Leisure Yachts were built in the United Kingdom by Cobramold Ltd (in
the later years Brinecraft Ltd) from 1975 through to 1990 when they ceased
trading following a major fire. All Leisure yachts were then produced in
Germany for about two years; supported by the former Brinecraft owner Tom
Winyard. Here most of the moulds had to be built new from old 'master components'
and the less damaged moulds repaired. At the end of production in Germany
a small number of 17SL's were produced in Greece (Corfu). Later the moulds
were taken back to Germany where the 17SL was produced on demand. Today,
we believe all 17SL and 23SL moulds are somewhere in Poland.
At least one Leisure 26 was produced by Brinecraft, from moulds bought from
Oyster Yachts.
Later Boating Scene (then builders of Mirage Yachts) bought rights to the
Leisure name, and built the Leisure 27SL, which is a variant of the popular
Mirage 27.
A new builder, Cory Yachts International Ltd. subsequently continued the
Leisure brand with new designs for a Leisure 18 and 24. Sadly very few were
produced and due partly to the exorbitant cost of meeting the RCD [Recreational
Craft Directive]; they have withdrawn from the market.
The yachts were sold mainly in the UK, although a few yachts were also built
for the European market, particularly Holland and Germany. Approximately
4,500 yachts were built in total, and most of these are still sailing. See
our picture gallery for some images of these fine cruising yachts.
Leisure yachts can now be found all over the world. The Association has
members sailing Leisure yachts as far away as Australia, the United States
and East Africa.
The U.K. Leisure Owners Association was formed in late 1982 to represent
the interests of owners, and to provide a forum where members could exchange
ideas about sailing, maintenance etc.
Membership, which currently stands at about 400 is increasing as more owners
realise the benefits of belonging to an active association. Information
on how to join and an application form can be found on this web site.
A flourishing club is also operating in the Netherlands who celebrated their
25th anniversary in 2001. They have their own web site
Leisure Club Holland.
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| Leisure 17SL | Leisure 18 | Leisure 20 | Leisure 23SL |
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| Leisure 24 | Leisure 26 | Leisure 27 | Leisure 27SL |
Leisure Yachts range in size from 17 feet, to 29 feet in length. All are sturdy cruising yachts, and have a reputation for being easy to handle and very safe. Due to clean keel and hull designs they also perform very well, and outclass many competing yacht designs.
