UK Condor 37

Beaulieu · **Joined:** 20 Sep 2007 11:41 **Posts:** 1

Hi everyone,
Delighted to know that there is an association of Tartan 37 owners. Having extensively sailed and skippered the UK version of the Tartan 37 (Condor 37) which is owned by a friend of mine. I was so impressed by her sailing qualities that I searched out, located and bought the original moulds used by Condor Yachts (Penryn UK) to produce the Condor 37. These moulds have been lying with a boatyard on an estuary on the East Coast of the UK and I am hoping one day to contract to produce a number of hulls from the moulds. Over the last year or two I have been contacted by a few members of the Sparkman and Stevens Association UK who know about the impressive USA pedegree of the yacht and who may be interested in a hull and deck for fitting out by a yard. In the meantime Condor of Beaulieu is based in Brighton Marina UK. Shandy Perez, her owner has just had her hull repainted using Awlgrip and she is being completely refitted out with new engine, new teak decks, new instumentation etc. There are some specification differences to the Tartan 37 the most notable being the shallow scheel keel giving 1.5 metre draft and excellent windward performance. Most people in the 600 berth Brighton Marina know her as the most impressive yacht around. Best wishes to you all
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Down2TheC · **Posted:** 20 Sep 2007 12:43

Thanks for dropping in... She looks great in blue. Don't think I've seen that before. I can see a few differences above the rail. Nothing major though. What's the powerplant in yours?

Cheers Mmm Beer

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Beaulieu, You can definitely see the family resemblance! Are the hulls of the Condors cored? I also see the your boom is end-sheeted whereas the Tartans are mid-boom. Is the deck moulding the same? From the picture, they look similar.

little wing · **Joined:** 03 Jul 2007 10:17 **Posts:** 1

Sorry for the delay, I only just came across this posting.

I bought a Condor in Holland last year and sailed her back to Cardiff. Have picked up some info on these boats on the way. Only about 20 were built, with the moulds passing through various hands but with all the cheap imports from France they found it hard to make a profit. They were put together very much to owners spec and some were sold as mouldings for home completion. Most had a high bridge deck allowing a walk-through aft cabin. The hull may not be an exact copy of the Tartan as it was taken from a wooden custom built yacht which I am told has slightly fuller aft sections than the Tartan. That boat is still sailing in the south west of England.

The original literature says the deck is balsa cored, but not the hull (my deck seems to have a plywood core). The original engine was 23hp Volvo saildrive, with most including mine being upgraded. I have a 33hp Sole bolted onto the saildrive unit and get heaps of power from it. The deck layout is different with the bridgedeck, more curves in the coachroof, alloy toerails and (in most boats) a 44" wheel.

Mostly they were fixed keel. A Tartan style centreboard was offered originally but I don't know if any of these exist. The Scheel keel was (I think) then introduced by a later builder, Hartley Marine, who marketed the boat as the Concord 37.

Mine was a very early boat, without the bridgedeck. The companionway goes down almost to the cockpit sole. She also has a double spreader rig.

Nice to hear that the moulds still exist

Have attatched a few bits from the original literature

Best wishes

John

condor37 · **Joined:** 08 Jun 2008 05:20 **Posts:** 1

I would be very interested in hearing from if anyone has a UK Condor 37 for sale.

sailorflo · **Joined:** 17 Feb 2007 09:11 **Posts:** 30

It does look like the condor 37 has some tartan in her. But as we all Know looks can be deceving. the tartan 37 is very well Known for her off shore ability, I personally would not give up mine for anything less than a hauns . Toast

leif2802 · **Joined:** 31 Aug 2008 21:49 **Posts:** 5

We have a Condor (Concord) 37 built by Hartley Marine. It was our idea to develop the aft cabin concept which involved doing away with the small washboard above the bridge deck and adopt a drop through entrance like the Swans/Baltics of the same era. It took some convincing of Denny Brown but he eventually came around to our way of thinking. We have had the boat since new and are very pleased with her, in fact we considered a new boat but do not find the current crop of French and their look alikes appealing in the least. Plus it is hard to top the wood work from Hartley, the chippies did a great job, only the electrics were a bit of a muddle and it has been a work in progress to put it right. Consequently, we are doing a major refit at present. This includes new sails, new engine (Volvo D2-40 w/saildrive), new electrical panel, new autopilot, hot water tank, batteries, headlining, and a heck of a lot more.
We sailed her to the Med, 2 summers and 1 winter, across to the Carib, Virgins, Dominican Rep, Haiti, Bahamas and up the east coast to the Chesapeak. She is now in Bellingham Washington where we sail the remarkable San Juans, Canadian Gulf islands and Puget Sound. Next year we hope to make our way to Mexico. I have been to a couple of Tartan rendezvous and the hull/coarchroof are very much alike, the main difference of course is the bridgedeck. Belowdecks we are radically different with a decent aft cabin and aft head plus lots of built in cabinets. It was said that we look a bit fuller in the stern but personally I could not see any difference.

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 02 Sep 2008 19:06

Nice travels. Good luck with the refit.

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