When my Skipper 17 had to go ashore for some surgery last October I was without a boat for winter sailing. After mooching round the house for some while, I decided to buy another boat to sail until Bubbles was fixed. After a look around, I settled on a little Sunspot 15 which has not been mentioned in the DCA since an old member named Holloway wrote an appreciation of her back in Bulletin number 49. I had no idea of her performance, but a book from the DCA library called Boat World Guide to Pocket Cruisers reassured me, saying ‘she is especially suited to the beginner in cruising and her performance will satisfy those graduating from competitive dinghy sailing’. Members might like to have my impressions of her.

At first sight she’s a bit of an ugly duckling, something like a squashed up Leisure 17. Indeed she’s from the same designer and was, I believe the forerunner of this most popular of cruisers. She’s 15’ 3” overall and only 13’ 6” on the waterline with bilge keels to give her a draft of under 2’, weighs 950 lbs with ballast of 400 lbs.

The reverse sheer gives plenty of headroom in the cabin and indeed, on entering you’d imagine that you had found your way into some sort of watery Dr Who box as it seems larger on the inside than it could possibly be when viewed from the outside. There’s enough bunk space for four in theory, although where you’d put them all when sailing I don’t know, as the cockpit is rather small. Or as some more positive souls would say — compact with everything to hand! There’s a downside to this as I found when I repeatedly sat on the weather jib sheet as I was trying to bring the sail across when tacking — showing that it isn’t only the hand it comes to!

However, she sailed well and proved exciting in some conditions while remaining safe. I would have welcomed a little more sail area for very light airs. My boat has only a standard 105 sq ft but she’s designed to have a genoa which would add a further 15 to this and which would help the performance no end. Despite this I have used the 1.5 hp motor only occasionally, mostly to get in and out of the narrow creek where I have a mooring and never on a passage unless it was a flat calm.

There’s plenty of handy locker space in the cockpit and if only one or two cruise in her, loads of room below to stow gear. But the large cabin leaves little side decks to walk on and I would think a roller reefing foresail is a must, as changing the headsails when it blows up a bit involves clambering over the cabin top. There is no forehatch to pop through.

She’s provided me with loads of fun over the winter with a couple of two and three day cruises in various conditions. As I write she’s on shore, her place on the mooring being taken by Bubbles. My original intention was to sell her when Bubbles was ready, but unfortunately the work hasn’t cured the problem Bubbles had, so I still have the Sunspot and will doubtless be sailing her next winter whilst the Skipper is ashore again.

If you are one of those members looking for a small cabin boat, you could keep an eye out for a Sunspot. Not many were produced, so they’re not easy to find. They’ll also be old now, but the construction was robust and you never know, you might be as lucky as me and find one that’s been on shore and unused for more than a decade. Good luck if you do.