Morgan 24/25 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is solid fiberglass with wood trim, a spooned raked stem, and a plumb transom carrying an internally mounted spade rudder on a tiller. Beneath the cabin sole sits a fixed modified long keel with a retractable, high-aspect-ratio solid fiberglass centerboard in a trunk. With the board up the draft is just 2′ 9″, which lets the boat operate in shallow water or be transported on a trailer, while the deep board itself helps her point high. Early 24s used teak toerails and a wide L-shaped hull-deck flange bolted with 1/4-inch stainless on 2-inch centers, every other bolt passing through both teak and glass for a very strong arrangement. After about 1972 the teak rail was eliminated and the joint was pop-riveted — a weaker system that is more likely to leak. Around that same time the hull-deck connection overall went from through-bolted to pop-riveted, rigging blocks were downsized, window frames changed from silver anodized aluminum to black plastic, and the water tank shifted from stainless or Monel to galvanized. Owners comparing the marque to a Chevrolet rather than a Hinckley note that the fiberglass work is generally neat and strong, and pride of ownership runs particularly high among early M/24 owners, who tend to regard the later 25 as less sturdy and well-appointed.

Rig and Handling

The boat is a masthead sloop with aluminum spars and a large sailplan for its vintage, attention paid to well-shaped foil blades and flush-faced through-hulls. She is unusually well balanced and in ordinary weather can be made to self-steer on a beat or close reach with the tiller lashed. Low wetted surface, especially with the board up, gives extra speed on reaches and runs, and the hull is easily driven — a 6 hp Yamaha with a high-thrust prop was reported to easily drive her at hull speed. She performs best in 5 to 15 knots and can handle much higher winds when properly reefed, though she is a bit on the tender side in heavy air and several owners reported she could be a bit stiffer. In very heavy air carrying a chute she has a marked tendency to broach. A typical PHRF sits around 219 to 225. Serious racers tend to pull the outboard off the transom and stow it below, and the boat tends to get stern-heavy with crew weight aft.

Accommodations

Below, the 24/25 is a relatively roomy layout for its length, with a galley, sink, ice chest, a marine toilet in a private compartment, good-sized berths, a long self-bailing cockpit with at least one sail locker, and 5′ 8″ headroom. Two interior arrangements appeared: a dinette model with a single sail locker to port, and a two-quarterberth model with twin sail lockers. For cruising the dinette version wins hands down thanks to greater galley storage, a hanging locker, better privacy from the offset head, and a sizable table, though sitting four at the dinette is uncomfortable because the deck overhangs the outboard seats. The boat is really a two-sleeper, two-eater vessel. The 1965 brochure cited mahogany trim, but by 1967 the standard interior was woodgrained mica bulkheads with oiled American Walnut, and a carpeted sole with teak optional. That simulated wood-grain mica draws dissatisfaction for its dated appearance and requires major effort to remove and replace. Ventilation is only so-so, and a cowl vent on the foredeck plus a mushroom over the forward hatch are recommended additions.

Known Issues

The centerboard pennant arrangement is probably the weakest design detail on the boat. A 1/8-inch stainless wire runs from a groove in the board through a piston and stuffing box to a forward sheave and then to a cockpit winch; the lower pennant corrodes rapidly in seawater and cannot be inspected without full disassembly, with some southern-water pennants failing in under a year. Unless the owner fits stops at both ends, the piston can part from the stuffing box and possibly sink the boat. The forward turning sheave is almost inaccessible, and owners are advised to cut an access hole and lubricate it frequently. Several owners also report cracking and leaking in the short hose bridging stuffing box and trunk, and some boards show insufficient glass around the pivot pin, leading to eventual cracking or breakage. Common to both 24s and 25s are leaky windows and crazed Plexiglas, plus a mast hinge that is virtually useless for lack of side-sway prevention. The cockpit sole slopes to a single 1¼-inch centerline scupper through the transom, leaving a puddle on the leeward side in rain; some owners enlarge the scupper. The icebox drain runs into the bilge, a source of potential odors, and there is no good place to stow a portable gas tank — a 6-gallon unit wedged between cockpit seats limits footroom.

Refits and Ownership

Most boats left the line with faucet-type gate valves on through-hulls, and many owners report replacing them with barrel or ball valves. Over the years both models, especially kit boats, are likely to have had major equipment and rigging changes, some good and some bad. Original base M/24s were bare cruising versions 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, extra cleats and cars, vang, and traveler. The transom outboard cutout was eliminated on the 25 in favor of an optional bracket, and toerails went from teak to molded fiberglass.

The Verdict

The Morgan 24/25 makes a wonderful small cruiser and club racer: easily driven, well balanced, and genuinely roomy for two, with a shallow-draft centerboard that opens skinny water and trailering. The penalties are concentrated in the centerboard pendant system and the post-1972 production shortcuts that left the later 25 a less robust boat than the early 24.

Pros

Long waterline and low wetted surface deliver good speed and close-winded sailing
Unusually well balanced; can self-steer with tiller lashed in ordinary weather
Shallow 2′ 9″ board-up draft for shallow water and trailering
Roomy dinette cruising layout with private head and hanging locker
Early 24 hull-deck joint with teak and through-bolts is very strong

Cons