flying scot sailboat capsize

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Flying Scot

Flying Scot is a 18 ′ 11 ″ / 5.8 m monohull sailboat designed by Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass and built by Tanzer Industries Ltd., Douglass & McLeod, Customflex, Flying Scot, Inc., and Loftland Sail-craft Inc. starting in 1958.

• 1 / 1 Dallas, TX, US 1978 Flying Scot USD View

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

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Flying scot

The flying scot is a 19.0ft fractional sloop designed by gordon k. douglass and built in fiberglass by tanzer industries ltd. since 1958., 5300 units have been built..

The Flying scot is an ultralight sailboat which is a very high performer. It is stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a racing boat.

Flying scot for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Why would I want to sail one? index

• The boat is an outstanding daysailer or gunkhole cruiser.
• The racing is great.
• The boat is easy to sail.
• The boat is easy to trailer.
• You can take the whole family along.
• They're faster than most small "cruising" keelboats.
• They're indestructible and last forever.
• The class association is one of the most active in North America.

Think of it as an overgrown College 420 with an attitude. Or as a cross between a JY-15 and a J/24. Or as a miniature 30 footer that you can trailer -- and actually afford. Better yet, come out and try one; you'll enjoy it!

Why is it called the Flying Scot? index

"Believe it or not, my biggest problem in designing the Flying Scot was in deciding on a good name for the class and then in designing a suitable emblem because with some 600 'classes' already on record [as of 1957], the field had become somewhat restricted. 'Flying Scot' has been the name of the famous London-to-Edinburgh express, and there also was a famous yacht of the [Eighteen] Nineties by that name. It seemed to be a good choice." -- Sandy Douglass

What is that funny squiggle in the class logo? index

Sandy's original idea for the class logo involved the words "Flying S" with the S slightly above and to the right...

...but that would have made the emblem very difficult for a sailmaker to reliably reproduce, so the rest of the word "Flying" was filled in with a solid color, and became the familiar squiggle.

How was the Flying Scot designed? index

"While my years of experience had given me a pretty definite conception of the planing family racing boat which was needed in the 19-foot field, I had not introduced such a boat because for many years, the Lightning had dominated that field; and it wasn't until 1956 that I thought that her hold could be challenged....

"Designing the hull was no problem because I already had a clear idea of what was needed for a planing family boat. Such a boat should have the safety of wide side decks, but also a roomy cockpit.

"How could I resolve this problem? The solution was to lower the deck and to shape it into the form of seats, thus combining the advantages of both. Why had no one before thought of this?

"The engineering of the structure was another matter. Fiberglass offers opportunities, but also presents problems. Being denser than wood it must be thinner, and being thinner it lacks stiffness and must be handled differently. It is flexible, and yet flexing can be its greatest enemy because it can lead to cracking.... When I learned that a balsa sandwich was being tried, I decided to go in this direction....

"I had built her with a 250 pound centerboard to make her self-righting, but found that much weight to be unnecessary for stability as well as undesirable in other ways. (Aren't we glad that I cut the weight down to 100 pounds?) I also soon found that while the seats kept out the spray they also held quite a puddle of water and that drains were most desirable....

"The boat had to have flotation.... The solution to the problem we found to be to use fiberglass straps, but to insulate them from the styrofoam with strips of waxed paper which protect the foam until the resin has cured." -- Sandy Douglass

Why doesn't the Flying Scot have... index

Has anyone famous sailed in Flying Scots? index

Sandy Douglass, Greg Fisher, Andy Fox, Larry Klein, Tom Ehman... (I know I'm forgetting quite a few - PTD)

And, maybe... you?

Is there a fleet near me? index

Yes, Fleet 42 is based at the same marina as the Goddard Sailing Association, at Selby Bay Sailing Center . Goddard sailors can join Fleet 42 and participate at fleet events.

Where can I find more information? index

You may find more information, among others, at the Flying Scot Sailing Association , at the Flying Scot company or at flyingscotracing.com .

What do I need to do to get my boat ready to race? index

Here's what we did during our first racing season on FS 4340, which had been extensively daysailed but never raced before 1995:

I'm getting killed upwind! What am I doing wrong? index

One of the Scot's little quirks is that the jib fairleads are in a spot that causes them to sheet the sail about four degrees too far outboard. (The Collegiate 420 has the same problem.) To fix the problem, tie your jib sheets together about eight inches off the clew, and put enough tension on the weather jib sheet to bring the upper jib batten parallel to the boom. The clew will wind up roughly in the middle of the leeward seat, as a rule of thumb. A main with a window in the upper part of the luff that lets you see the upper jib batten can be very helpful.

