Neptune 16 vs Siren 17
Battle of the budget minicruisers
Suppose you were looking for an inexpensive production minicruiser—would you pick the classic Canadian Siren 17 or the Californian Neptune 16?
Let us know the reasons for your choice below. —Eds
I just switched this year from an open camp cruiser (C&L 16/Wayfarer) to a Siren 17. I wanted the freedom and time savings of not having to find a campsite. I chose the Siren over all other small cabin cruisers (<18 ft). Here’s my thoughts on its strengths/weaknesses:
1. One of the best sail area to displacement numbers. I like faster boats.
2. A very active owners FB group. The hive mind has come up with a lot of very practical modifications, repairs, and updates. See La Sirene YouTube channel.
3. This is the biggest boat you can get that will tow behind a small car and fit in a small garage easily.
4. The storage for cruising is awesome. I’ve never seen a small boat that is so easy to pack and access your gear. The entire space under the cockpit is open for storage. The pilot births under the cockpit seats fit four large plastic bins. I keep clothes, rain gear, food, and lines/sail ties, etc in those. the space under the cockpit floor (accessible from the cabin) fit four plastic bins for maintenance/repairs, kitchen kit, food bins, and a bucket (the head). The aft lazerette fits boat fenders, the anchor, lines etc. I really can’t emphasize enough how easy it is to pack this boat and access stuff while underway. I look at the Neptune and can’t see where stuff will go.
5. Most came with a bow pulpit.
6. The centerboard winch is nicely tucked up against the bridge deck.
Negatives:
1. The centerboard lock pin (required to ensure safety in a knock down) is inside the cabin. It can leak (as well as the centerboard pivot) and is not convenient to access while sailing. So, you have to choose between keeping it unlocked in case of a grounding (but unsafe in bigger waters or a knockdown) or locking it for safety but risking centerboard trunk damage in a grounding.
2. The lazerette is not watertight. The entire bilge can theoretically fill with green water in the worst of knockdown situations.
3. The cabin bunks offer structural integrity to the hull and at 40+ years old the glue seam between the hull/bunk has failed on most boats. Not the hardest repair but still a job to get done.
4. The mast is robust and as such is heavy (38 lbs!). I’m convinced a lighter mast would make the boat much more stable and fast.
5. There’s no companionway sliding hatch. For those of us that are older or bigger, getting into the cabin is less than graceful.
6. It’s an old boat (1984 last made?). The usual deck fittings leaking, deck delaminating, and windows leaking.
7. Most years don’t have a forward hatch so ventilation isn’t the best. I use the aft lazarette and companionway with big netting for cross flow ventilation.
8. It’s an entry level sailboat so there’s a good chance that a prior owner did not maintain the boat properly or you’ll have to undo some “improvements”.
I'm sure the Siren is a splendid boat--never been on one--but the Neptune 16 was the best boat I ever owned and the only one I wish I had back. Bought her new in 1978 and had her for seven years, at which point the slip we'd been waiting for came up in Alamitos Bay. We named her Roo and the cheap Sevylor tender was Tigger. We glassed her swing keel in the permanent down position (it banged around a little bit when underway before that) and kept her in the water in a private slip. Sailed her to Catalina countless times--10 times in one summer alone. Even sailed around to the back side of the island once, a long trip in a little boat. Spent a couple of weeks camping at the Isthmus and Shark Harbor. Since she was always the smallest boat in any anchorage we got invited to dinner on lots of larger boats.
When we bought Roo we put our names on the waiting list in the public marina. At that time, 16 feet was the smallest boat they'd accept in a 20-ft slip; however, by time our name came up, the rule had been changed to 20 feet. We reluctantly sold her and bought a Santana 21 instead. She was a faster boat, roomier inside, but I never warmed to her and sold her three years later without ever taking her to the island. I've owned several boats since, but now that I'm getting up there I'm thinking about trying find another Neptune to sail off into the golden years.