or asymmetrical spinnaker in moderate air but is prone to being overpowered.
Considering its size, the boat is very safe. The beam is narrow and its rounded to vee bottom does not resist healing with buoyancy. Therefore the Victory will heal to the rail with its ballast providing most of the righting moment. However, the rudder stays engaged and the boat naturally rounds up, spilling air. Because of its low freeboard and open cockpit (that on older models leads right into the cuddy), it is less tolerant of high seas.
The Capri boats are strong and well made. I have not found any problem with stress cracking or hardware, rigging and connection failures. The fiberglass does appear to be susceptible to blistering, and the keel to corrosion, if the boat is continuously in the water and the hull is not maintained.
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