What you don't want to do is overtrim the weather sheet, which stalls the jib leech and closes the slot; you can tell when that is happening by the backwind that you get in the main luff. The more you weather sheet, the narrower the "groove" gets, which can actually be helpful -- the Scot's groove is unnaturally wide to begin with, and it's easy to be fooled into sailing too low or to miss shifts. However, in light air, heavy chop, or if you're having trouble holding the boat in the groove, the weather sheet can profitably be eased or left off.

What about cruising? index

Since there's so much room aboard a Flying Scot, including enough storage space for camping gear and supplies, many fleets organize cruises up and down coastlines or among groups of islands. A week-long cruise through the Thousand Islands is planned following this year's North American Championships, for example. Information about organized Flying Scot cruises frequently appears in the class newsletter, Scots 'n Water.

Raising and lowering the mast is a major pain! index

Getting the mast up and down on older boats can be a trying process, involving a good deal of trial and error and fumbling. Fortunately, on newer boats, there is a pin on a hinge just aft of the mast step that greatly simplifies stepping and unstepping the mast. With the mast hinge, you just hook up the sidestays, slide the mast into the pin on the hinge, attach the jib halyard to your trailer winch, and have one person in the boat guiding the mast to prevent it falling sideways while the other cranks the mast up to vertical. Hook up the forestay, and you're done! Reverse the process when taking down.

Older boats can have the mast hinge retrofitted fairly easily. The hinge only costs $15, and is one of the better investments that you can make. If you're within easy driving distance of the factory, they'll also install the bow bag and transom port for you for very little while you're there. Even if you aren't close to the factory, the hinge doesn't look to be particularly difficult to install yourself, and it will save you a lot of grief.

If you have an older boat with no mast hinge, you can simulate the effect of having a hinge by placing the butt of the mast in the tabernacle and following the above procedure, either using the trailer winch or walking forward from stern to midships while holding the mast overhead. The tabernacle will prevent the mast from falling over sideways while you're bringing it to vertical (which is the reason why it's there). Once the mast is vertical, hook up the jib halyard to the bow plate (not the tack shackle), and lift the mast from the tabernacle up to the mast step. Then hook up the forestay, and you're all set.

What about safety in a capsize? index

Because the Flying Scot is so beamy and has a very heavy centerboard that provides a good deal of counterweight, capsizes are rare. In fact, it can be difficult to intentionally capsize the Flying Scot to leeward when the centerboard is down, since the boat develops uncontrollable weather helm as it heels over, which heads the boat into the wind until the sails stall. Most Flying Scot capsizes occur during downwind legs of races in heavy, puffy air, when the centerboard is up, the boat is not being sailed conservatively, and the spinnaker is almost doubling the boat's total sail area.

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Thoughts on the Flying Scot

• Thread starter kito
• Start date Aug 18, 2016
• Forums for All Owners
• Ask All Sailors

I am toying with the idea of selling my C22 and get more of a day sailer that would be easier to tow to different lakes and to setup. My H30 will be ready for the water soon and really don't need a C22 and a H30. I am looking for something fun but stable and can handle at least 4 comfortably. I never been on one but the Flying Scot comes to mind. Looking for comments on this boat as far as how it sails, rigging time, stepping the mast etc.  

I don't have the details you need, but a 50-something couple I know love theirs. They trailer it whenever they go sailing and take others out with them. A much admired boat design.  

What I have read is that they are one of the most stable centerboard daysailers around. It take a lot of wind and a huge brain fart to capsize one. It's and older design but I kind of like the big bow area. You can duck in there if caught in a storm. It could probably get by with a small electric trolling motor too.  

May be a good time to buy one. The GYA (Gulf Yachting Association) has changed it's standard boat from the Scot to the Viper. The GYA is made up of clubs along the Gulf Coast from Houston to Tampa. Many individuals and clubs are now buying Vipers and selling off their Scots. http://www.gya.org/?page_id=13 I imagine the price of a used Scot has dropped precipitously down around here. If nothing else you can use that to leverage to negotiate a better price where you are.  

