Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Talk about the older Telstar 26 and 8M
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JohnWorkman
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Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by JohnWorkman »

As the heading.
I've sailed monohuls but I fancy a try at a tri.
Telstar 26 seems to fit the accomodation and my bank balance.
I've just read two things that are making me reconsider.
Some one wrote that he found that his Telstar didn't like going to windward on a trip to the Bahamas! in seas over 3ft due to 'deck slamming' and that he had centre-board problems in heavy seas.
Can anyone comment on the above please.

I'd be aiming for fairly gentle crusing west coast Scotland.

I read the 'centre board' forum. Didn't like the sound of posible leaks and trying to repair.
Ron
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by Ron »

Never sailed a 26, but the sail from Florida over to the Bahamas can be a nasty one. There's a reason why it's called the Bermuda Triangle. You're crossing the gulf stream, where 4 billion cubic feet of warm water per second flows north at speeds up to 6 or 7 knots. Add a southerly breeze and you better hold on. You ever see a nearly square shaped wave? The cruisers who make this trip sometimes wait several weeks to catch a good day. A T28 got really beat up doing this a few years ago. Going north from the Bahamas, I've done deliveries in much larger boats in 20+ foot seas. Once again, better hold on.
Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
theshipscat
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by theshipscat »

Hi John, I spent five days cruising off the west coast between wales and cornwall and found my mk1 to be very comfortable in high seas and reassuringly stable when heaving to off the cornish coast overnight through a force 9.

All I would say is that these are now 40 yrs old and I replaced all the bulkheads, even the awkward one under the cabin, so make sure they're not rotten on yours and have a good look at the forestay fixings below deck...mine had to be cut out and renewed. Check the hinges too.

I've put a sacrificial keel on mine now to prevent keel box wear and tear in the shallows and taking to sand. I also replaced the lifting keel and repaired leak caused by some idiot setting her loose and running aground.

They're very comfortable cruising at decent speeds ( 8-9 knots ).... . amas remain in water at all times and although considered slow by modern standards.....I really think great value for money today.

All the best, Denis
Hull52
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by Hull52 »

Joe Siudzinski loved his 8 Meter and was not concerned about challenging sailing conditions. His review is worth reading. http://home.earthlink.net/~smercc/joesintro.htm
The underdeck clearance is better on the early Mark 1's. With the Mark II, Tony Smith bulged out the main hull to make more room in the cabin. These bulges were carried over to the 8 meter. He also changed the design of the brackets for the Mark II and 8 Meter. They were lower than the simpler brackets on the early models.

The later models were discussed in the old Newsletter and their owners felt that the hull design and the brackets did hinder performance. The problem with the earlier boats is their age. Mine was built in the early 70s. It was a mess when I got it. It had been sitting abandoned in a boatyard with no windows, doors or hatches and full of water for probably a year or two. Be careful about delamination around the fittings, hardware, deck plates and inspection ports.

My centerboard case needed work too. Glass was exposed on the bottom. There were lateral cracks right at the seam between the case and the hull. I'm sure it leaked. I had to add glass to strengthen it and then barrier coating and a couple of layers of epoxy with graphite additive to help prevent wear. I think the single mounting point in the case is a weak spot as well. Lateral forces on that single point must be enormous. I'm putting the board back with graphite reinforcement in the board's bolt hole and Teflon or stainless washers on each side filling the small gap between the board and the housing. I want to take as much play out of the connection as I can so the board doesn't flop side to side when it is fully down.

All the bulkheads were replaced in mine too. I took advantage of the repair to lower the entire floor, adding an enormous amount of headroom. I hope I haven't negatively affected the sailing characteristics. The bulkhead anchoring the forestay was delaminated and needed significant repair. I bonded the 2-part forestay fitting to each side of the repaired bulkhead. The entire forepeak was delaminated and needed significant repair as were portions of the ama decks.

These are all good spots to look at, if you're considering a early T26.
Stormy Petrel
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by Stormy Petrel »

John,

First I must say I love my Telstar 8m which turned out to be a perfect small cruiser for the sheltered and shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I sailed it for many years before my situation changed causing it to languish on the hard for 11 years. I have just relaunched it and found once again that it is still fun to sail and a great little cruiser. But if you look at my posts on the recent launching and the repairs I have had to do to my boat you will see that it took an inordinate amount of work to achieve this.

Telstars were some of the first small multihull cruisers to be built and at the time when there was not the knowledge and lightweight materials available that make multihulls such viable craft today. In world of multihulls Telstars are antiques which mean they have limitations and inevitably require lots of work to maintain, repair fix or whatever. Consequently I do not consider my Telstar blue water capable - and in all fairness neither am I. A more seaworthy alternative might be a Farrier F-27 or F-31. Both of which are of superior design and construction and blue water proven. But these boat do not have the ergonomic design or amenities of the Telstar. Which in my opinion are a tribute to Tony Smiths ingenuity.

One caveat. I suspect my boat may not be typical of all Telstars it having been made in the U.K. during the difficult economic times of the energy crisis. Others appear to have better construction etc.

Good luck
Stormy Petrel
Ferret
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by Ferret »

Did you ever buy your tri? May have a solution if you have not committed. Let me know...
Over to you,
Tri owner.
JohnWorkman
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by JohnWorkman »

To the last poster. No. Havent found the right combination of price, accommodation, condition and size yet.
JohnWorkman
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Re: Thinking of buying a Teltar 26 - some help please

Post by JohnWorkman »

Ferret wrote:Did you ever buy your tri? May have a solution if you have not committed. Let me know...
Over to you,
Tri owner.
Tri Owner.

I received an email from you [I'm sure] but I can't find it.

Can you please contact me again
john_workman99@hotmail.com
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