Design and Construction
As one of the first production boats to be moulded in GRP, the Trident 24 was the first cruising boat built by Marine Construction and laid the foundation for the company. The early hulls were glassfibre, but the first few carried professionally fitted wooden decks and coach roofs, and a few owners kept buying bare hulls and finishing them in wood — leaving perhaps twenty wood-and-glass hybrids afloat today. The standard boat is solid fibreglass in hull and deck. What makes the design distinctive is the keel choice: a buyer could specify drop keel (centreboard), fin keel, or triple keel, and the triple version is what makes her particularly suitable for shallow and drying harbours. With 1,500 lb of iron ballast at 40 percent of a 4,040 lb displacement, she sits with a reassuringly low centre of gravity for a 24-footer.
Rig and Handling
The Trident 24 is a fractional sloop whose mast is strongly stayed with twin lowers, and the rig is unusually substantial for the size — one database assessment counts her as carrying more rig than any similar sailboat in its comparison set. Halyard and sheet dimensions run long for the length, with 69-foot halyards and a 60-foot mainsheet, underscoring how full-sized the sail plan is on a 19-foot waterline. Under power she handles well both forward and in reverse, a useful trait given that many boats originally carried a Vire 6 or 7 hp two-stroke petrol engine and most of those have since been swapped for a variety of units, with the compact Yanmar 9 hp diesel a particularly popular replacement. Period testers found her performance satisfying, capable of fast sailing for the keen helmsman while giving a safe ride to the less experienced.
Accommodations and Sea Kindliness
Writing in Yachts and Yachting, testers called her one of the most comfortable small yachts they had tested, with construction and general arrangement suited to quite extensive cruising. Denny Desoutter noted that good headroom was achieved in 24 feet without the boat looking overburdened with top hamper, and the well-balanced appearance of hull and superstructure was widely praised. The deep self-draining cockpit, wide side decks, and exceptional stowage make the boat feel larger than her length, and Yachting and Boating Weekly judged Alan F. Hill to have designed an extremely attractive little sloop.
Known Issues
The earliest boats had wooden decks and coach roofs over a GRP hull, and a small number of owner-finished wood-and-glass hybrids exist. These timber elements are the only known divergence from the all-fibreglass standard and are the areas where age and moisture ingress are most likely to show on a specific hull.
Refits and Ownership
Most original Vire petrol engines have been replaced, so a buyer should expect mixed propulsion installations rather than original machinery. The original sail or hull number remains the best guide to a boat's age, useful when assessing how many seasons a hybrid deck or swapped engine has seen. Owners have cruised these boats from Scandinavia to the Middle East and North America, and the design more than stands up to comparison with many later designs.
The Verdict
The Trident 24 is a genuinely capable small cruiser whose early GRP construction, heavy ballast ratio, and triple-keel option give her a poise beyond her length. She is comfortable, seakindly, and well rigged, and her only notable ownership caveat is the minority of wood-decked or owner-finished hulls that need timber-specific scrutiny.
Pros
- Buoyant, seakindly hull proven on offshore passages and wide European cruising
- 40% ballast ratio and triple keel suited to shallow and drying harbours
- Strongly stayed fractional rig with oversized sail-handling lengths for the size
- Comfortable accommodation with good headroom and deep self-draining cockpit
Cons
- Minority of boats have wooden decks/coach roofs or wood-GRP hybrid fit-out needing timber inspection
- Original Vire two-stroke engines mostly gone, so propulsion is a mixed bag per hull
