The Hurley 24/70 was designed in 1972 as a stretched version of the Hurley 22. Standing headroom was provided by the raised coachroof, the cockpit coamings were raised making it very safe for families and the counter stern gave it a modern look whilst lengthening the waterline when sailing and heeled over.

It is a contempary looking vessel that was copied by other manufacturers time and time again. The Newbridge Virgo Voyager or the Marcon Tomahawk are good examples. The short boom, large genoa configured, high aspect rig was favoured by IRC and JOG racers at that time. Howver, the Hurley 24/70 is not a racing boat! She is easily managed by one person and sails very well. The sail area is less than the Hurley 22 but is about the same speed due to the longer waterline length.The design of the Hurley 24 was very modern when she was introduced into the Hurley range in 1972. She has a fin and skeg hull form, like the later introduced 30/90, as opposed to the semi long keel of the 18 and 22 or the longkeel of the 27. She was also available as a bilge keeler. She has a modern reverse-counter transom giving low wetted area and a long water-line for extra performance.

Most were fitted new with small petrol or diesel inboard engines. Vire 5hp or Petter Mini Twin. Both engines were rubbish and I doubt that any remain. Most Hurley 24/70 yachts now have Yanmar 1GM10 9-hp, Beta 13-hp, BMW D12 10-hp or Farryman 7-hp diesels. Some Hurley 24/70's were supplied new with out inboards. Just an outboard on a bracket screwed to the stern.

The 24/70 refers to 24'/ 7metres and was intended to make the yachts sound modern and acceptable for European market. They sold well and around 200 were built.

After the closure of Hurley Marine in 1974 the moulds were taken on by Atlanta Marine who cut them in half with a chainsaw and lengthened the mould by 12 inches. The new vessel was marketed as the Atlanta 24 and later as the Atlanta 25. They were sold in small numbers up to about 1977 and look the same as the H24.

It is rarely necessary to reef the main as it is so narrow but it does not power the boat at all if the wind is light if used on its own. However, it is a convenient way of displaying her sail number. An advantage of having a high aspect mainsail is that the boom is short. It does not encroach into the cockpit and is therefore very safe and convenient especially when sailing with children or novices. The H24 is an excellent family boat, with plenty of space below, a deep safe cockpit and high freeboard to keep crew dry. These is always a but in yacht design. The side decks are too narrow to allow for easy movement forward and the coachroof is high so visibility forward when seated in the cockpit is a problem unless the vessel is healing over a bit. Below there are two separate cabins with 6’ headroom in the main saloon. She has 4 six foot berths and an enclosed heads compartment. Most have inboards but a few were factory built with outboards and were slightly cheaper. Having so much accommodation leads to the problem of windage on the high freeboard topsides.

Like many Hurley’s they can suffer from mast compression and osmosis. More about these problems can be found on this site. More photographs can be found in the gallery and there is an account of Hurley 24 ownership in the Documents pages.

Interestingly there was only one mould for the 24/70. The keel combination was made up by bolting modular keel moulds into place which provides the moulded bulb keel shape that is so useful without the need for keel bolts that provide so much trouble for owners of other makes. Surveyors find the keel bolts to be the most problematic area of vessels and they give owners a lot of anxiety.