Design and Construction
Van de Stadt based the GRP Invicta 26 on the Folkboat. That lineage shows in its low, attractive profile and full long keel with a transom-hung rudder joined to its after end.
Tylers moulded the early hulls, and a variety of boatbuilders handled the fit-out. Later versions were moulded by FI-Craft in Essex and finished by either FI-Craft or Salterns Yacht Agency.
Construction is solid fiberglass throughout, with iron ballast encapsulated in the keel rather than bolted on. Together with the robust-looking rudder, this gives the underwater body a decidedly traditional, low-maintenance character.
There are two generations: the Mk1 and the Mk2, which added a little more headroom below.
Rig and Handling
The Invicta 26 is rigged as a masthead sloop. She measures 26ft 5in overall, with a 20ft 8in waterline and a 7ft 4in beam. Displacement is 5,137lb, including 2,315lb of ballast, so she sits firmly in the water.
The long keel digs into soft mud rather than bouncing off it, which suits drying harbours. Testers also note that antifouling a long keel is far easier than working on a bilge keeler.
At the helm, the Invicta is made for the sea rather than dodging around buoys. Test sailors found that she may take a little longer to come around on a tack than a fin-keel boat, a fair trade for her steadiness. Yachting Monthly’s used-boat assessment described Invictas as sea-kindly, knockabout cruisers that keep a couple or young family safe in all weathers and can embarrass some modern yachts with their speed.
Accommodation
Below decks, the price of those classic Folkboat lines is limited space. The attractive low profile comes at the expense of interior volume, and Practical Boat Owner is blunt that Folkboat-derived hulls offer restricted room below.
The Mk2’s extra headroom acknowledged that the Mk1 felt tight. This is a boat for a couple or, at most, a young family without growing children aboard. Indeed, Invictas are often sold precisely when families get bigger and move up to a larger boat.
Ownership and Refits
Owners tend to be young couples or older sailors cruising without children aboard, which suits the boat’s scale and temperament.
An inboard engine can be fitted, with an outboard bracket retained only as a backup. One extensively overhauled example, Victoria of Rye, received a compact Volvo MD 2010D replacement with raw-water cooling and a heat exchanger to cool the exhaust gases. It shows the kind of sensible repower this small hull allows. Victoria also retained classic caulked decks, a period detail that survives on some boats.
The Verdict
The Invicta 26 is a small, genuinely seaworthy cruiser with Folkboat character in a fiberglass shell. She rewards sailors who value simplicity and a keel that sits firmly in soft ground, and she punches above her length in a breeze. The compromise is the cabin: it’s cramped by modern standards, and it always was.
Pros
- Long-keel hull with encapsulated ballast; dries out safely and is easy to antifoul
- Sea-kindly, quick for her type, and safe with a couple or young family
- Classic van de Stadt lines, with improved headroom available in the Mk2
- Simple construction, finished by multiple builders and straightforward to repower
Cons
- Limited interior space because of the low profile
- Slower to tack than a fin-keel design
- Often outgrown as families expand
