Design and Construction
Both hull and deck are solid fibreglass, and the boat sits on a fin keel with a transom-hung rudder. At a beam of just under 9.8 feet and a loaded draft around 4.75 feet, she is light on the water for her length, with a displacement-to-length ratio of 243 that places her among moderate racers rather than heavy cruisers moderate racers classification. Her ballast ratio of 40 percent is higher than half of comparable designs, and the iron ballast of about 2,535 pounds gives her a stability profile that, combined with a capsize screening value of 2.12, marks her as a coastal and inland cruiser rather than an offshore racer — that screening number would bar her from ocean-race acceptance.
Rig and Handling
The fin keel gives the Leisure 26 splendid maneuverability in close quarters, the trade-off being less directional stability than a long-keel yacht would show on a steady course. Her theoretical hull speed is about 6.4 knots. The standing and running rigging follow typical fractional-sloop practice: jib and genoa sheets run about 25.9 feet at 3/8-inch diameter, the mainsheet is a long 64.7-foot line of the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets measure 56.9 feet, also 3/8 inch. Those dimensions tell a buyer the boat was set up for controllable light-air reaching as well as beating.
Accommodations
Below, the Leisure 26 is equipped with five berths, and her slender 2.63 length-to-beam proportion yields an interior more roomy than 90 percent of all similar sailboat designs — a genuinely unusual volume for 26 feet. The Motion Comfort Ratio of 19.7 means she rides more comfortably than 54 percent of comparable boats, a meaningful figure for a couple or small family cruising sheltered waters. The immersion rate of about 780 pounds per inch speaks to a hull that settles predictably under load rather than squatting abruptly.
Performance Envelope
Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17.00 is modest by racer standards but consistent with a cruiser that prioritizes balance over outright acceleration. With a wetted surface near 247 square feet, she is neither a slug nor a skiff, and the 22.75-foot waterline underpins that 6.4-knot theoretical maximum. The Leisure Owners Association describes her plainly as a high-performance cruiser, a label that fits a boat more spacious and better mannered than most of her peers of similar length.
The Verdict
The Leisure 26 is a rare, well-proportioned small cruiser with Oyster-derived bones and Holman & Pye styling. She rewards the sailor who wants volume and decent comfort in a trailerable-feeling 26-footer without offshore-race pretension.
Pros
- Unusually roomy for her length, with five berths and top-decile space utilization
- Agile in marinas and anchorages thanks to the fin keel
- Comfortable motion relative to peer designs
- Solid fibreglass hull and deck from known moulds
Cons
- Fin keel sacrifices directional stability versus a long keel
- Capsize screening bars ocean-race participation
- Very few built, so spares and comparable-data trails are thin
