Design
Kestrel 26
Designed by Sam Devlin
A 26 ft 4 in cruising sloop by Sam Devlin, drawn for stitch and glue construction. It grew out of five years of sailing his own Arctic Tern sloop, Malish, and is that boat with the ends drawn out, a tighter cockpit and mid-boom sheeting. Beam is 8 ft 1 in, draft 3 ft 10 in, ballast 2,500 lb and sail area 346 sq ft, with a 10 to 20 hp inboard diesel. Below are an enclosed head, midships galley and settees that convert to a double.
Only study plans are sold, and the designer invites interested builders to contact him about developing the design. A ballasted keel cruiser suits an experienced amateur. As a rule of thumb, expect 2,500 to 4,000 hours. Measured medians from build logs appear below.
What building a Kestrel 26 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Kestrel 26 here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 ft 3 in Cruising Cutter | Benford Design Group | 26′ 3″ (8 m) | 0 |
| Didi 26 | Dudley Dix Yacht Design | 26′ 3″ (8 m) | 1 |
| Albatros 26 | BCA Demco | 8 m (26′ 3″) | 0 |
| 26 ft Gaff Sloop or Marconi Cutter | Benford Design Group | 26′ 0″ (7.93 m) | 0 |
| 26 ft Raised Deck Twin Keel Cutter | Benford Design Group | 26′ 0″ (7.93 m) | 0 |
| 26 ft V-Bottom Ketch | Benford Design Group | 26′ 0″ (7.93 m) | 0 |