Design and Construction
North Sea Craft laid up the Samphire 23 in solid fiberglass for both hull and deck, with iron ballast carried in a long keel. The proportions tell the story: a beam of 7 feet 9 inches gives an length-to-beam ratio of 2.94, while a displacement of roughly 5,376 pounds on a 22-foot-9-inch hull produces a displacement-to-length ratio of 429, the figure yachtdatabase.com uses to place her among "ultra heavy cruisers." That mass, paired with about 13 square meters of wetted surface, defines a boat built for steadiness rather than pace. Her capsize screening value of 1.77 and Motion Comfort Ratio of 28.1 reinforce the same character — a short, tubby, reassuringly stable hull whose theoretical maximum hull speed is 5.6 knots and whose immersion rate of about 85 kg per centimeter means she sits heavily and changes trim slowly with load.
Rig and Handling
The Samphire 23 carries a masthead sloop rig, and the period specification calls for 10 mm (3/8 inch) sheets throughout — jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker all share that dimension, with the mainsheet leading 17.3 meters and the genoa sheets 6.9 meters. The long-keel hull with transom-hung rudder and a draft that runs 2.92 to 3.22 feet depending on load is the sort of arrangement that tracks predictably and forgives incoherent steering, at the cost of nimbleness in tight maneuvers. A sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 12.30 marks her as undercanvased by modern standards — adequate for ghosting along in modest breeze, but never a lively performer.
Accommodations
At 7 feet 9 inches of beam and just under 23 feet overall, the volume is what a small, heavy pocket cruiser of the era would imply, prioritized toward ballast and hull thickness over cabin square footage.
The Verdict
The Samphire 23 is a curiosity — a late-1970s David Cannell design built in tiny numbers by North Sea Craft, whose ultra-heavy displacement and long-keel form make her a stable, slow, and utterly conventional small cruiser. For a buyer who values obscurity and steadiness over speed or space, she is an honest if obscure specimen.
Pros
- Extremely stable hull form (capsize screening 1.77, comfort ratio 28.1)
- Simple, robust solid fiberglass construction
- Forgiving long-keel handling
Cons
- Very low sail-area-to-displacement ratio (12.30) limits performance
- Tiny production run means scarce support and spares context
