Design and Construction
The Pageant 23 was built under Lloyd’s Registry inspection, and its construction has the substance expected of that certified approach. The boat displaces 4,300 pounds and carries 2,094 pounds of ballast, giving it a ballast-displacement ratio of 48.7 percent.
The twin keels are cast iron, each secured to the hull with sturdy, 1-inch-diameter stainless-steel bolts—a robust attachment detail. Laurent Giles originally specified asymmetrical airfoil profiles to improve the twin-keel behavior, but Westerly omitted that refinement because of production costs. Buyers therefore received a more straightforward pair of cast-iron bilge keels than the drawing-board design intended. Even so, the bolt-through mounting suggests that the yard didn’t compromise on the connection between the keels and hull.
Rig and Handling
The Pageant is a masthead sloop measuring 23 feet overall, with a 19-foot waterline and an 8-foot beam. Its 236 square feet of sail gives a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.28—modest, as befits a stable little cruiser rather than a racer. That modest ratio also limits light-air performance.
With a displacement-length ratio near 280 and a hull speed around 5.84 knots, the Pageant is intended for steady coastal passagemaking rather than sparkling upwind pace. Its twin keels allow it to settle upright on a drying grid or shallow shelf, a practical advantage in the tidal estuaries and canals of its home market.
Accommodations
Below, the Pageant provides more than 6 feet of standing headroom. That’s a surprising amount for a 23-footer and makes the cabin genuinely usable for an adult crew.
An enclosed head fits within that volume, giving weekend cruisers privacy without resorting to a curtain around the forepeak. A 15-gallon water tank and 10-gallon diesel tank suit short-range gunkholing more than ocean passagemaking, but this is the layout of a proper small cruiser, not a daysailer with a tent below.
Verdict
The Pageant 23 is a quietly competent British bilge-keeler: modest under sail, stoutly built under Lloyd’s oversight, clever in its provision of standing headroom, and practical in the shallow waters that twin keels make accessible. Laurent Giles’ omitted airfoil refinement is more curiosity than defect, while the bolted cast-iron keels inspire confidence in the structure.
Pros
- More than 6 feet of standing headroom in a 23-foot hull
- Enclosed head for privacy below
- Cast-iron twin keels secured with 1-inch stainless-steel bolts
- Built under Lloyd’s Registry inspection during the early fiberglass era
Cons
- Laurent Giles’ asymmetrical keel airfoils were dropped to reduce production costs
- Modest sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air performance
