The Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 Sedan is largely step-free river cruiser that will suit older cruisers or those looking to peacefully chug along rivers
Does the idea of chugging through bucolic rural idylls at the stately pace of 4 knots while your guests sip a glass of fizz appeal? Then what better way to realise your dream than by investing in a timeless river cruiser?
And guess what – Bray Marine Sales might have just the thing for you: a 2008 Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 Sedan situated at Harleyford Marina, priced at £129,000.
Brimming with Dutch boat builder Linssen’s knowledge and experience of what makes a great little river cruiser, the 29.9 Sedan sits alongside its Aft Cabin stablemate at the smaller end of the renowned Grand Sturdy 9-series.
With their all-steel construction and a hefty rope rubbing strake (rubber in the case of the Nordic variant), these boats are called Grand Sturdy for a very good reason. Being a heavy boat – the 29.9 tips the scales at 7,600kg – it’s also a super-stable platform, offering a dependable no-surprises experience, for a simple and relaxing life on the water.
Interestingly, though, when Linssen introduced its 9-series boats back in 2004, it represented the brand’s first real foray into the mass market. The 29.9 was there from the very beginning; an entirely new design built on a new and innovative production line, which Linssen dubbed the Logicam system.
Prior to this, Linssen’s boats had been largely bespoke, but with clear demand for a smaller boat (before the 29.9, the yard’s smallest model was a 32-footer) and a little help from their friends at Dutch design house Vripack, Linssen moved towards a modular interior fitout for use across the range. As a result, much the same cabinetry and furniture units can be found in other 9-series Sedan and Aft Cabin craft of this era.
It may be built on a production line but the quality of the interior is still very high
Boating made easier
While Linssen’s idea for the 29.9 Sedan had been to create an entry-level vessel to encourage people to get into boating, things panned out somewhat differently in the UK. In fact, with Brits being Brits, the opposite appears to have happened.
As Bray Marine Sales confirmed, owners of 29.9s are more likely to be older boaters stepping down from larger vessels rather than newbies – and the reason for this is that the Sedan layout is largely step-free. As broker Lee put it, “It’s a bungalow” – and that’s not meant as a disparaging comment.
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It’s actually a very strong selling point for potential customers who’ve had enough of all that “scurrying up and down a companionway”, as our own writer put it during the 2010 MBY review.
One owner who very much agrees with that view is Chris Fentiman, the seller of our review boat. Having reached the age of 76, Chris has decided that the time has come to hang up his boating gloves. Over the years, he has owned numerous larger boats, including a Westward 35 and a number of Brooms.
Chris and partner, Karen, love the water and it was partly because of a knee replacement that he made the decision to move to a 29.9 Sedan three years ago: “Basically, when we had people on board our other boats, you were up and down, up and down, up and down,” he says. “But with the Linssen, it’s all on one level up to a point. And that makes it quite an easy-going boat.”
The sofa converts to a double bed if you need extra sleeping space for children or guests
For some, downsizing can mean making unwelcome compromises, but that’s not been the case for Chris: “For a couple, it’s great,” he says. “OK, so the sofa does convert into a bed, which is fine if you have a couple of kids but at my age, I haven’t got any young children! We keep the boat on the Thames and live aboard when we go away. In fact, we recently went right up the river for four days and had a lovely time.
“It’s also a lovely looking boat. I think it’s very stylish and that’s a big part of what drew me to it in the first place. It’s a pleasure to live with too. It’s got a great big sunshine roof in the wheelhouse and the hood goes down at the rear so you have somewhere nice to sit. And I’m not the only one who appreciates it.
The aft cockpit can be used all year round with the help of its excellent folding canopies
Whenever I go into the locks, everybody says, ‘I really like your boat!’ And speaking of locks, it’s a very manoeuvrable boat. When I had an aft cabin boat, it was like a sailing boat going into locks. The wind would really take it but the Sedan is nice and flat. It is heavy but it’s a very positive boat to steer and while I’ve had loads of boats, this one is my favourite.”