Scott T-Bird

Sounds like a good choice to me and you should have no problem finding one to suit your budget. Only knock I read is that they aren't particularly performance oriented. For stability, comfort and good overall performance, though, it would seem to be hard to beat it.  

Sandy Stone

Not the best boat upwind, but reaching in a breeze they are amazingly fast, and will plane. Mast stepping is pretty much a 2-person job. We recently had a juniors race where a 30-knot squall came through the fleet, and only 1 boat flipped. Just look closely at the execrable dual reel winches for the halyards and see if you can live with that.  

Take a look at the Rhodes 19. Ballast ratio similar to, half the weight, higher performance, and more cockpit than the C22. The flying Scott (unballasted) requires an attentive crew.  

Fun Boat. I recommend it. This is a board boat not a keel boat. You have to use your body weight to keep it upright like a Sunfish.  

Keep in mind it IS a dinghy. A stable dinghy, but a dinghy nonetheless. If you're not careful it will go over. Fast. A world away from say a Hunter 20.  

kito said: What I have read is that they are one of the most stable centerboard daysailers around. It take a lot of wind and a huge brain fart to capsize one. It's and older design but I kind of like the big bow area. You can duck in there if caught in a storm. It could probably get by with a small electric trolling motor too. Click to expand

BTW, I wouldn't call the Scot unballasted. The centerboard must weigh a couple hundred pounds at least, but it's not hard to raise with the tackle provided.  

Thanks for all the input so far. The Rhodes 19 and the Boston Whaler look interesting too. I may have to broaden my choices since there are not many Flying Scot's for sale. Lake Norman has a fleet but none for sale.  

kito said: Thanks for all the input so far. The Rhodes 19 and the Boston Whaler look interesting too. I may have to broaden my choices since there are not many Flying Scot's for sale. Lake Norman has a fleet but none for sale. Click to expand

The Scot centerboard has enough weight (maybe 75 lbs) to keep it down and the boat on her lines when the sails are down. But that old style long-footed main rides on a very long boom, like 12 feet. Between the inertia of that boom swinging across, the relatively large mainsail area, no reefing, and no ballast this is nice 60's era dinghy sailboat good for a limited range of conditions. Once the wind pipes up you have your hands full.  

Our club has a Flying Scot fleet. I sailed on hull #2. Immaculate condition and apparently the same design as new ones. I would consider one but don't have answers to your questions. Just got excited to see that you're considering a boat that is popular at our club.  

I wonder how many sailors named Scott have named theirs "Flying Scott". Just had to put that out there.  

I think age influences what you might get. I dont know much about the Scot but I had several Hobie cats (14 and 16) and while they were very hard to get to go over, once they did.. they are not easy to upright. For someone young.. no problem to upright and get going again. For someone older.. could be a big problem. Also, even if you have a float at the end of the mast and can upright the boat after a capsize, its easy for a young person to climb back in, not so easy for an older person.  

Justin_NSA said: I wonder how many sailors named Scott have named theirs "Flying Scott". Just had to put that out there. Click to expand

Warren Milberg

Many years ago, I taught sailing on Flying Scots. Great little boats that just about impossible to turn over.  

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LEARN TO SAIL

We offer training to scow members only for more information, contact scow's training director at [email protected].

Join SCOW and improve your sailing skills with special training offered only to members.  For more information on how to become a SCOW member visit the Join SCOW section of the Website.   Please note the blue highlighted disclaimer at the bottom of this page .

No prior sailing experience is needed to take the basic sailing training. Significant prior sailing experience is required to take the cruiser training- e.g. taking the basic sailing training and then skippering the Flying Scots for a year, or significant cruiser experience, etc. Applicants applying for the cruiser training must submit a brief summary of sailing experience to the Training Director for review. If you are not a Flying Scot skipper you will be required to demonstrate your sailing skills through an on-the-water assessment. Contact the Training Director for more information.

SCOW Training is conducted in accordance with the SCOW Training Policy .  SCOW is not an affiliate or concessionaire of the NPS and SCOW training fees are set so that when combined with the membership fee, will be at least as expensive as training fees charged by the WSM.  For WSM training offerings click HERE .

