LM 23 Buyer's Guide
The LM 23, also called the LM 23 MS, is a late-sixties Danish motorsailer from LM Glasfiber A/S and Palle Mortensen, with several hundred built. On the used market it presents as a small, beamy coastal cruiser rather than a performance sailboat, and a buyer should weigh its simplicity against tight accommodations and modest systems.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every LM 23 follows the same interior plan: one cabin, two berths, a galley, and a toilet, with mahogany joinery and only 15 liters of fresh water carried. The boat is a motorsailer with a long keel and a masthead rig, so the layout serves short-handed coastal use rather than liveaboard cruising. A 23-foot length and roughly 7.9-foot beam give a compact but usable cabin volume, and the solid fiberglass hull with encapsulated iron ballast is the constant structural backdrop to any example you inspect.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The LM 23 may carry an inboard Bukh diesel of 20 horsepower with shaft drive, and that mechanical package is the defining equipment cluster for a buyer: it determines whether the boat fulfills the motorsailer brief or leans on sail alone. Rigging upgrades tend to center on the standard 3/8-inch sheets — jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker — where owners may have renewed running gear. Beyond the engine and sail handling, the available records list no commonly fitted or often-seen auxiliary equipment, so any generator, watermaker, or navigation electronics should be read as an owner addition rather than factory standard.
What to Inspect
A buyer should confirm the integrity of the solid fiberglass hull and the long-keel attachment, and verify the Bukh diesel installation and shaft drive transmission where fitted. The uniform 3/8-inch sheet diameters and stated lengths are a useful benchmark for assessing whether running rigging has been correctly replaced. With only 15 liters of water capacity, inspect the freshwater system for age and leakage given its minimal margin.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical market availability centers on Germany. For a buyer, the LM 23 rewards a pragmatic outlook: confirm the diesel and shaft drive, check the fiberglass hull and keel joint, and accept the two-berth, single-cabin plan as the boat's fixed character.
- Verify Bukh diesel and shaft drive operation
- Inspect solid hull and long-keel joint
- Confirm 15-liter water system integrity
- Expect a two-berth, one-cabin motorsailer layout
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the LM 23. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 3 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 1 | $6,982 | — |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $4,651 | -33.4% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $6,982 | +50.1% |
Where they're listed
LM 23 listings appear across 1 country. Germany has the most listings with 3.
Country view
3 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | $6,982 | 3 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Com-Pac 23 | 22.75' | $ 8,000 | 11 | 5 |
| Leisure 23 | 22.64' | $ 5,505 | 10 | 4 |
| LM 23You are here | — | $ 6,982 | 3 | 0 |