Scintilla 24 The Benchmark
One of many questions we ask our customers is simply this: “What kind of boat do you want?”
The answers are, of course, many and varied but quite naturally most people want as much boat as possible for their money and the question we ask ourselves is why would we want to design a boat that is just “good” – why not aim for the best? Enter the Scintilla 24 - designed to be the reference point for traditionally rigged trailer sailers - the benchmark. A boastful claim indeed - empty unless we can back it up - here's how.
Peformance
With a standard yawl rig the scintilla 24 will surprise you with sparking, race proven performance and sheer versatility. She'll ghost along in the faintest of zephyrs yet quickly hit 6 knots or more when the breeze pipes up. A quarter of a tonne of lead in a three quarter length keel, fine underwater lines and a long run to her graceful counter stern equates to a steady helm and an easy motion even in confused seas. Scintilla's low aspect ratio lugger rig means more power low down for less heel and greater stability. This is a modern interpretation of a sail plan honed to perfection over centuries of hard workboat experience. Upwind, as with all traditionally rigged boats, ease her off a point or two and she'll reward you with very good speed and excellent ground covering ability. Downwind she'll look after herself with little or no help from the skipper. Fit the optional gaff cutter rig and she’ll really fly.
In heavier weather two reefs in the main, one in the mizzen and a storm jib will do nicely or jog along with just the genoa and mizzen. And in case you're caught out in something over force 6 then the reefed mizzen and storm jib will still balance the ship while you bring her home. Coming in to harbour, roller reefing on the genoa and a topping lift on the mizzen allows for delicate manoeuvres under sail. A neatly fitted 4-8 HP outboard, in its own well to starboard, powers you along on the smell of an oily rag and doesn't hang off the stern on an ugly bracket. As an example, under power a 4 HP 4-stroke will cruise at 5 knots. An 8 HP will allow a top speed of 6.5 knots all this adds up to exceptional seaworthiness and exceptional handling without undue histrionics. Better still, fit a Torqeedo 2.0R and the batteries form useful trimming ballast.
Handling
One word will do. Easy. Let's start with rigging and launching - do the whole thing by yourself and if you take longer than half an hour something is not right. The mainstays are already set up, the mast is quickly raised and the forestay and genoa halyard cleated down. The main is up (or down) in seconds and the unstayed mizzen mast simply drops into a slot. Easy! Once afloat all sheets and controls can be adjusted without leaving the tiller. The motor tilts up and out of the way and you can heave-to quietly at any time by simply sheeting in the mizzen, furling the genoa and brailing the main. Despite a relatively long keel, a Scintilla will turn readily and tack smartly. That same long keel and an exceptionally shallow draft means she'll power on to windward in two feel of water, such is their balance that Scintilla yawls will steer themselves on most points.
Building
While other boats can offer some of the features available with a Scintilla, almost none can be built at home from a kit of engineered components. Our kits offer not only incredible value but with our instructions, drawings and clear, step by step photo spreadsheets, genuine ease of construction. A Scintilla 24 can be framed up and ready to float in a month. Of course fitting out will take a fair bit longer but the point is that very quickly the boat parts become a real boat. You don't have to be an economist to work it out and you certainly don't have to be a shipwright to build it. After nearly 20 years of pioneering kit production in Australia we've pretty much got it all sorted.
Safety
our boats are the safest - no arguments - here's why. Firstly, the obvious virtues of a self-righting displacement hull, generous beam, wide side decks and proven, simple rig need no endorsements. Add to that lead ballast right down near the bottom of the keel and a boomless main and you have a pretty foolproof combination. These predictable boats will spring no nasty surprises. Secondly our boats are extremely tough, they’re built with interlocking frames and bulkheads enclosing multiple watertight compartments along the whole length of the ship. In short, we've done every thing possible to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
Accommodation
OK which trailer sailer can sleep six comfortably, (two under canvas in the cockpit) accommodate a shower, marine toilet and a decent sized galley without looking like a floating caravan? Which traditional 24 footer, seats six in the cockpit, six down below and two on the foredeck? And which can be had in survey to carry eight passengers plus crew? And can an inboard diesel or electric be almost disappeared beneath the cockpit sole? And is the cockpit self-draining? And is there good sitting headroom? Custom interior with a wealth of solid timber?
So what more do you want? It’s got to cost less than any other new boat of its size and type, right?