Basic Sailing  

Our Basic Sailing course consists of classroom instruction in conjunction with hands-on training using the club’s 19' Flying Scots. There are four nights of classroom training and six on-the-water sessions. The goals of the SCOW course are not only to teach the fundamentals of sailing but also to prepare students to take and pass SCOW’s Flying Scot skipper examinations and thus become qualified to take out the club’s boats on their own. The Flying Scots used in the course are the same boats that SCOW members use to race on Wednesday nights during the season and that are used for Thursday night social sails. Once SCOW members earn their Flying Scot skippership they may reserve these boats online for SCOW events or for personal use.

Please see below for 2024 Basic Sailing training dates. Water classes normally run 4 hours with start times at 8am, 10am and noon. We make an effort to schedule students in accordance with their preferences. If you are interested in signing up please monitor your email inbox for announcements about how to sign up.  You may need a registration code to enroll in a class.  

Makeup dates are  tentative  and depend upon weather, as well as student and instructor availability.  Generally they are only used for rescheduling classes that are canceled due to inclement weather, not for classes missed due to other reasons.

Cruising Sailing

The Cruising Sailing course is taught on the club’s three 25' Catalina Cruisers.  The main purpose of the course is to familiarize students with the three different club boats, as well as SCOW’s policies and procedures regarding the cruisers, so that they are prepared to take and pass the club’s comprehensive cruiser skipper written and water examinations.  Once SCOW members become Cruiser Skippers they may reserve the boats online for personal use.  SCOW cruiser training is focused on the particulars of SCOW’s three cruisers and relevant local sailing knowledge and requires that a student already has significant prior sailing knowledge and experience, such as at least a year as a SCOW Flying Scot skipper or relevant keel boat sailing experience elsewhere. The course includes two land classes, three days of on-the-water hands-on-training, and one evening of night sailing.  The course is typically followed by some tutoring to practice for the water checkout exam.     

Please see below for dates and the specific steps to take if you are interested in enrolling.  If you are interested in signing up please notify the Training Director as soon as possible by email via  [email protected] . You will need a registration code to enroll in a class.   If interest exceeds training capacity students will be given preference based on when they contacted the Training Director via email. 

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You must be a SCOW member to enroll for cruiser training.

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If you are a member in good standing, please email the Training Director ([email protected]) to indicate that you are interested in taking cruiser classes along with a completed sailing resume. Submit a completed sailing Résumé to SCOW's Training Director at  [email protected]      Sailing Résumé Note that potential candidates may be invited to demonstrate their sailing skills on a sail arranged by the Training Director.

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When you have been confirmed by the Training Director as a qualified candidate and there is an available spot in one of the cruiser training courses (spring or fall) you will be provided with a registration code via email. If there is no spot available for the current training year you will be placed on a waiting list in case we have a cancellation.

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When you receive an email with a registration code, follow the instructions contained in the email to register. Before registering, make sure you carefully note the class dates for the course you want to register for. SCOW does not issue refunds for training unless the training is canceled by SCOW.

Capsize Training

SCOW is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guest Services, Inc. SCOW offers training to its members as part of our overall sailing program. GSI is the official NPS concessionaire to offer sailing lessons to the general public at the Washington Sailing Marina. For information on GSI's training, visit WSM Sailing Lessons page. For general information regarding the marina visit the Washington Sailing Marina website.

Hi everyone,I am looking at cruising good ol 3430, but want to work out a better arrangement should we tip over.   The current thought is to tow the boat to a dock, not much help in cruising.Has anyone ever thought about adding supplemental floatation?  That would seem to reduce the amount of bailing required?   Extra inflation float.

sawyerspadre

Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:59

Do you have the bow flotation

Do you have the bow flotation bag, that is now required for racing?

Also, the float for the head of the sail can help prevent turtling. If the boat stays on it's side, and you right it, you can avoid a lot of bailing.

The swim ladder option allows you to get back in the boat more easily.

These items can be gotten, along with great advice from Flying Scot Inc.

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Michael R. Wing

Daysailers, pocket cruisers and other small sailboats.

Daysailer Designs

I love small boats!  I always have, ever since I was a kid.  If you gave me a mega-rock star’s money I would not buy a bigger boat, although I might buy some nice waterfront real estate to sail from.  But even if you love the small boat you have, you might like the looks of some of the others and be curious about them.  (There’s a reason they call boats “she.”)  The following are my notes from a life of noticing and sailing small boats.  I am arbitrarily not considering anything longer than twenty feet or weighing over one ton, or sailboats used only for class racing. 

