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Seadog 30

Price Guide

£20,000 to £24,000

Brief details

The Seadog 30 is a very solid small centre-cockpit ketch-rigged cruiser - originally marketed as a motor-sailer, but with fairly good sailing performance.

The Seadog was first introduced in 1964, designed and built by Reg Freeman A.R.I.N.A. The design was popular, and production continued for many years, with very minor design changes. They offer an unusual combination of qualities - a good enough and tough enough heavy-displacement sailing boat to cross oceans, yet relatively shallow draught and the ability to take the ground if you have the triple keel version. Add in a deep safe cockpit protected from the worst of the weather by a fixed windscreen, and masts in tabernacles so they can be lowered if necessary without outside assistance, and you have a genuinely go-almost-anywhere boat, from ocean passages (at least one has been circumnavigated single-handed) to the French canals.

Photographs Yachtsnet

While most Seadogs were built by Reg Freeman Yachts, a few late Seadogs were built by J. G. Meakes & Co., and finally a few more were moulded in Holland, most of these hulls being home-completed, some as motorboats.

Photographs that follow may be of different yachts

The saloon table folds away almost completely, to leave a very open interior when the table is not required (photo below).

There is good stowage behind seat backs, and in a variety of built-in lockers.

Below: The galley is on the port side, with gimbaled two-burner, grill and oven cooker, good sized sink and drainer, and a coolbox. Opposite this is the chart table to starboard. A quarter berth aft of the chart table here forms the sixth berth on board.

The aft cabin originally had two single berths, but on most yachts an extra berth section has been added to provide a small double - or even three if necessary!

Unusually, Seadogs do not have a conventional forecabin: instead the forward part contains a spacious heads compartment, with sink unit and marine WC, plus two hanging lockers, and stowage racks for sails and gear, one side of which (to port) appears to be designed to be used as a childs berth if required. The chain locker is low in the boat, the chain feeding down from deck via the central pipe.

Although conceived and marketed as a motor-sailer, the Seadog is actually a proper sailing yacht with a fairly powerful rig - 510 sq feet with main, genoa and mizzen. Many owners report that in strong winds dropping the main and carrying on under headsail and mizzen is very effective.

36 hp of diesel is also fairly effective, of course, in a 30 foot yacht!

The cockpit is deep, and very well protected. The view forward from the wheel position is good, through the fixed windscreen, whether standing or sitting.

Most Seadogs seem to be fitted with a 'camper' style cover for the cockpit, with transparent windows, which zips on to the permanent sprayhood.

The original engine was usually a Perkins 4/107 or 4018 diesel, or occasionally a BMC Captain diesel, accessed from two large lifting panels in the cockpit sole (only one lifted here). Finally, the masts are mounted in tabernacles to allow raising and lowering without requiring hiring a crane.