Watkins 29 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is a single molded unit of polyester resin with fiberglass woven roving and multidirectional chopped strand fiber, and the keel is molded integrally with all ballast contained inside rather than bolted on integral keel with internal ballast. Deck and cockpit are likewise a one-piece molded assembly using the same materials, with plywood coring sandwiched into the cabin top, deck, seats, and cockpit sole to add stiffness — a sandwich layout that also insulates against cold water and limits cabin condensation. The hull-to-deck joint is a flanged type, coated heavily with adhesive sealant, lowered into place and fastened with stainless screws, then finished with an aluminum toe rail bedded in the same compound and through-bolted to tie the structure together. Exterior gelcoat is pigmented and molded, with boot and sheer stripes permanently in the hull, and non-skid molded into the deck. Below, a molded fiberglass interior assembly is bonded to the hull with woven roving and mat to form a single unit, finished with hand-rubbed teak accents over teak-veneered plywood and a teak-and-holly cabin sole.

Rig and Handling

She is a masthead sloop with extruded aluminum 6061-T6 spars, a single spreader, and single-reefing boom; standing rigging is stainless wire with the forestay on a welded stainless stemhead and all other stays on through-bolted chainplates, with additional hull reinforcement molded into every chainplate area reinforced chainplate areas. The mainsheet traveler sits on the cabin top. Steering is by an Edson pedestal driving stainless cables to a quadrant on a rudder post that is molded integrally with a solid high-density-foam rudder skinned in fiberglass, the post itself solid stainless welded to an internal steel blade. A 1-inch stainless shaft exits through a stuffing box and is supported aft by a cutless bearing in a shaft log that is a continuation of the keel. With a sail area of 370 square feet and a displacement-length ratio of 284, she is moderately powered for light air — her sail-area-to-displacement ratio shows her faster than 24 percent of similar designs under sail with the standard rig — and her ballast ratio of 44 percent exceeds about 69 percent of similar boats, contributing to a motion comfort ratio more comfortable than 58 percent of them.

Accommodations

The layout sleeps five. Forward is a V-berth, with the head to port and lockers to starboard dividing it from the main salon, where a fold-up dining table serves the settees — the port side pulls out to a double, the starboard is a single. A quarter berth lies aft to port, while the starboard side aft holds the galley with sink, stove, icebox, and storage. Headroom is above average for the size at 75 inches. Ventilation comes from eight opening ports and one large deck hatch, and the companionway steps drop only about a foot to the cockpit sole, with the stairs removable for engine access. A bow hawse pipe routes the anchor rode down into the forward berth locker, and teak grab rails run the cabin top.

Equipment and Engineering

Standard equipment included a Yanmar diesel — either the 18-horsepower 2GM20 or 27-horsepower 3GM30 — with a shaft drive, a 20-gallon fuel tank, 40-gallon water capacity, pressure water, shower, shore power, and a pair of 12-volt batteries in parallel charged by a 35-amp Hitachi alternator. The engine raw-water path draws through the intake, circulates the block, and discharges with exhaust through the muffler. The galley originally came with an icebox and a gimbaled two-burner alcohol or gas stove with oven, and the electrical panel sits just under the companionway.

The Verdict

The Watkins 29 is a small, solidly unified coastal cruiser with a thoroughly integrated molded structure, practical five-berth accommodations, and a ballast profile that gives her a steadier motion than most peers. Her modest production run and active class club keep her a recognizable niche boat, though her light-air sail performance and heavier displacement place her firmly in the leisurely cruiser camp rather than the racer category.

Pros