Design & Construction
Hake describes the hull shape as a “spherical tumblehome”—essentially a concentric waterline forward of amidships with soft bilges. Combined with a plumb bow and a rounded entry, the form is intended to prevent the nose from biting in and skidding, which the designer says eliminates broaching. The stern-hung rudder adjusts up and down within its sheath, and a pin at the head keeps it from lifting out in a following sea; its leading edge is a carbon-fiber/fiberglass composite.
The retractable keel is the defining engineering feature. The NACA-derived, high-aspect section carries 26-inch wings on a torpedo bulb and draws 6 feet when lowered, yet retracts to only the 2-foot depth of the bulb. Hake equipped the boat with a modified Rule Industries electric winch with a 2,000-pound lift capacity, controlled by two lines led to the cabintop; a cordless-drill backup is part of the system. The keel weighs 1,200 pounds, with 1,000 pounds of lead poured into the fiberglass keel shell. Hake says the bulb was chosen to keep weight low while preserving stability, even when the keel is only partially extended in thin water.
Build quality reflects a mix of straightforward lamination and careful detailing. The hull starts with a vinylester gelcoat, chop-strand mat, and isophthalic polyester resin applied by chopper gun, followed by 40-ounce triaxial cloth. Coremat appears only in flat runs for stiffness; the majority of the hull remains solid glass. The hull-to-deck joint is an inverted “J,” chemically bonded and mechanically fastened with stainless machine screws every six inches. A solid fiberglass interior pan is vacuum-bonded to the deck, while the deck itself is Divinycell foam-cored and all hardware is tapped into embedded aluminum plates.
Rig & Deck Layout
A deck-stepped fractional rig with single spreaders supports a sail plan that Hake’s team says is engineered to be raised quickly for trailer-sailing. The mast is deliberately stiff—so rigid that bending it is not an option. Shrouds land on the cabintop, which tightens sheeting angles and clears the side decks for safe movement forward and aft, helped by stainless handrails set fore and aft of the chainplates and double lifelines.
Deck clutter is kept to an absolute minimum: two sheets, two blocks, and three winches, with all control lines led aft. The mainsheet runs from the boom-end to an athwartships track at the companionway threshold, and Andersen headsail winches sit midway along the cockpit coaming. A transom gate eases stern boarding, and the cockpit itself stretches 8 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 2 inches with 16-inch-wide seats. The starboard locker is cavernous—over 6 feet long, 34 inches wide, and 28 inches deep—and can swallow a 6-gallon fuel tank.
Under Sail
A sail area/displacement ratio of 18.4 and a displacement/length ratio of 113.2 are both considered on the fast side for this class. The designer notes that the hull makes its best way heeled about 10 degrees, and owners tend to tuck a reef when the breeze climbs toward 15 to 17 knots. One tester found that in a 10-knot wind under full main and 110-percent headsail, the boat logged 4.5 to 5.5 knots over the ground; easing the sheets bumped speeds into the mid-6s, with a 7-knot run held for several minutes. When the wind picked up to 14 knots, reefing the main reduced heel and increased comfort while holding the same pace. With sheets all the way out and the tiller hard over, the tester reported the boat spinning on its keel and turning in circles the diameter of its own length. Light-air work, however, drew a note: the Schaefer furler lifts the jib tack at least 12 inches off the deck, sacrificing some sail area going to weather, and the mainsail could benefit from a lower tack or additional roach.
Living Aboard
Headroom runs roughly 5 feet 10 inches throughout the interior, and the layout accommodates four adults for dining and sleeping—all berths exceed 6 feet in length. In the galley, total counter space reaches 48 inches when the sink cover and oven top are pressed into service, and the icebox lid doubles as a cutting board. A modest head compartment measures 32 by 40 inches. A signature of Hake’s approach is that everything inside can be lifted out and the entire interior hosed clean. The flip side is that living spaces are offered à la carte, and unless you dedicate the aft quarterberth to storage, you will quickly run up against a genuine shortage of bulk stowage.
Known Issues & Quality Control
The builder’s own transparency points to a period when lax construction methods and poor quality control let substandard boats leave the factory during Hake’s hiatus from the company. Since his return, a production-floor bulletin board visible to customers and employees catalogs recent mistakes and the corrective steps taken, a straightforward acknowledgment that should give a used-boat buyer something to verify. Beyond that, the chief practical complaint revolves around storage: the boat simply trades volume for its compact trailable envelope, and owners who don’t convert the quarterberth will feel the pinch.
The Verdict
The Seaward 26 RK stands as a thoughtfully evolved trailer-sailer that turns a prior model’s weakness into a design driver, all while preserving the ability to slip into a 2-foot-deep anchorage or spin on its own keel in a tight fairway. The lifting keel system is integrated with genuine backups, the hull shape brings confident downwind manners, and the cockpit reveals real attention to how people move aboard. The trade-offs are the familiar ones in this class—modest storage and an interior that asks you to pick your amenities from a menu—but the construction fundamentals suggest a boat built to be hosed out and used hard.
Pros
- Shallow draft with a robust electric keel-lift and manual backup
- Cockpit layout that puts usable space aft of the wheel and invites easy stern access
- Hull shape and stiff mast deliver predictable, easy-turning handling
- Simple, uncluttered deck and rig with all lines led aft
- Interior can be completely cleared out and hosed down
Cons
- Bulk storage is scarce unless the quarterberth is sacrificed
- Mainsail and jib geometry leave low-speed gains on the table in light air
- Boats from the Hake hiatus period may exhibit quality-control inconsistencies