“Daysailer” can mean any sailboat that’s not in a race or on an overnight cruise.  It also means a specific 16’ 9” sloop designed by Uffa Fox which was mass-produced in fiberglass by the O’Day company in Fall River, Massachusetts and is still made today by Cape Cod Shipbuilding.  I own one of these, built in 1963.  So from now on DaySailer will mean the boat designed by Uffa Fox and “daysailer” will mean a boat you sail for a few hours at a time.  A pocket cruiser has a small cabin with berths for sleeping, which mine (kind of) does.

A major division in these boats is between those with centerboards and those with keels.  You lose versatility when you put a fixed ballasted keel on a sailboat.  Keel boats are heavier, slower and more expensive than centerboard boats.  You can’t run up on a beach and step out onto the sand, which for me is part of the fun of sailing.  You avoid shallow water.  You need to tie up to a dock, or use a tender to get to and from the shore.  They may fit on a trailer, but because of their draft and weight it’s a chore to trailer-sail them.  However, they are safer in strong wind because they won’t capsize.  They have more room, and a steady motion.  Once a sailboat gets over 20’ long, rail meat isn’t enough to keep the boat upright.

Don’t buy a new boat unless you have to.  New boats are expensive compared to used ones, which sell for 10% – 50% of the price of new.  Any fiberglass boat can be restored to a “practically new” condition with a few weeks of work.  All fiberglass boats end up in landfills eventually, so by purchasing a used one you reduce waste as well as save money.  And the production boats designed years ago are at least as beautiful and functional as those being designed today.  Some of the most popular small sailboats ever were designed fifty or sixty years ago and have been made continuously for decades by more than one builder; the hull mold and production rights passing to a new company whenever the old company folds.

The Alcort Sunfish and other popular “wet” boats:  The Sunfish and the Laser have a lot in common.  They are identical in length (13’ 9”) and nearly identical in beam, draft, weight, sail area, price, and popularity.  Today they’re even made by the same company, LaserPerformance , but that wasn’t always true.  The Sunfish was designed by Alcort, Inc. and produced by Alcort for decades.  With its colorful striped lateen sail, tiny footwell of a cockpit, and flat fish-shaped hull it didn’t look anything like any other boat.  The designers had previously build iceboats, then experimented with paddle boards.  The Sunfish has won many design awards.  It is the most-produced fiberglass sailboat ever.  The Laser is more of a performance boat.  Even though it is wider than the Sunfish, its round-bottomed hull and tall rig make it faster and tippier.  Both boats have been produced by the hundreds of thousands.  On both boats, you are just inches off the water with little protection from getting splashed.  They aren’t for winter sailing.  A third boat in the “wet and popular” category is the Hobie 16 catamaran.  There’s no cockpit; you sit on a fabric trampoline.  Multihulls are inherently fast but their width makes them awkward to handle at the dock or on a trailer. 

The DaySailer was marketed as the “boat that launched 10,000 weekends.”  I have not sailed mine that many times yet, but I’m closing in on 100.  For me, it’s a right-sized boat: small enough to single-hand, big enough to take a few guests comfortably, fast enough not to be boring, with good-looking curves.  The cuddy cabin deflects spray and provides a place for tired children to rest.  I sleep overnight sometimes, head-forward under the cuddy on some camping foam pads with my feet sticking out into the cockpit.  She draws only a few inches with the board raised so you can sail up onto a sandy beach.  When the tide falls while you are on shore, the boat is light enough to push back into the water.  The DaySailer’s 145 ft 2 of sail area are really too much for my northern California climate, where winds in the double digits are the norm.  When I sail alone or on windy days I reef the main before I go out and use a smaller-than-standard jib taken from a 14-foot O’Day Javelin.  Then when the wind gets really hairy I slacken the main sheet, leave the tiller, go up on the foredeck and drop the jib and secure it.  The boat naturally heaves to in this situation and is quite stable.  Jib secured, I go back to the tiller and sail under reefed main alone.  She’s fast and well balanced under all these sail configurations. 

One other caveat – I keep my boat on the shore with the mast stepped all the time.  I don’t trailer-sail it and if I did that 25’ keel-stepped aluminum mast would be a problem because I cannot raise and step it by myself.  Even with two people it’s tricky.  If I was going to trailer-sail I would get a boat with a shorter, lighter mast. 

