The Watkins 25, also known as the W25 and marketed as the Seawolf 25 from 1986, is an American trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by the Watkins Design Team and first built in 1983.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 375.

International Marine S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

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, 2010.

Development

The Watkins 25 design is believed to have been based upon the hull moulds for the Columbia 24, with a newly designed deck and coachhouse roof. The design was later sold to Com-Pac Yachts and was developed into the Com-Pac 25.

Production

The design was built by

Watkins Yachts Watkins Yachts and Marine was an American boat builder, based in Clearwater, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was founded by the four Watkins brothers, Redford, Richard, Rober ...

in Clearwater, Florida,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. About 183 examples of the design were produced from 1983 to 1989, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Watkins 25 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the deep keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. The deep draft keel was developed at the request of a customer by cutting off the old keel mould and making a new one for a cast lead keel. Only a few were produced, probably between two and five. Each boat was custom-built to the buyer's specifications, so the fleet varies in options and features. A bow-mounted anchor platform was optional. When mounted, a different pulpit was used and the

forestay On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the t ...

was shortened to accommodate the wooden platform, but retained the same attachment point and sail plan. Other options include a flushing head, pressurized water, a hot water tank and a reboarding ladder. The design's hull is molded in a single piece using polyester resin and fiberglass woven roving, as well as multidirectional chopped strand fibers (MSCF). The keel is integral to the hull and the ballast is internal to the keel. The deck and the cockpit and also moulded in one piece, also using polyester resin and fiberglass woven roving with MCSF. Plywood coring is employed for the cabin top, deck, seat and the cockpit sole for stiffness. The hull-to-deck joint is flanged, glued and then screwed into place. There is an aluminum toe rail, stainless steel through-bolted into place, bonding the toe rail, deck and the hull. The spars are all coated

6061-T6 aluminum 6061 ( Unified Numbering System (UNS) designation A96061) is a precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. Originally called "Alloy 61S", it was developed in 1935. It has good mechani ...

extrusions. There is a single reefing point. The

mainsheet In sailing, a sheet is a line (rope, cable or chain) used to control the movable corner(s) ( clews) of a sail. Terminology In nautical usage the term "sheet" is applied to a line or chain attached to the lower corners of a sail for the purpos ...

design involved two blocks, one on each side or the cabin top, although many have been modified to a

mainsheet traveler A traveller is a part of the rigging of a boat or ship that provides a moving attachment point for a rope, sail or yard to a fixed part of the vessel. It may take the form of anything from a simple ring on a metal bar or a spar to, especially in a ...

. An

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

well is located at the bow with a hawspipe leading the anchor chain into the "V" berth locker. The main cabin has of headroom and is finished with hand-rubbed teak trim, with the bulkheads and cabinetry made from teak veneer on plywood. The main cabin sole is teak and holly veneer over plywood. The boat is normally fitted with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

of for docking and maneuvering, although a

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

inboard An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor where an engine is mounted outside the hull of the craft, an ''inboard motor'' is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a pr ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

of was a factory option. The fresh water tank has a capacity of . Ventilation on early boats was provided by two opening plastic framed ports with integral screens and on later boats built three aluminum framed ports, also with integral screens. All boats also have an extruded aluminum framed Bomar forward deck hatch. The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 243 and a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of .

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club, the ''Watkins Owners''. In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: At 5' 11" the boat has the best headroom among her comp titor. Her extruded and perforated aluminum toe rail is handy for easy placement of genoa blocks and fenders. Worst features: The very shallow (2' 6") keel is convenient but prevents good upwind performance; a deep-keel version was available toward the end of the boat’s production run but didn’t attract many buyers. The rudder depth looks a bit low to us, and therefore might give control problems under adverse weather conditions."

References

{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Watkins Design Team Sailboat types built by Watkins Yachts

Development

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References