Chrysler 26

The Chrysler 26 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Halsey Herreshoff as a cruiser and first built in 1977.

Production
The design was built by Chrysler Marine in the United States, starting in 1977, but it is now out of production.

Design
The Chrysler 26 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem plumb stem, a nearly-plumb transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a swing keel or optional fixed fin keel.

The boat was produced with two different deck plans, the flush-deck "Cruiser" and the "Courser", named for the bird, with a more conventional coach house cabin.

The boat is normally fitted with a small outboard motor for docking and maneuvering, although a diesel inboard was a factory option.

The design has sleeping accommodation for six people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settee berths in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth. The head is fully enclosed. Cabin headroom is 72 in.

For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker of 480 sqft.

The design has a hull speed of 6.29 kn.

Variants

 * Chrysler 26
 * This model has a swing keel, displaces 5000 lb and carries 1900 lb of ballast. The boat has a draft of 6.17 ft with the keel down and 2.25 ft with it up, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer.


 * Chrysler 26 FK
 * This fixed keel model displaces 5500 lb and carries 2400 lb of ballast. The boat has a draft of 3.92 ft with the standard keel.

Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club the Chrysler Sailors and at one time also the Chrysler Sailing Association.

In a review SailRite wrote, "the Chrysler 26 is an excellent cruiser and features sleeping for six, with forward v-berth, double stern berth and two side berths. The Chrysler 26 also has an enclosed head for privacy. With six side windows and a translucent forward hatch there is plenty of ambient light."