The DaySailer was the model that made the O’Day Corporation prosper but they built smaller and larger boats too, up to 40 feet long.  The O’Day Javelin is the DaySailer’s 14-foot little sister; it looks different because it has no cuddy cabin but sails similarly.  Even smaller than that is the 12-foot O’Day Widgeon .  The DaySailer’s twin big sisters are the Rhodes 19 and the Mariner .  The Rhodes 19 looks a like a larger, two-and-a-half-foot-longer DaySailer with a cuddy cabin.  The Mariner has the same hull as the Rhodes 19 but it has a real cabin for overnight cruising with a bulkhead separating the cabin from the cockpit and a big V-berth below with storage space, room for a small camp stove, etc.  The Mariner and the Rhodes 19 are both available with either a centerboard or a fixed ballasted keel. 

There have been over ten thousand DaySailers built, and several thousand each of the Widgeon, Javelin, Rhodes 19 and Mariner models as well, so you see these boats everywhere.  A rarer cousin of these is the 15’ 8” O’Day Ospray (yes, that’s Ospray with an “a” not “Osprey”.)  This boat is only a foot shorter than a DaySailer and looks just like one except that the mast is stepped forward of the raised domed cuddy cabin instead of through it.  The cuddy cabin is smaller.  I don’t know why O’Day bothered to build a boat so similar to its best-seller and they only did it for a few years.  I have only ever seen one of these.  The Widgeon, Javelin and Ospray are no longer built but Cape Cod Shipbuilding still builds DaySailers and Stuart Marine in Maine builds new Mariners and Rhodes 19’s.

West Wight Potter P-15 :  I had one of these boats when my kids were small.  It looked like a bathtub toy, but in a good way.  There are famous stories of people making long ocean passages in them, but really if you want to make a long ocean passage a 15-foot centerboard dingy is not the best way to do it.  A boat with a ballasted keel is.  If you absolutely have to go on a blue-water voyage in a dingy this is probably the one to use.  Most P-15 owners trailer-sail them on lakes and bays and they are very good for that because they don’t weigh much and the mast is stepped on deck and is only 15’ 6” tall and is thin also so it’s easy to put the mast up.  The mast is so short because the “simulated gaff”-rigged mainsail is compact and wide for its height.  The mainsail is in the shape of a gaff sail plus a gaff topsail, with a sturdy batten taking the place of the gaff boom.  Plus, the boat is under-canvased (main + working jib = 98 ft 2 ) compared to other boats of similar size and weight.  This was rarely a problem for me, sailing in windy northern California.  On the occasions when it was a problem I just put on a big genoa jib.  The reason the boat is under-canvassed is that it was originally designed to sail in the waters around the Isle of Wight, in English Channel, where it’s blowing a gale most of the time.  Strong winds and choppy conditions are built into this boat’s DNA, which is funny because today they are produced by International Marine in southern California where the wind is much lighter.

I miss sailing dry (the Potter deflects spray efficiently) and I sure do miss those two big 6 ½ foot-long berths down below.  The Potter is faster than she looks like she would be; I had no complaints about her speed.  I did find the cockpit uncomfortable.  The P-15 has a lot of big boat features and one of these is a self-bailing cockpit.  This means the floor of the cockpit is above the waterline, which makes the cockpit quite shallow.  I don’t have very long legs but I wished for more legroom.  It was like sitting in a bathtub.  And the cockpit coaming didn’t make it easy to sit on the rail.  As my kids grew there wasn’t room in the bathtub for four people anymore.  So I traded up to my O’Day DaySailer.  Then my kids lost interest in sailing.  Oh well, the DaySailer is a great boat too.  Some other “big boat” features I could have done without are the bow pulpit (what’s it for?) and the bulkhead between the cabin and the cockpit.  I like a more open arrangement.  But if I were a trailer-sailer I would go back to the Potter in a heartbeat because it’s so easy to wrangle on and off the trailer. 

The same company also builds the P-19 which is more than twice the boat even though it is only four feet longer.  One difference between them, besides size, is that while the P-15 has a typical centerboard that pivots backwards and up, the P-19 has a 300-lb. metal daggerboard that goes straight up and down.  So even though this boat only draws 6” with the board up, you can’t just sail towards the beach until the board bumps.  You have to slowly raise it using a winch.

West Wight Potters, especially the P-15’s, hold their resale value much better than most boats.  I sold mine for more than I paid for it.  Many owners keep them in their garages and polish them obsessively, so used Potters are often in Bristol condition. 

