ARION 29

With its voluminous accommodation and secure cockpit, this low-draught Polish-built cruiser is ideal for family coastal cruising – and a bit of canal pottering...

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Back in October 2019, my wife Anna and I decided to sell our Victoria 26. We loved the boat and had experienced some fun times with her, but she was just a bit too small for a family of four. Plus she was a tad tippy. One of the people who viewed Ronja when she was for sale was Mike Hornsey, a friend of a friend.

Mike bought another boat in the end and, although he lived in Warwick, based it in Devon - presumably because there's not much of a coastline in Warwickshire.

Although there were no hard feelings about Mike not buying our boat, I was intrigued to see what he had bought instead - in the same way you might be curious to meet your sister's ex's new girlfriend. Or something like that. Not only that, but the boat was an Arion 29, built in Poland, which I knew nothing about. So when he suggested going out on Pelagia, I jumped at the chance.

LESS PRETTY, MORE PRACTICAL

It was a bright, sunny day, with a flat calm sea and sudden gusts of wind coming off the land, when Mike and Brian (the mutual friend) emerged from Dartmouth. First impressions?

Honestly? Not as pretty as Ronja. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the Victoria 26 - an evolution of the Frances 26 designed by Chuck Paine - has a timeless, classic appeal. This is how boats have looked for centuries and, as far as I'm concerned, you can't go far wrong with a slippery little double-ender. The Arion 29, on the other hand, is a very different kettle of fish.

With her high freeboard, flat sheer and blunt ends, she is very much designed for comfort rather than elegance. She is practical rather than pretty.

Second impressions? Wow. When I eventually clambered on board and went down below, I was mightily impressed by the voluminous interior and the well-crafted pale oak joinery.