Chris Butler campaigned the type in the AZAB and OSTAR races. That offshore pedigree goes to the heart of the Achilles 24: it’s small, tough, and designed to keep moving when the weather turns.
Design and Construction
Factory-built Achilles 24s were sound, strong but simple, molded predominantly in fiberglass with teak trim. The hull has a spooned, raked stem and a vertical transom. A tiller controls the skeg-mounted rudder.
Buyers could choose a fixed fin keel or an optional triple keel. The fin version’s bulbed keel gave the boat quite respectable speed and windward performance. The triple-keel, shoal-draught variant could sit upright on a beach, but its performance was much more pedestrian.
Butler also supplied kits for amateur construction, so the quality of home-built examples will vary. Early production boats had three cabin windows; later boats changed to a single long window.
Rig and Handling
The Achilles 24 is a masthead sloop with a deck-stepped mast. She measures 23ft 9in overall, with a 19ft 6in waterline and a beam of 7ft 1in. Those dimensions make for a narrow, low-volume hull.
Performance across the range tended to be moderate to good, but the boat’s real strength was its sea-keeping and ability to keep going in difficult conditions. The bulbed fin keel supported that offshore composure with credible windward ability.
The triple keel exchanged some of that performance for the ability to sit upright on a beach. The manufacturer claimed that it imposed only a 3% performance penalty, although a period assessment described the shoal-draught version as markedly more sluggish.
Accommodation
The narrow beam keeps the interior compact, and headroom is just 4ft 8in. There are berths for four: two quarter berths aft and a forward V-berth. A chemical head fits beneath the V-berth.
The galley is divided between a double sink to port and a two-burner stove to starboard. The original review describes both the galley as small and the toilet as rudimentary. This is an arrangement for short-handed offshore sailing and weekend shelter, not lounging.
Equipment and Propulsion
Most of the 350-plus boats built were originally sold without engines, and many may still rely on outboards. The Achilles 24 was initially fitted with a small outboard or offered with an optional inboard gasoline engine for docking and maneuvering.
In practice, the inboard petrol option was usually replaced fairly quickly by a small diesel, and many boats were retrofitted with diesel engines. Boats built after about serial number 250 have an anchor well in the bow.
Verdict
The Achilles 24 is a compact, purpose-driven offshore cruiser-racer whose reputation rests more on sea-keeping than creature comfort. It suits a buyer who values a proven small-boat Atlantic pedigree and simple, robust construction over interior space.
The amateur-built population calls for careful inspection of each individual boat. Factory-built examples, however, are honest little ships.
Pros
- Proven offshore capability through AZAB and OSTAR campaigning
- Bulbed fin keel provides respectable speed and windward performance
- Simple, sound factory construction in fiberglass with teak trim
- Optional triple keel allows the boat to sit upright on a beach
Cons
- Very low headroom and a narrow interior limit livability
- Shoal-draught triple-keel version is noticeably slower and more pedestrian
- Quality varies among amateur kit-built boats
- Most boats were originally sold without engines, and diesel repowering is common
