Boats


HURLEY 30/90 Price from £8,950


HURLEY 24/70 Price from £5,500


Around 160 Hurley 24/70s were built


Normand Boatyard in Dartmouth. The Bowman was herself a glassfi bre development of the Sirius, a small sailing cruiser in strip-planked mahogany which Anderson had designed for Lee Wright Ltd, which was later taken over by Normand. A number of changes were made to the Bowman design, the most noticeable of which was the raising of the forward coachroof to provide standing headroom in the forepeak. The topsides were also raised all round by about 15cm (6in) resulting in an increased length overall to 8.2m (27ft). Further improvements to the design were made in 1972, during an upgrade and


rationalisation of the Hurley line. Ninety- one H27s were built between 1971 and February 1974, some being sold as kits.


Hurley 24/70 Anderson designed the Hurley 24/70 as part of the revitalisation of the product line in 1972. She was a stretched version of the Hurley 22 but with key modifi cations. The coachroof was raised to give standing headroom inside and the cockpit coamings were raised, making her safe for families. The counter stern gave her a modern look while lengthening the waterline when sailing and heeled over.


The 24/70 refers to 24ft/7m and was


intended to make the yacht sound modern and acceptable for the European market. They sold well, and around 160 were built. The short boom, large genoa and high-aspect rig was favoured by IOR and JOG racers at that time, but the Hurley 24/70 is not a racing boat – she is easily manageable by solo sailors. The sail area is less than the Hurley 22 but the boat has


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The Hurley 30/90 from 1972 was the largest of Ian Anderson’s designs for Hurley


about the same maximum speed due to the longer waterline length. The hull form is fi n and skeg like the


30/90, as opposed to the semi-long keel of the 18 and 22 and the long keel of the 27. The 24/70 was also available as a bilge keeler. She has a reverse-counter transom, giving low wetted area and a long waterline for extra performance.


Hurley 30/90


The Hurley 30/90 (30ft/9m) was designed by Ian Anderson in 1972 and was the largest of his designs for Hurley. She formed the last stage of that year’s modernisation progamme, and about 30 were built. Like most Hurleys, the 30/90 is a stiff, dry boat that is good in moderate to heavy wind and sea. She is a well-built, heavy boat for her size and shares many of the traits of the Hurley line. The size of berths is generous and there is plenty of room in the deep cockpit. She is a true offshore sailer capable of blue water cruising. The fi n and skeg confi guration makes her a great performer but many had offset propeller shafts which made going astern challenging in the hands of novices.


The fi rst Hurley 30/90 built, Claren, is still


afl oat and is now berthed in Wales. Her photograph was used for the brochure shot: some time later, she entered the 1974 Fastnet race with Ian Anderson at the helm. After the demise of Hurley Marine the


30/90 moulds were sold to Southbourne Marine Ltd of Emsworth. The new yacht was moulded by Northshore Yachts and marketed as the Cobra 30. Later still, Ian Anderson bought the tooling himself and built the yacht as the Anderson 30.


Hurley 9.5 motor ketch The Hurley 9.5 was designed in 1970 by GK Collyer, previously of Morgan Giles Ltd. She’s a 9.4m (31ft) centre-cockpit, high-volume motor-sailer with a ‘doghouse’ wheelhouse. Around 30 were built by Hurley between 1971 and 1973. The fi rst boat was wooden and built for Hurley by Coysh of Teignmouth. She was named Hurley Maid and formed the pattern for production in glassfi bre. They are strong and heavily-built boats


with excellent accommodation, and have lasted well. After the closure of Hurley, the moulds were bought by Elizabethan Yachts


Practical Boat Owner 539 September 2011 • www.pbo.co.uk


Hurley New_fjp.indd 36


3/8/11 12:45:42


David Harding


David Harding


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