Westerly Centaur 26 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Jack Laurent Giles drew the Centaur with a clear eye on American boats of the era, and the result broke new ground in Europe against late-1960s standards anchor. The hull is built of heavy chopped-strand mat, and boats of this period are often described as extremely tough and robust, though quality control was not always perfect. Giles had recently been involved with extensive tank testing to inform the design of a 50-foot twin-keel yacht, work that fed directly into the Centaur's appendage development. The boat was offered only with bilge keels — shallow-draught foils splayed from the vertical and toed in by 2°, so that the leeward keel sits more upright when the boat is heeled, a geometry that makes drying out on a tide flat a natural habit rather than a risk.

Rig and Handling

The Centaur is a masthead sloop of 26 feet overall on a 21-foot-4-inch waterline, with a beam of 8 feet 5 inches — a 15% increase over the Westerly 25 it replaced — and that width, higher freeboard, and longer waterline combine to create much more interior volume than its predecessor anchor. Under sail she is not a spirited upwind performer, and Yachting Monthly notes she is not the most close-winded of boats, developing weather helm when pushed hard in a breeze unless reefed early; sailing her effectively to windward in a seaway demands a bit of skill. She can be fast on a reach, but the extra wetted surface of the twin keels adds drag when sailing downwind in light airs. Engines therefore tend to get a lot of use compared with more recent designs, especially upwind and downwind in calm conditions. A ketch-rig option with wheel steering and a short bowsprit appeared in the 1974 brochure, but few buyers accepted the extra cost and complexity, leaving such boats oddities today.

Accommodations

The big boxy coachroof carries large windows that flood the interior with natural light in a manner exceptional for its era anchor. Early boats used the A layout, a 5–6 berth plan with two quarter berths and a saloon dinette convertible to a slim double; by 1971 a B layout substituted an L-shaped settee to port, and by the mid-1970s a C layout moved the galley aft near the companionway, sacrificing one quarter berth for a large cockpit locker. The heads compartment spans the full beam between saloon and forecabin, and the boat includes a reasonable galley and well-thought-out stowage. Yachting Monthly records at least 6 feet of standing headroom throughout, a forward double with V-shaped infill, a port-side quarter berth, and a saloon with two settee berths and a drop-leaf table — most examples sleep up to five adults in reasonable comfort.

Known Issues

The limited structural engineering tools available at the time underestimated loads on the splayed keels, particularly when the tide lifts the boat out anchor. Keel roots therefore need careful inspection by a surveyor, even if most boats by now ought to have been strengthened in this respect. Early Centaurs carried a fairly rudimentary spade rudder with far less structure than would be specified for a similar appendage today; later boats gained a more substantial skeg-supported rudder that appears well-engineered. On the spade-rudder boats, sheets tend to catch around the exposed ends of the cockpit slats.

Refits and Ownership

Very early Centaurs were offered with a 7hp Volvo Penta MD1 or a 15hp MD2 diesel; by 1971 the builder was recommending the 25hp MD2B with the 10hp MD1B as an alternative. Many boats have since been successfully re-engined with a 14hp Beta unit anchor. A Westerly Centaur owners' association exists for the class.

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 creeping close inshore to find shelter. She is a coastal daysailer at heart rather than a heavy-weather boat, but her light, shallow hull and twin keels open waters other 26-footers cannot reach. Sources differ on her displacement, quoted between 6,150 and 6,700 lb.

Pros