Deck Length 6.4M 21FT
BEAM 2.42M 8FT
Weight 970kg dry
Ballast 450kg
Berths 4
Headroom 1.450m
Draft 0.4m
SAIL AREA
Gaff Rig 21.8sqm
Bermuda 20.7sqm

A four berth trailer yacht with character and comfortCruising in a small and comfortable boat like this can be a real pleasure: without the work and expense of a larger boat on a mooring or in a marina one can have the comfort and character of a true cruiser with the very long weekend range that a trailer boat can offer.

Penguin is designed for a family oriented cruising trailer yacht of about 6 / 6.5m long, a boat that would be easily constructed by home boat builders from materials that would be readily obtainable and need only simple tools. This is a boat with a traditional character and a real focus on comfort, a boat that will stand out from the crowd of many hard chine boxes. Penguin is easily towed behind most cars.

Working from the bow aft, she has an anchor well for stowing wet and muddy ground tackle, a good sized foredeck and hatches large enough to provide both access and an airy feeling on hot days.

Her interior is both roomy and very comfortable. There is almost standing room in the main cabin and enough legroom to stretch out and relax.

Thanks to an enquiry from Derek Bates, Penguin now has a third rig option in the form of a gaff yawl along with bilge keels and a smaller cockpit (bluewater). Details are included in all plans.

There is a big tabernacle so the mast can be easily raised or lowered, the gaff rig has proven to be noticeably faster on all points of sail except "hard on the wind", and the rig is very strong so the boat will stand heavy weather when making coastal passages.

The cockpit is self draining with space to sprawl out and relax, the motor is partly housed to avoid having to balance perilously over the transom in order to operate it and there are enough lockers for all of the odd bits that accumulate around the helm position.

Her lead shoe underneath gives this boat a high ballast ratio and she will self right from well past 90°, with the ballast fixed to the bottom of the boat the centreboard is not hard to lift, and the boats shoal draft ability will open up sheltered and picturesque anchorages that are not accessible to most deeper vessels.Inside there has been a lot of consideration given to cruising amenities. There is a dedicated heads compartment complete with book rack for the out of date magazines at the forward end of the main cabin.Queen sized beds are not common in boats this small, but that's what you'll find up forward, with enough headroom to sit comfortably up in bed reading. Access and ventilation is out through the forward hatch. There is a huge amount of storage underneath the bed flat. In the main cabin there are two big quarter berths aft, good leg space and enough room to move about without banging heads.The handy galley has good space to prepare meals while not being in the way of others moving about the boat and again there is plenty of locker space.

Build time appoximately 600 hours.

Cost of hull materials approximately £3,000.

Value of finished boat between £20,000 and £35,000

John Welsford Plans

Plenty of head room.

This Kit includes epoxy, measuring/dispensing pumps and two different fillers in sufficient quantities to complete the boat. See 'Consumables' for more information on the low ordour, solvent free epoxy.

Photograph by Greg Pullen