In terms of accessibility, the 29.9 Sedan scores very highly indeed. Our only gripe on this front was getting aboard in the first place, as our review boat didn’t have the walk-through transom fitted to later examples. That meant
we had to clamber up and over the gunwale, so a small set of steps would help here.
The single helm station also benefi ts from an opening window
But once on board, it’s all plain sailing with just a single step up to the side decks and a flat floor running from the aft cockpit to the helm. Thereafter, two steps lead down to the heads and the boat’s single cabin.
Friendly deck layout
Considering the size of this boat, the aft cockpit is a highly attractive and generously proportioned social space. A wraparound seating unit extends the full width of the beam and round on both sides to the wheelhouse doors and there’s space for a couple of freestanding director’s chairs. Crew moving around the outside for roping and fendering, or perhaps for lowering the boat’s collapsible mast, are well catered for with chunky guardrails as they head towards the foredeck.
There’s only one proper cabin but it’s a very good one for its size
When you enter the wheelhouse itself, it evokes a bygone age of first-class rail travel. The heavy wooden doors, which incorporate oversized rectangular windows set in metal frames with rounded corners, swing open to reveal a saloon clad in wood.
Space is at a premium in here but Linssen has still managed to cram in a decent galley to port, complete with worktops which fold up to reveal a sink and a two-burner gas hob. There’s storage below the countertop and a fridge below the helm seat, but there’s no integrated oven or microwave, so keen cooks may need to add a few embellishments here.
The shower is in a separate compartment to the heads
Opposite the galley is an L-shaped four-man settee that extends the full length of the saloon, but if you want to dine in here, you need to unclip the table from its mount in the aft cockpit and bring it inside. Ahead of the galley on the port side is the helm, which has a single seat, a vertical ship’s wheel and a neatly laid-out cluster of controls, including remotely operated seacocks and the boat’s bow and stern thruster controls. With the wheelhouse being fully glazed on all sides, visibility from the helm is also very good.
The two steps down to the boat’s cabin and heads are mounted in the centre of the saloon’s forward bulkhead. While the heads are limited to just a toilet and washbasin, Linssen has added Jack and Jill doors to create an ensuite.
Heads has Jack and Jill doors so guests can use it
That may have been nice for the marketing bumpf but it hardly seems necessary on a boat that is most likely to be used by a couple, given that the second entrance is directly outside the door. The cabin itself is another temple of wood. The bed is totally surrounded by wooden panelling, which is broken only by the doors and a decent-sized wardrobe on either side. And there’s one more door in the cabin which opens up to reveal a separate shower stall, which is particularly welcome on a cruise.
The steaming mast folds fl at to reduce the air draft when ducking under bridges
Why buy?
As a couple’s weekender for gentle inland fun, the Linssen 29.9 Sedan is a very sweet option. Neither too big to be manageable, nor too small to be comfortable, it ticks a great many leisure cruising boxes. With rivers like the Thames limited to 4 knots, the boat’s 55hp Volvo Penta D2-55 (the only option offered) is more than enough. And with fuel consumption measured in sips rather than gulps, it’s an economical boat to run. As broker Lee puts it, “You’ll be spending more on Prosecco than diesel with a Linssen 29.9 Sedan!”
Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 Sedan specifications
MODEL: Linssen 29.9 Grand Sturdy Sedan
DESIGNER: Linssen Yachts/Vripack
HULL TYPE: Displacement
RCD: Category C
LOA: 31ft 7in (9.6m)
BEAM: 11ft 0in (3.3m)
DRAFT: 3ft 3in (1.01m)
AIR DRAFT: 7ft 9in (2.4m)
DISPLACEMENT: 7,600kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 240l
WATER CAPACITY: 220l
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 1.08l/nm @ 6.5 knots
RANGE: 178nm at 6.5 knots with 20% reserve
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