A used sailboat to fill the space in the harbor
8 years after having made the request, Gilles was informed that a place was available in the Concarneau's inner harbor. He then started looking for a sailboat, with the constraint of measuring around 8 meters, with a maximum draught of about 1.4 meters. Gilles says: "I visited a number of boats: Tequila, Gibsea80, Surprise, but it's a bit complicated to live aboard. The First 24 and 25, it's finally a First 26 from 1986, my year of birth that we bought in Lorient for 7,000 euros in co-ownership with my girlfriend."
A habitable sailboat to sail with your family
Designed by Finot Conq, the First 26 was built between 1984 and 1991, and like the rest of the series, was quite successful. With an overall length of 8.20 meters and 7.00 meters at the waterline for 2.80 meters wide, it has a version with a fixed keel and another with a lifting keel. This is the case of Charly gilles' sailboat, which allows him to reduce his draft to 85 centimeters.
The interior layout offers a real separate aft cabin on port side, with a door. On the starboard side, a toilet is located aft of the chart table, which mirrors a small L-shaped galley. Then there is a saloon and a Breton bed in the forepeak.
Gilles underlines the interest of this provision for family sailing: "We often sail with 4 people: 2 adults and 2 children. In the First 25 we visited, with the toilet at the front of the mast, there was only a coffin berth at the back. The First 24 was really small. There, the enclosed cabin on First 26 allows us to have different times and not have to all go to bed at 9 p.m. with the kids."
Work to equip the boat
When he bought it, Charly was only equipped for coastal sailing for less than 6 miles. There was no speedo, no log, no depth sounder or VHF. Gilles explains that he had to invest a little, even if some useful work had already been done: "The previous owner, the fourth since the boat was built, had already removed the lining, which was peeling off as was often the case with those of the time, and scraped everything off. He repainted a part of the boat with polyurethane paint and put wood lath in other places. He also changed the keel system, recovered from a First 26 declared wreck. This explains the price, a bit high, despite the little equipment. The 2-stroke outboard works well and I preferred it to an inboard version with the risk of having to change an old rinsed engine. We added about 3 000euros for the equipment, by adding solar panels, a VHF, a LED light at the head of mast. We changed the furling genoa to a forestay and bought some sails to do some racing."
A real cruise race
Although he still has some work to do, such as adding an autopilot on the tiller, Gilles is satisfied with his purchase: "It's a good compromise between habitability, sailing performance and draught for beaching in the Glénan or on the river. It is very good in light air downwind. We saw it on the Finistère tour. If we have to make some criticisms. I'm 1.85 meters tall and I'm a little bent. I can only stand upright at the foot of the descent. The cockpit is a bit small beyond 3 adults and the boat can be a bit fiery and physical with its non-compensated rudder on the transom. It is necessary to reduce quickly upwind, from 15 knots, with the old fashioned rig with strong overlap. On the other hand, with the 15 m² inter, then we are well long. In conclusion: It is a real race-cruise, affordable, livable in family."
