Design and Construction
Hull and deck were produced by Colvic Craft, with the illustrated example finished as a yacht using the optional wheelhouse and deck moulding from the builder, while many sisters were completed as open or semi-enclosed fishing boats without a rig at all. The fitout was various, meaning the marque supplied the GRP shell and left the interior to professional yards or amateur finishers. The design lineage is distinctive: G. L. Watson & Co. brought lifeboat-derived seaworthiness to a compact motor-sailer hull, and the fishing-boat profile gives her the high topsides and sheltered character that define the type.
Rig and Handling
For a small motor-sailer the 23.5 carries a surprising tall rig, with 332 square feet of sail in a sloop configuration that is larger than many comparable motor-sailers and similar to pure sailing yachts of the same length. The mast is mounted in a tabernacle for ease of lowering, a practical detail for inland waterways or low bridges. A reasonably generous rig gives decent performance under sail, but with a long keel and those high topsides and wheelhouse, windward work is always going to be modest and she will not point high. The long and relatively shallow keel limits close-hauled angle, yet a 28 hp engine — the example boat used a Beta diesel, with typical power across the class running 20 to 40 bhp — can make for very effective windward progress when the wind fails.
Accommodations
Below, the layout provides a forecabin and saloon with four berths, and the saloon table top extends to seat four if needed. The cabin arrangement reflects the boat's dual nature: compact cruising space wrapped around the fishing-boat hull form, with the wheelhouse option above lending shelter that the open or semi-enclosed fishing versions did without.
The Verdict
The Colvic Watson 23.5 is a characterful pocket motor-sailer that trades outright sailing efficiency for the security of a lifeboat designer's hull and the flexibility of a low-powered, easily driven platform. Her weight and long keel suit relaxed coastal passage-making more than racing, and the tabernacle mast broadens where she can roam.
Pros
- Hull lines from G. L. Watson & Co., designers of RNLI lifeboats
- Tall, generous sloop rig for a motor-sailer of this size
- Tabernacle mast for easy lowering
- Effective windward progress under a 28 hp diesel
Cons
- Modest windward performance with long keel and high topsides
- Will not point high under sail alone
- Various fitout means condition is builder-dependent
