Much of the boat’s appeal comes from how Morgan combined a long waterline, low wetted surface, and a well-balanced hull in a compact package.
Design and Construction
The solid-fiberglass hull has wood trim, a spooned raked stem, and a plumb transom. An internally mounted spade rudder is controlled by a tiller. Beneath the cabin sole is a fixed modified long keel with a retractable, high-aspect-ratio solid-fiberglass centerboard housed in a trunk.
With the board raised, draft is just 2′ 9″, allowing the boat to explore shallow water or travel on a trailer. Lowering the deep board helps her point high.
Early Morgan 24s had teak toerails and a wide, L-shaped hull-deck flange fastened with 1/4-inch stainless bolts on 2-inch centers. Every other bolt passed through both the teak and fiberglass, making for a very strong arrangement. After about 1972, Morgan eliminated the teak rail and pop-riveted the joint, creating a weaker system that is more likely to leak.
Other changes arrived around the same time. The hull-deck connection went from through-bolted to pop-riveted, rigging blocks became smaller, silver-anodized aluminum window frames gave way to black plastic, and the water tank changed from stainless or Monel to galvanized. The 25 also lost the transom outboard cutout in favor of an optional bracket, while teak toerails were replaced by molded fiberglass.
Owners have compared the marque to a Chevrolet rather than a Hinckley, but the fiberglass work is generally neat and strong. Pride of ownership runs particularly high among early M/24 owners, who tend to consider the later 25 less sturdy and less well appointed.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Morgan 24/25 is a masthead sloop with aluminum spars and a large sailplan for its era. The design also received well-shaped foil blades and flush-faced through-hulls.
The boat is unusually well balanced. In ordinary weather, she can be made to self-steer on a beat or close reach with the tiller lashed. Low wetted surface—especially with the centerboard raised—adds speed on reaches and runs, while the easily driven hull requires little auxiliary power. A 6 hp Yamaha fitted with a high-thrust prop was reported to drive the boat easily at hull speed.
She performs best in 5 to 15 knots and can handle much stronger winds when properly reefed. In heavy air, however, she is somewhat tender, and several owners reported that she could be stiffer. In very heavy air under a chute, she has a marked tendency to broach.
A typical PHRF rating is around 219 to 225. Serious racers often remove the outboard from the transom and stow it below. Crew weight aft also tends to make the boat stern-heavy.
Accommodations
For her length, the Morgan 24/25 has a relatively roomy interior. It includes a galley, sink, ice chest, marine toilet in a private compartment, good-sized berths, and 5′ 8″ of headroom. The long, self-bailing cockpit has at least one sail locker.
Morgan offered two interior arrangements. The dinette model has a single sail locker to port, while the two-quarterberth model has twin sail lockers and two quarterberths. For cruising, the dinette version wins hands down. It provides more galley storage, a hanging locker, better privacy from the offset head, and a sizable table. Seating four at the dinette is uncomfortable, though, because the deck overhangs the outboard seats. In practical terms, this is a two-sleeper, two-eater boat.
The 1965 brochure cited mahogany trim. By 1967, the standard interior featured woodgrained mica bulkheads with oiled American Walnut, plus a carpeted sole; teak was optional. Owners often dislike the simulated wood-grain mica because it looks dated, but removing and replacing it takes considerable effort.
Ventilation is only so-so. Recommended additions include a cowl vent on the foredeck and a mushroom vent over the forward hatch.
Centerboard System and Other Known Issues
The centerboard pennant arrangement is probably the weakest design detail on the boat. A 1/8-inch stainless wire leads from a groove in the board, through a piston and stuffing box, to a forward sheave and then a cockpit winch. The lower pennant corrodes quickly in seawater and can’t be inspected without fully dismantling the system. In southern waters, some pennants have failed in less than a year.
Unless the owner installs stops at both ends, the piston can separate from the stuffing box and possibly sink the boat. The forward turning sheave is almost inaccessible, so owners are advised to cut an access hole and lubricate it frequently.
Several owners have also reported cracks and leaks in the short hose connecting the stuffing box and centerboard trunk. Some boards have too little fiberglass around the pivot pin, which can eventually lead to cracking or breakage.
Both the 24 and 25 are prone to leaky windows and crazed Plexiglas. The mast hinge is virtually useless because it lacks a way to prevent side-to-side movement.
Cockpit drainage is another weak point. The sole slopes toward a single 1¼-inch centerline scupper through the transom, so rain leaves a puddle on the leeward side. Some owners enlarge the scupper. The icebox drains into the bilge, which can produce odors.
There’s also no good place to keep a portable gas tank. A 6-gallon tank wedged between the cockpit seats reduces footroom.
Equipment, Refits, and Ownership
Most boats left the factory with faucet-type gate valves on their through-hulls. Many owners report replacing these with barrel or ball valves.
Both models—especially kit boats—are likely to have undergone major equipment and rigging changes over the years. Some modifications are good; others are not.
The original base M/24 was a bare cruising version. It came with small #2 South Coast sheet winches, end-boom sheeting without a traveler, short toerail genoa tracks, and no spinnaker gear. An extra-cost racing package added spinnaker gear, #3 winches, longer track, additional cleats and cars, a vang, and a traveler.
The Verdict
The Morgan 24/25 is a wonderful small cruiser and club racer. She’s easily driven, unusually well balanced, and genuinely roomy for two. Her shallow 2′ 9″ board-up draft opens shallow water and makes trailering possible.
The drawbacks are concentrated in the centerboard pennant system and the production shortcuts introduced after about 1972. Those changes left the later 25 less robust than the early 24.
Pros
- Long waterline and low wetted surface provide good speed and close-winded sailing
- Unusually well balanced; can self-steer with the tiller lashed in ordinary weather
- Shallow 2′ 9″ board-up draft suits shallow water and trailering
- Roomy dinette cruising layout with a private head and hanging locker
- Early 24’s teak-and-through-bolted hull-deck joint is very strong
Cons
- Centerboard pennant corrodes out of sight and can fail catastrophically
- Post-1972 pop-riveted deck joint is more likely to leak
- Tender in heavy air and prone to broaching under a chute in very heavy wind
- Leaky windows, crazed Plexiglas, and dated mica bulkheads
- Poor cockpit drainage and no practical stowage for a portable fuel tank
