With the great increase we have seen in boating during the past ten years it is becoming very obvious that craft will have to be smaller as our already overcrowded mooring or launching spaces are filled up. In fact one harbour authority has recently asked intending purchasers of yachts to consult them before buying because of lack of space in their harbour. It is also evident that because of this pressure, mooring charges will increase as demand exceeds supply. Sailors who keep their boats in popular centres close to large areas of population are the worst affected by this. In view of this situation I have designed what can be called the minimum size in cruising dinghies for a crew of two persons, maybe three over a weekend. Having had considerable experience of the essential requirements of small boat cruising, this design is an accumulation of many ideas, previous types welded into a new construction employing modern methods and materials.

This boat is designed to appeal to those who cannot afford a larger boat, those who are not endowed with great physical strength or the ability to handle larger craft and lastly that section having no permanent moorings and in consequence trail their boats home or on holiday. I felt that a boat was needed which was easy to handle, able to be rigged and packed away quickly after use, of little draft to make use of smaller rivers, easy and economical to maintain, safe and seaworthy, complete decking for warmth and dryness, equipped with a table for meals, and not least, some toilet facilities which are private. Also there must be locker space for cooking gear, food, water, bedding, clothes, sails and rope. This all adds up to a formidable list for two people but I have tried to get it all in a hull only 12ft overall.

From a constructional aspect the amateur has been considered but on the other hand I have not sacrificed the lines on the altar of easy building. It is essential that a boat should look well on the water and that the sections are shapely, therefore the hull is round bilge in preference to hard chine, multichine or any other mixture. Hull form is such as to give good performance to windward and at the same time to prevent the spray from coming aboard. The beam is generous, the bilge keels are ballasted to give self righting qualities, fore and aft buoyancy spaces to give safety in case of collision and also dry stowage. Rainwater cannot get below because of decking and a self draining cockpit; a great boon if the boat is kept on a mooring.

The rig is a bermudian sloop; the sail sets on tracks both on boom and mast, this makes it possible to thread all the slides on the mast track before hoisting, a feat impossible with a luff groove. An overlapping genoa sail provides good speed in light to moderate winds. As an auxiliary the smallest outboard could be used or a sculling oar over the transom. For those who have to negotiate bridges on rivers the mast is in a tabernacle which could enable the single hander to lower from the cockpit. When on the trailer the tabernacle cheeks hold the mast steady with the addition of a boom crutch aft; the overhang would be two feet at each end of the hull. The boom and sculling oar both stow below when not in use. No sail covers are needed.

Starting from aft, there is a four foot self draining cockpit with seating on the side decks, protection from spray is afforded by the cabin bulkhead and side coamings. The compass can be installed on the bulkhead to one side (a Sestrel Junior would be suitable as it seems to remain steady under combined violent heeling and pitching). Under the side decks are two watertight compartments for light stowage. A short bridgedeck leads below through a hinged hatch. On either hand are seat bunks extended under the deck for two feet, this space is used to stow blankets etc. leaving the seats free in the daytime. There is a door opening in the forward bulkhead which is closed by upending the cabin table for privacy in the forward compartment. Under the bridge deck is the stove, beneath is a drawer for plates, cups, cutlery and other oddments. Food storage is in two drawers on the forward bulkhead. Tinned foods, bottles are kept below the cabin seats to keep the weight low, water and fuel cans are stowed in the forward compartment on the lowest shelf. The bucket toilet is housed in a plywood box with lid, when not in use is hidden away in the chain locker where it is ventilated by the chainpipe. The forehatch is arranged to open back onto the tabernacle, the ground tackle, main and foresail setting can all be handled in safety by the crew standing on the floor, supported on all sides by the hatch sides.

Construction has been planned to allow as much prefabrication as possible. Only five frames or bulkheads have to be made, each of these is an integral part of the boat, cabin, cockpit or buoyancy. The stem, bilge keels, bunk seats, floors and cabin sides are all made separately, to be assembled when the boat is set up on the stocks. Fairing up, fixing hog, gunwales and bilgestringers have only to be done before the clinker ply planking is glued and pinned. Bilgekeels are added before turning over to complete the deck and cabin. The boat is almost complete except a few cabin details and to put on the various fittings. These are standard types to fit the solid spruce mast and boom. It is possible that all materials, wood, fastenings, paint and fittings would be about £80, sails and cordage £20. Labour approximately 200 hours. To maintain this boat in good order would need an average expenditure of around £15 annually.

Trials

Barbel was launched in the middle of September. Since that time every available opportunity was used to try out the boat, to find faults and to satisfy myself that the design fulfilled the purpose for which it was conceived.

The first tack away from the shore in a new boat is vital; you take the tiller and heave in the sheets. You wonder if it will sail. As I was breaking into a new design of bilge keels I naturally felt some misgivings. I need not have worried at all for it went off on its own in a very definite manner. There seemed to be the slightest amount of pressure on the rudder, enough to allow the boat to come slowly head to wind if the tiller was abandoned. The rudder blade pressure is adjustable to a small degree by the inclination of the blade; fully down (vertical) no helm is needed on a close hauled course.

With full sail and a breeze of 10 mph close hauled, the heel is about 3° - 5°. It would seem that the mainsail needs no reefing up to 25/30 mph winds. After that you can change to a smaller foresail. It is uncanny the way it goes to windward on such a small draught (1 foot), equally well as its centreboard sister of the same dimensions. Running or reaching it is always under control. The indications are that top speed should be about 6 knots in moderate conditions. It is necessary to sail the boat with the transom just awash; in these conditions there is a clean wake. An artificial heel of 20° when sailing proved that the hull is nicely balanced fore and aft. The physical effort required to manoeuvre, pull in sheets etc. is less than that necessary to sail a "Heron".

The fore hatch is invaluable, you can stand firmly wedged in, hoist the sails, pull up the anchor or let go the mooring buoy with full control. It is possible to walk around the side deck by leaning inwards; it will heel but not tip you in. An interesting test of stability was made by hanging weights on the mast head and careening the boat. To maintain a heel of 90° (i.e. mast horizontal) 60 lbs. was required. On release the boat flew back instantly to a level keel. During this test the water only came over the side decking 9". This fact does give one a certain confidence. Although the bunk seats are 6 foot long, they are only 1 ft. 8 ins. wide and therefore cannot be called luxurious for sleeping but they serve well for seating. A single hander could sleep on the cabin floor. The toilet bucket is always a problem and to use it in the forward space is an achievement; it is however portable and with a mixed crew it would be possible to use it in the main cabin, or in certain conditions the cockpit space.

If one accepts limitations imposed by size then this dinghy could give much pleasure in cruising. I look forward to some happy times in 1964, rain or bad weather do not matter quite so much.