Owners of early wooden Drascombe Luggers, like me, may be interested to know that the designer, John Watkinson, later modified the sail plan to increase the area from 113 square feet to 130 square feet.

Well pleased with cruising qualities of my Lugger, I have been less than satisfied with the performance in light airs and its lack of performance close to the wind* so I recently contacted Mr Watkinson who lives at Willow Creek, Noss Mayo, near Plymouth, Devon. He was extremely helpful and told me that my boat was rigged to a Series I sail plan, the mainsail sheeted to a block travelling on a wire horse. The Series II sail plan has a larger headsail and main, and the wire horse is replaced by a rigid one made from 1” ID galvanised water pipe. The larger area improves the all round performance (particularly in light airs) and the rigid horse prevents the traveller from centralising and enables the correct sheeting angle to be obtained when close-hauled.

For anyone interested in the necessary modifications to early boats to enable the Series II rig to be employed, Mr Watkinson’s recommendations to me were as follows:

1. Shorten the main mast by 150mm.

2. Extend the yard to 3.10m.

3. Shift the mizzen aft by 150mm.

4. Lengthen the bumkin accordingly.

5. Make up a rigid horse as described above, running from gunwale to gunwale 12mm forward of the mizzen.

6. Employ a double cross-over mainsheet arrangement.

Mr Watkinson is kindly sending me a copy of his Series II sail plan, and I am sure would do the same for anybody else interested. He says there are regular (Wednesday evening) day boat races on the Yealm where the Drascombes regularly beat the Cornish Cobbles. Sorry about that awful word “races” — it just slipped in!

Contrary to what Honnor Marine will tell you, Drascombe boats are still built in wood by John Kerr in Dyfed, West Wales, and by Eddystone Boatbuilders of Newton Ferrers, Devon.

For those considering a roller reefing headsail as against roller furling, Holt Allen make a unit which employs a luffspar down which runs a groove so that the headsail can be removed when the boat is left on the mooring.

A Dutch dinghy cruiser named Hans Vandersmissen has written an excellent book called The Seagoing Drascombe, which is available from Honnor Marine. Hans regularly sails the North Sea from Holland to England in a cruiser longboat, and offers some first class information on seamanship and boat handling with particular reference to yawl-rigged boats.

John Watkinson denies all knowledge of David Pyle’s modified Lugger — apparently it was all owner-designed.

Lastly, the secret you’ve all been waiting for. Where did the word “Drascombe” come from? No — its not an ancient nautical oath uttered when weevils were found in the baggywrinkle! It was apparently the name of John Watkinson’s farmhouse where he used to live in Devon!

*See Five go to Poole Harbour by John Laughland, DCA Bulletin Summer 1982 (and by the way, I have been shamed into abandoning my Aga range for a single-burner cooker!)