Anderson 26 Buyer's Guide
Shopping for an Anderson 26 on the brokerage market means looking at one of the rarest small sloops afloat. Oliver J. Lee designed her in the early eighties with a solid fiberglass hull and a vertical lifting drop keel, and only a few were completed, so any buyer is hunting a low-volume boat whose quirks are those of the type rather than a documented defect list.
Layouts on the Used Market
With only a handful of hulls the market offers no meaningful variation to compare. Expect a compact 26-foot fractional sloop with a slender 8.2-foot beam and a lifting keel trunk occupying the cabin sole centerline — a consequence of the 1.97-to-2.27-foot variable draft mechanism rather than a chosen layout option.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
A buyer should assess each hull on its own fitted gear. The fractional rig carries 333 square feet of sail, and the original sheet spec called for 20 meters of 10 mm mainsheet, 8 meters of 10 mm jib and genoa sheets, and 17.6 meters of 10 mm spinnaker sheets — useful only as a baseline to judge whether a seller has renewed the running rigging with adequate diameter.
What to Inspect
The vertical lifting keel is the one system demanding close attention. Work the keel up and down through its trunk by hand if possible, and watch for binding, cracked trunk sides, or water weeping at the pivot. Because the capsize screening value is 2.00, confirm the certification limit against ocean racing does not matter to your plans — this is a sheltered-water boat. Check the solid fiberglass hull for ordinary osmotic blistering and the deck for undue flex.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Before committing:
- Cycle the lifting keel fully and feel for slack or grind.
- Inspect the keel trunk for staining or stress cracks.
- Verify sheet diameters match the 10 mm baseline.
- Budget for custom keel parts given the low build count.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacGregor 26 D | 25.83' | $ 15,000 | 29 | 10 |
| Hunter Boats Horizon 26 | 26.34' | $ 11,806 | 12 | 2 |