Midship 25, Dawson & Parker Dawson 26 Specifications
Please NOTE 10 May 2005: This page has been simply copied from the old site into the new format. New information has become available to me. I will incorporate it into this site as soon as possible and this page will become the history page. Until then, the 1997 page follows:Unfortunately I have no photos of Slow Ride under sail. With the help of the good Doctor Lyman, I hope to rectify this soon.
In the mean time, peruse the 1976 sales brochure for a Dawson 26. This is the same boat, apparently Dawson bought the molds et. al. from Midship Yacht Company in 1975 or 1976. Slow Ride is a Midship 25 and the title claims her to be a 1975 model*. It is possible that she was built earlier as some states still allowed dealers to set the year model when a new boat was sold for the first time. The other model that I am aware of is the Parker-Dawson 26.
* NOTE May 1998 - After perusing John Kenney's list of these boats it became apparent that my boat was titled with a year other than the year of manufacture. Seeing the patterns of the serial numbers makes me beleive that she was built in June of 1973.If anyone has more information on Midship, Dawson or Parker-Dawson please let me know. I have digitally reconstructed this brochure from the only one I have - it is not in the best condition. I also have the owner's manual (8 1/2 X 11 sheets stapled together) and a Vire 7 shop manual which I could photocopy if anyone needs these.
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The Dawson and Midship were built in Las Vegas. This seems an odd place for a 'Yacht Company' being in the middle of the desert and all. These photos were most likely taken at nearby Lake Mead.
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The boats shown are a year or two newer than Slow Ride and under new ownership. The layout and appointments are slightly different but there are more similarities than differences. The ketch rig would be nice in heavy air, but the mizzen mast steps right in the center of the companionway to the aft cabin!
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Slow Ride has a fixed keel, not the retractable shown here so she isn't the joy to trailer that the brochure claims. From what I have seen, most of these boats were built with the swing keel. The top of the trunk for the swing keel is molded into the hull liner, but there is no trunk. I didn't get the rudder crew either. Shucks.
The layout drawing, split between two pages above, is reproduced whole below:
The differences between Slow Ride and the Dawson described in the brochure from stem to stern are:
- The 'Storage Under' the vee berth is the home of the head on Slowride.
- The 'Head Under' the starboard berth is a built-in cooler.
- The 'Wheel' in the cockpit is nonexistent. Slow Ride has a tiller.
- The 'Head Under Step' is where the 'Wash Basin' is shown.
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The camper top looks sort of goofy, but I'm thinking about having one made. It snaps around the open companionway hatches and attaches to the boom. Even at 6' 3", I have standing headroom under the boom. With the camper top, I would have 6' of enclosed space in which to move freely. It would be nice in inclement weather to be able to attach the cabins with a dry 'patio' between ...
Not so sure about putting the mast(s) down to go under bridges ... if there is any wind at all this can be a handful. I talked with some ex Thistle racers from Columbus, Ohio who were on their Parker-Dawson at Put In Bay. They said that they annually do what this last page of the brochure describes. Pull up the keel, drop the mast and trailer her up to the North Channel for some late summer cruising.
Observations and Reflections
This boat is nearly perfect for my needs: A weekender and vacation boat. When I decided to get back into sailing, I thought long and hard about the purpose and requirements. I wanted to stay away from the MORC 'mountains of sails and money' syndrome - keep it simple and enjoyable. That she does. Virtually no maintenance requirements - I appreciate those beautiful wood boats, but the good old plastic sure allows more time on the water!A bit of a slug in light air, she comes into her own with 7-8 knots of wind and is fairly fast on up through dangerous conditions. The light air performance could almost certainly be improved with a bigger jib, but she's not getting one. The roller furling jib someone added is really handy too. This is the first boat I've owned with one and I don't think I'll ever go without again. Since I single hand a lot this feature is great - she sails quite well on the jib alone so I can putt out of the marina; pop the jib from the cockpit and sail to somewhere less crowded to hoist the main. Reverse the procedure on the way in - I usually sail right into the entrance, roll up the jib and drop her in gear.
Two things were mentioned in the brochure about the center cockpit design: A dry ride and the reduced motion in the cockpit. When I read these I thought 'yeah, some adman's fantasy'. Well, she is very dry in the cockpit. And the natural place to sit or stand is about 3/4 of the way forward in the cockpit which happens to be the center of fore and aft rotation. It is surprising how little movement there is - you watch the bow go up and down while you are practically stationary.
On the subjectof comfort, the cockpit is roomy and deep. My nervous friends have always remarked about how secure they feel in the cockpit. Slow Ride is very gentle in rough water. She seldom pounds - usually only with certain heel angle/wave angle combinations. It always surprises me in heavy seas ... she will shoot up a wave and I know that the keel is out of the water ... I cringe, waiting for the CRASH of re-entry. Usually what I get is sort of a squish and a lot of spray out the the sides.
The boat is sturdy as well. She was built with strength and not weight in mind. The hand laid hull is about 3/4" thick at the drain through hull and is built up down toward the keel. Now that the deck is fully attached to the hull (see preceding page), she feels as solid as a tank.
The general layout is well thought out. The fore cabin is a little smaller than the average boat of this size, but the cockpit is large and four people can very comfortably sit in the aft cabin. Not a bad trade off.
She is pretty clumsy in tight quarters under power - but what inboard auxiliary sailboat isn't? The prop pulls the stern strongly and at very low speeds this makes it interesting. Not for lack of rudder either. The barn door hung on the transom works beautifully. Unless you aren't moving.
Speaking of the rudder - I have sailed many boats that when heeling heavily will lift the rudder out of the water. This can get exciting if the reason for the heel is a spinnaker! Can you say 'broach' kids? Slow Ride has never lifted her rudder - even with the rail submerged and water running into the cockpit! Can you say 'shorten sail, you idiot' kids? To be continued ...
