Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Lineage

The Centaur's origins carry a pointed lesson in design discipline. Laurent Giles' first effort was a development of the existing Westerly 25, but David Sanders judged it "all curves and no substance" and made his disappointment clear to Jack Giles. Jack Giles' reply — "so you want a proper yacht?" — marked the birth of the Centaur we know. Compared with the 25 it replaced, the new design gained an 8ft 5in beam, a 15% increase, along with higher freeboard and a longer 21ft 4in waterline that together created much more interior space. A flared bow and a long, high, wide cabin trunk give the boat a somewhat chunky look, but the trade-off bought genuine volume below.

Construction and Keels

Westerly built the Centaur of heavy chopped strand mat, and boats of this era are often described as extremely tough and robust, with a solid Westerly build that makes the sailing experience very forgiving for the novice skipper. The hull is a straightforward fiberglass composite, and Westerly was among the first builders to make extensive use of fiberglass liners for interior components that formed part of the vessel's structural integrity, incorporating hatches for inspection and maintenance. The defining feature is the twin bilge keel arrangement: fixed, cast iron keels offered exclusively in that configuration, aerofoil-shaped and toed in by 2°, splayed so the leeward keel stands more upright when heeled. Jack Giles had recently been involved with extensive tank testing for a 50ft twin-keel yacht, and that work informed the Centaur's appendage design. The shallow 3ft draught and ability to dry out make it ideal for estuary and river crawling.

Rig and Handling

Primarily a sloop, the Centaur received a ketch-rig option with wheel steering and a short bowsprit in the 1974 brochure; fewer than 20 were produced, as few buyers accepted the extra cost and complexity. Under sail, the boat is not a spirited upwind performer but can be fast on a reach. The extra wetted surface of the bilge keels adds drag downwind in light airs, and testers note that the separate hydrodynamic behavior of each keel as the boat heels detracts from speed and pointing in light winds. Yachting Monthly found her not the most close-winded of boats, with weather helm developing when pushed hard in a breeze unless reefed early; sailing effectively upwind in a seaway demands a bit of skill. She is not designed for heavy weather, but her relatively light, shallow hull with high windage can be skittish at anchor, and she can creep close inshore to find shelter. Early boats carried a rudimentary spade rudder with less structure than modern practice would specify; later boats gained a more substantial skeg-supported rudder.

Accommodations

The Centaur's interior is a genuine strong point. The big boxy coachroof with large windows flooded the cabin with natural light in a manner exceptional for its era. A full-height cabin with five berths and a good-sized head sits within the 26ft hull; the most common layout runs a V-berth forward, then a full-width heads between saloon and forecabin, a main saloon with convertible dinette to port and galley to starboard, and quarter berths aft. Minimum standing headroom is 6ft throughout, and berths are all 6ft or better. Early A-layout boats offered 5–6 berths including two quarter berths; a 1971 B layout substituted an L-shaped settee to port, and by the mid-1970s a C layout moved the galley aft and traded one quarter berth for a large cockpit locker. Reviewers judged the accommodations better than either a Pearson 26 or an H-26.

Known Issues and Ownership

Period reviews caution that quality control was not always perfect, and the limited structural engineering tools of the day underestimated loads on the splayed keels, especially as the tide lifts the boat. Keel roots therefore need careful surveyor inspection. The long cabin trunk leaves little foredeck and side deck, bilges are practically nonexistent, and small persons can struggle to see over the cabin top from the cockpit. The 10th hull built remains sailed by the third generation of one family, a quiet testament to a design that, for all its quirks, earned an enthusiastic following.

The Verdict

The Centaur is a proper family cruiser with a fairly comfortable motion and an easily handled rig, ideal for those stepping up from dayboats or dinghies and for coastal daysailing with the occasional fair-weather cross-Channel hop. Its weaknesses are honest ones, rooted in 1960s engineering limits rather than neglect.

Pros