Design and Construction
Westerly built the Pageant 23 under Lloyd's Registry inspection anchor, and the hull carries the substance one expects of that certified approach. The keels are cast iron, and each is secured to the hull with sturdy 1-inch-diameter stainless-steel bolts anchor — a robust attachment detail for a 4,300-pound boat carrying 2,094 pounds of iron ballast at a 48.7 percent ballast-displacement ratio. Laurent Giles originally specified asymmetrical keel airfoil profiles to refine the twin-keel behavior, but Westerly did not implement that refinement because of production cost considerations anchor. What reached the buyer was therefore a more straightforward pair of cast-iron bilge keels than the drawing board intended, yet the bolt-through mounting suggests the yard did not compromise on how the foils met the hull.
Rig and Handling
The Pageant is a masthead sloop of 23 feet overall with a 19-foot waterline, a beam of 8 feet, and a sail area of 236 square feet, giving a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.28 — modest, as befits a stable little cruiser rather than a racer. The twin-keel configuration lets the boat settle upright on a drying grid or a shallow shelf, a practical advantage in the tidal estuaries and canals of her home market. With a displacement-length ratio near 280 and a hull speed around 5.84 knots, she is built for steady coastal passage-making rather than sparkling upwind pace.
Accommodations
Below, the Pageant 23 delivers more than 6 feet of standing headroom anchor, a figure that surprises for a 23-footer and makes the cabin genuinely usable for an adult crew. An enclosed head sits within that volume, supporting weekend cruising without the makeshift privacy of a curtain around the forepeak. The 15-gallon water tank and 10-gallon diesel tank speak to short-range gunkholing more than ocean passage, but the layout is that of a proper small cruiser rather than a daysailer with a tent below.
The Verdict
The Pageant 23 is a quietly competent British bilge-keeler: modest under sail, but stoutly built under Lloyd's oversight, clever with her standing headroom, and pragmatic in the shallow waters a twin-keel boat opens up. The dropped airfoil refinement is a curiosity rather than a defect, and the bolted cast-iron keels inspire confidence in the structure.
Pros
- More than 6 feet of standing headroom below in a 23-foot hull
- Enclosed head for private accommodation
- Cast-iron twin keels secured with 1-inch stainless bolts
- Built under Lloyd's Registry inspection in fiberglass's early era
Cons
- Laurent Giles' asymmetrical keel airfoils were dropped for cost
- Modest sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air performance
