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Bristol 27 interior space?

6K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Lazerbrains 
#1 ·
Hello there,

I'm thinking of getting a Bristol 27 (after doing a ton of reading in John Vigor's books). I like the look of it, the reputation, the "saltiness" and the full keel. Planning on taking it to the Caribbean at some point.

Unfortunately, there aren't any around where I live so I'll have to find one to look at. They seem to be mostly in the New England area, and I'm not there.

Anyway, I've looked at a Catalina 25 and a Catalina 27, but they're not grabbing me, not fully anyway. I do like the interior space of the Catalinas.

How does the Bristol 27 (either dinette or cruising) compare to say a Catalina 25 or a 27, for those of you that have maybe looked at both and made a mental comparison?

How is the headroom on a Bristol 27? Book says 5' 10". Cat 25, I could not fully stand up in (I'm 6').

Thank you in advance.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The B27 is a fairly narrow boat (compared to modern boats). It also has nice overhangs on the bow and the stern. This gives the boat it's nice lines, and helps with some sailing characteristics. However, this also means that there isn't as much room inside as there would be with a wider beam, and longer water line. I am 5'11" and can stand perfectly upright going from the bottom of the companionway to maybe the first bulkhead. I need to duck a little getting into the head area, and the v-berth area. Realize, however, that in some ways headroom is not an absolute. On my Cataline 22, I needed to hunch over to do anything. I got a sore back with some activities. On the B27, I can't stand fully upright, but, only need to drop my head a little up front. It doesn't seem to bother me much. Because the headliner is smooth, when underway, I sometimes brace my head against the ceiling as a third point of support. I think you will find that 27' is about the lower limit for a boat that has standing headroom.

 
#4 ·
The one for sale in Milwaukee does look nice, but I'd like the dinette model. For whatever reason, it seems more of the cruising model are listed, even though the Bristol site claims that the dinette model was more popular. That, and I would need to figure out how to get it from Milwaukee.

Good point about using your head as a 3rd point of balance. I've actually done that before too. Heh.

Yeah, I've looked at the Bristol27.com site. Lots of good stuff there, but it's difficult to get a feel for the interior from it.
 
#5 ·
It's my understanding that the Bristol 27 came in two cruising models, the standard and the dinette. The standard came with the two settees, the dinette with the table. There was also a third model that had a larger cockpit and smaller cabin, that was more suitable for daysailing.
 
#6 ·
How does the Bristol 27 (either dinette or cruising) compare to say a Catalina 25 or a 27, for those of you that have maybe looked at both and made a mental comparison?

.......(I'm 6').
Well, I do know that the Bristol has over 6' V berth, whereas on the Catalina 27 it is not even big enough for children over the age of 5, so that may make a difference for you.

Interior wise, the C27 is a bit wider, but I don't think it makes much real world difference - just leads to some extra empty space between the settees.
 
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