Design and Construction
The boat is built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, and period testers judged her well-built to boot. Hake's hand shows in the low freeboard and springy sheer that give the 24 a sleek and salty look rather than the slab-sided profile of many small cruisers of the era. The stub keel and centerboard combination is the structural expression of her cruising role: a 2-foot minimum draft with the board up, extending to 3.5 feet when lowered, on an 8-foot beam and 3,100-pound displacement with 1,100 pounds of lead ballast. That 35 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio, set on a 22-foot waterline inside a 24-foot overall length, is what lets a modest trailerable hull behave like a steadier keelboat than her size suggests.
Rig and Handling
Her rig is a fractional sloop on a Bermuda plan, with a mast standing 32 feet above the waterline and a 258-square-foot sail area driving a hull whose theoretical speed tops out near 6.3 knots. The sail inventory runs from a working jib through a storm jib to a 150 percent genoa, and testers noted the generous sailplan and long waterline for her size as the source of her performance character. On the handicap course she carries a PHRF average of 261, a number that places her among the slower rated small cruisers but is consistent with a boat optimized for trailerable cruising rather than club racing. The tiller-steered transom rudder and the shallow board-up draft make her an easy boat to handle in tight launching and landing situations.
Accommodations
Below, the Seaward 24 sleeps five. A double V-berth fills the bow cabin, a straight settee berth serves the main cabin, and a convertible double berth runs on the port side. The galley sits on port just forward of the companionway ladder, fitted with a two-burner stove, an icebox, and a sink, while a refrigerator was offered as an option; the accommodations plan reviewed by testers also showed a gimballed stove with oven and space for a refrigerator. The head is placed just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side, a layout that keeps the wet locker close to the forepeak and away from the main sleeping spaces. For a 24-footer the five-berth count and defined galley are a deliberate cruising statement rather than a weekender compromise.
The Verdict
The Seaward 24 is a thoughtfully drawn small cruiser that trades racing sharpness for trailerable shallow-draft freedom and a genuine five-person interior. Hake's design discipline gives her a recognizable profile and a ballast-led sense of stability, while the centerboard stub-keel arrangement is the practical key to her dual life afloat and on the road.
Pros
- Stub keel with retractable centerboard for shallow water and trailering
- Sleeps five with a defined galley and head in a 24-foot hull
- Low freeboard and springy sheer give a sleek, salty appearance
- Lead ballast at 35 percent of displacement steadies the small hull
Cons
- PHRF 261 marks her as slow against dedicated racer-cruisers
- Propulsion is by outboard motor
