After the 1978 season it became apparent that my Embassy dinghy "Paddington" was not large enough for serious cruising with two aboard, and as I coudn't get rid of my crew, a bigger boat was the only solution. Camping ashore creates problems, or should I say, camping not quite ashore creates problems, especially at 3.00 a.m. on a cold night with a flooded tent. I know I should have found dry land, but it was a long walk with all that gear! And I prefer to be independent of the shore if possible. I wanted more speed too!

The London Boat Show simply convinced me that a new boat was out of the question; if it floated I couldn't afford it. So it was back to Exchange & Mart and the secondhand market. I like the Wayfarer, but even secondhand, they are fairly expensive - last year fetching £1,000 with gear and trailer. In addition, I had decided that an extra 3 feet would suffice, which meant a boat of around 14 feet, not 16 feet. There should be loads of dinghies in this popular size which could be adapted for dinghy cruising. There probably are, but if it’s popular with the racing boys, it means a high price, well in excess of the boat's value to me. Outside the racing scene the choice becomes limited. Dry stowage is a major priority to a dinghy cruiser, but most designers fail to include any at all. Even the popular Drascombe range doesn't provide any unless you modify the rear locker (and look at the price of them). At the end of the day my sleeping bag has to be warm and dry. I am prepared to sacrifice other qualities in order to achieve this aim.

There is a little tub on the market called a Skipper 14 which seemed to have the qualities I was looking for. They are cheap, especially secondhand, easy to rig (my mast is unstayed), virtually maintenance free, have an enormous stern locker, and are readily available. On the performance side, I must admit, I had no first hand experience. There are plenty around and they seemed to sail reasonably well. I found one for sale locally, so I took the plunge and bought it.

After an initial sail during a snow shower in February 1979, it was obvious that a few modifications would be needed. We were only out for a couple of hours, but within that space of time, I realized that "Wellington" would make a good cruising dinghy; it was certainly fast enough, the only problem being the dagger board - and how right I was!

Then followed several weeks of work, planning sleeping arrangements and making a tent. This is a standard over the boom variety in orange canvas (4 oz). My crew is handy on a sewing machine and her design has proved very satisfactory. Forward and stern openings have triangular flaps, as in the normal tent, but in addition, we have a zip up door in the starboard side just aft of the mast. This has a clear plastic window too, which provides light to the 'galley'. The tent is attached to the boat using Holt Allen plastic clips and shock cord (about one every 2 feet). The gunwale on the Skipper is like the edge of a washing up bowl and provides excellent anchorage for the clips. Fore and aft tension is created by shock cord round the bow and stern.

I have also rigged a rectangular ground sheet in similar manner which is used as a fly sheet. We carry boards to sleep on which are held in place with velcro and during the day, stow alongside the centreplate box.

A very important improvement was to make the mainsail easy to reef. The rig is gunter with the gaff held in a sleeve of the sail. The main halliard is attached to the gaff through a window in the sleeve. In order to retain a vertical gaff after reefing, another window higher up is needed. This is easily done; I placed mine so that 30% of the main is rolled around the boom when reefed. This has proved satisfactory and gives sufficient drive in winds above force 4 up to my limit for inshore waters, which is around a low force 6. In fact it’s not the wind that stops us, but the waves. I do not carry a kicking strap and the main is loose footed. Adjustment to the tension of the foot is effected at the tack; this is much safer than trying to adjust the clew, as it doesn't flap around so much and is well in board. Downwind I allow the foot to go quite loose, which gives the sail a spinnaker shape.

Even though the stern locker is large - I can actually sit inside it -, and accessible, it's not waterproof in the event of a swamping or capsize and, in addition, I don't like having all the weight aft. To increase stowage, I have fitted an inspection hatch (Holt Allen) into the forward thwart, which is just aft of the mast. This gives access to the bow compartment, (which is otherwise sealed) where there is ample room for two sleeping bags, 2 foam mattresses, various tins of food, cameras, gloves, spare pullovers, etc., and all easily accessible whilst underway. Buoyancy is not lost, as I haven't removed any of the foam which occupies around three-quarters of the bow section. Via this hatch, I have also gained access to the back of the halliard cleats, which has enabled me to fit nuts and bolts - I feel much happier with them than I did with the self-tapping screws supplied.

All ropes have been replaced with oversized ones as they are so much easier on the hands. I have also put a three-part purchase on the mainsheet; even so, the circulation in my hands still suffers after several hours at the helm. Finally, I fitted toe straps and made a jib stick.

By the beginning of the season, we were ready to go, with everything having been tried and tested at home. First time out I chose an area I knew well - the Walton Backwaters. We spent our first night afloat in Kirby Creek, moored to 'The Major' buoy. With the tide out and little wind we had a pleasant enough night, although I have to admit to having a little trouble when erecting the tent. In the morning, a breeze had set in from the west, which sent 'Wellington' spinning round the mooring and making us quite dizzy. In future, we decided the night would be spent aground where possible. Light boats with tents don't mix with wind. After breakfast, we set off to explore the Swatchway which runs from Walton Stone out along the shore towards the Stone Banks buoy. I had been advised to keep well inshore, which I did. It was around half flood when we set off and the wind had increased enough to put 'Wellington' on a plane.

The sun shone, the wind blew, the crew relaxed and we settled down to a lovely sail. "Look at those people on the shore, they don't know what they're missing", I said. BANG! - we had hit something (underwater) very hard and very fast. Horrid groans from the fibreglass pierced the air as I was flung forward into the crew's lap. Fortunately, neither Gail nor I suffered any injuries, but the boat had developed a leak and was filling up fast. "Suppose we'll see if the buoyancy works now, "said I, trying to show a brave face. Within a few minutes we had the situation under control and as the channel was now to windward, I decided to use the iron topsail. The little Seagull soon had us out of trouble and safely back to Titchmarsh marina I was most impressed with the way the boat handled under these adverse conditions. She sank several inches until the buoyancy had its full effect. Thereafter, she sank no more. It took 1½ hours to get back, during the entire time we were never in danger of sinking completely, thanks to the built in buoyancy.

Obviously, had the boat been designed with a centreplate rather than a dagger board this incident would never have happened. The damage was fairly extensive, a six-inch crack in the hull, plus a completely shattered dagger board box. Since the Skipper has an internal mould, repairs were going to be very difficult. I decided to completely cut out the internal floor, remove the dagger board box, repair the hull, mould a new centreplate box, (which would allow the plate to pivot), and then put it all back together again. It took about a month. Needless to say, it doesn't look very pretty inside now, as I am unable to hide such extensive repairs. I have also lost leg room as the new centreplate box is much longer than the old one. But the trade has been well worthwhile...

By June "Wellington" was fit and well, except for a few minor problems, which could be dealt with at leisure during the season. Since this incident, the boat has given no trouble. We took a two-week holiday on her covering around 300 miles, sleeping aboard every night, and both agree the boat is now better than ever.

Experience gained this year indicates a couple of extra modifications. The strange sunken fore deck needs a spray dodger as it tends to fill in a seaway, and I also intend to fit a drain which drains outboard and not into the bilges as the present system does. Many people ask why the boat has such a strange fore deck - frankly I don't know, but it is very handy for muddy anchors and boots.

In conclusion, the Skipper is a boat worth considering for dinghy cruising provided you accept its limitations. But isn't this the case with any boat? It's a tub to look at, I agree, but price for price, I find it hard to beat.