Stuart Knockabout Buyer's Guide
The Stuart Knockabout on the used market is a 28-foot fiberglass centerboard sloop descended from L. Francis Herreshoff's 1932 line drawing, with Bill Harding's molds turning the timber original into a foam-and-fiberglass daysailer after Edey and Duff laminated the hull and deck. More than 80 were built and the class still races at an annual national championship, so a buyer is shopping a small but active fleet rather than a one-off. The shallow draft and simple rig make her a candidate for someone leaving a smaller daysailer behind or downsizing from a large cruiser.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Stuart Knockabout shares the same 28-foot centerboard-sloop hull with a 2-foot 9-inch draft board-up and 5-foot 6-inch board-down, a non-self-bailing cockpit bounded by high coamings, and a long varnished locust tiller at a port-side outboard bracket. The low freeboard places a small long-shaft outboard well submerged. Below the simple deck plan the boat is a daysailer first, with the foam aft and water-tight stem bulkhead built in for flotation rather than accommodation volume.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
A spinnaker is commonly fitted, and many boats also carry an asymmetric spinnaker with a short-handed setup for easier light-air sailing. For propulsion, the design takes well to a small 3- or 4-horsepower long-shaft four-stroke outboard or an electric Torqueedo mounted on the port bracket. The original spec included Hall Spars, Harding Sails, Schaefer tracks, and Edson bronze with a deep-set bilge pump, so a buyer should confirm those names are still on the boat rather than later substitutions.
What to Inspect
The non-self-bailing cockpit is the one structural caveat: with no automatic drainage, confirm the high coamings are sound and the sole shows no history of standing water damage. Check the built-in buoyancy foam aft and the water-tight bulkhead in the stem — a soft or delaminated forward bulkhead defeats the flotation that kept a tornado-swamped hull on the surface. Inspect the centerboard trunk and pendant for wear, since the board defines both the 2-foot 9-inch and 5-foot 6-inch drafts, and verify the Edson bronze hardware and deep bilge pump are present and free of seized castings.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Stuart Knockabouts are typically found in the United States.
- Confirm the centerboard trunk and pendant are serviceable
- Check the stem bulkhead and aft foam for delamination
- Verify high coamings are free of cockpit-water rot
- Confirm original spars and sails are present on the boat
- Test the port outboard bracket and bilge pump operation
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Stuart Knockabout. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 | 3 | $70,000 | — |
| Apr 26 | 3 | $65,000 | -7.1% |
Where they're listed
Stuart Knockabout listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 6.
Country view
6 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $67,500 | 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparkman & Stephens 30 | 30.5' | $ 62,500 | 8 | 0 |
| Stuart Marine KnockaboutYou are here | — | $ 67,500 | 6 | 0 |
| Rustler 24 | 24' | $ 50,000 | 3 | 0 |