Design and Construction
Russel Marine built the Vivacity 24 in solid fiberglass with an iron keel. The boat was offered with either a fin keel or a bilge keel, and the bilge-keel version was much more popular.
The boat measures 23.5 feet overall, with an 8-foot beam and roughly 4,200 pounds displacement. She carries 1,750 pounds of iron ballast, giving a ballast-to-displacement ratio of about 42 percent. Draft ranges from about 3.67 to 3.97 feet, depending on load, allowing access to shallow marinas. Her theoretical hull speed is 6.1 knots, typical of a displacement hull with this waterline length.
A capsize screening value of 1.98 and Motion Comfort Ratio of 18.7 place the Vivacity firmly among small, steady coastal cruisers rather than in the offshore-adventure class.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Vivacity 24 has a masthead sloop rig carrying about 255 square feet of sail. Period reviews describe reasonable performance and good, safe coastal cruising rather than sparkling pace.
The sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 13.8 with the reference sail and rises to 16.4 with a 135 percent genoa. That’s enough to keep the boat moving in a modest breeze without demanding an athletic crew.
The standing and running rigging follow period masthead conventions. Halyards are about 56.8 feet long and 5/16 inch in diameter. Jib and genoa sheets are 23.5 feet long and 3/8 inch in diameter, while the mainsheet is 58.7 feet long and 3/8 inch in diameter.
Almost all boats left the factory rigged for an outboard motor rather than inboard propulsion.
Accommodations
Below, the Vivacity 24 has two cabins and well-arranged accommodations for her size. The forecabin contains either a double berth or two singles. In the main cabin, the table drops to form another double. The boat therefore sleeps four in comfort and five at a push.
A toilet and a small cooking area with a sink are fitted within the accommodation. The cockpit is spacious and provides plenty of storage. For a 24-footer, the berth count and enclosed galley corner are genuinely useful for coastal weekends rather than merely nominal.
Used-Boat Considerations
The twin-keel variant dominates the surviving fleet rather than the single fin.
Verdict
The Vivacity 24 is a small, solidly built family cruiser that does what Alan F. Hill and Russel Marine intended: provide safe coastal sailing, reasonable performance, and compact but well-planned sleeping and galley space for four to five people.
Her numbers don’t mark her out as a bluewater boat. As a first cruiser or an estuary weekender, however, she remains a sensible, unpretentious choice.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass construction, an iron keel, and a 42 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio
- Two-cabin layout sleeping four in comfort and five at a push
- Shallow draft and a bilge-keel option for marina and drying-berth access
- Spacious cockpit with ample storage
Cons
- Bilge-keel boats dominate the used fleet, limiting the choice of fin-keel examples
- Almost all boats have outboard propulsion; an inboard was not standard
- Coastal-cruiser numbers only; not suited to extended offshore passage-making