Some pocket cruisers similar to the Potters (but with deeper drafts) are the Montgomery 15 , the Montgomery 17 , the Com-Pac 16 and the Sage 17 . In the 1960s and 1970s the MacGregor Yacht Corporation produced thousands of Venture-21’s,and their little sisters the Venture-17’s .  These were inexpensively made trailer-sailers with ballasted swing keels, big cockpits, low headroom in the cabin, and very few frills.  They are not pretty by anyone’s standard (they look like skinny Clorox bottles with sails), but if your budget is tight they can be had for next to nothing. 

The Herreshoff 12½ and its relatives: (12 ½ refers to the waterline length; the boat is almost 16’ long overall.)  Nathaniel Herreshoff, its designer, was a member of a prominent family of naval architects and yacht builders in Bristol, Rhode Island.  He designed many of the America’s Cup defenders of the Gilded Age and the early 20 th century.  Those elegant yachts were his inspiration for this charming little gaff-rigged sloop.  It was conceived as a safe and stable boat for beginners and children.  It has been in continuous production since 1914.  Today you can buy one from Cape Cod Shipbuilding or from Ballentine’s Boat Shop , also on Cape Cod (where they call it the Doughdish) but there are used ones, in wood or fiberglass, all over New England.  Warning: these boats aren’t cheap.  Expect to pay what you would for a car.  The Herreshoff 12½ has a fixed ballasted keel with 735 lbs. of lead in it that draws 2’ 6”.  It must be the smallest keel sailboat in common use.  There is no cabin, but some people have used it for overnight cruising by rigging a boom tent and making a bed on the cockpit sole, which of course has no centerboard trunk to divide it in half.  Of all of the boats I’ve never had or sailed, this is the one that most calls to me.

Two and a half feet of draft is too deep to land on beaches, so designer Joel White modified the design to make the Haven 12½ which is almost identical to the Herreshoff 12½ from the waterline up.  Down below it has a centerboard, but also a shallow keel.  The Haven 12 ½ draws a foot less than the Herreshoff 12 ½ but weighs about the same.  So it still draws 1’ 6” with the board up and weighs well over half a ton.  It’s not obvious that this is enough of an improvement to make it truly beachable.  The Bullseye has the same hull as the Herreshoff 12½ but has a more modern Marconi sloop rig and a cuddy cabin.  Cape Cod Shipbuilding produces the Bullseye.  The Paine 14 is a scaled-down version of the Herreshoff 12½ that looks similar above the waterline but has a carbon fiber mast and a modern fin keel and less wetted surface area, so it performs with more zip. 

The Cape Dory Typhoon has been called “America’s Littlest Yacht” although maybe the Herreshoff 12 ½ deserves the title more, being even littler and being designed by a famous yachtsman.  But the Typhoon has a proper cabin complete with a bulkhead that separates it from the cockpit and a sliding hatch, sleeping berths below, round portholes in the cabin trunk, teak cockpit coamings, winches for the jib sheets, and all the other details of a much larger keel boat.  Plus, Carl Alberg designed it with elegant, understated lines.  Several thousand of these were made, a few as daysailers without the cabin, but Cape Dory no longer exists as a company.  My uncle Eddie had one of these on Lake Michigan. 

As long as we’re on the subject of keel boats, the Cal 20 is ubiquitous where I live on the west coast.  I learned to sail on a Cal 20 when I was seven years old, in San Diego Harbor, steering a course between the aircraft carriers and the Hobie cats.  The Cal 20 is a stocky little boat with a 7’ beam.  My father always said it developed a “vicious weather helm” when the wind got too strong but I’ll bet this problem can be solved by reefing the main – I don’t remember if he ever did that.  Used Cal 20s are easy to find and the seller is usually motivated to sell because the slip fees at a marina in the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles are often more than the boat itself is worth.  You have to keep it at a marina; it’s no trailer-sailer. 

Traditional Catboats : These are heavy, wide, and slow with deep round cockpits, oval portholes on the cabin trunk and one huge gaff mainsail on an unstayed mast that’s right up at the bow.   They have their origins as utility boats for clamming and fishing on Cape Cod.  They look salty at the mooring but they are not as exciting to sail as more slender sloops.  They have a lot of room for their length, though.  No one model or manufacturer dominates this category.  The Marshall Marine Corporation on Cape Cod makes the 15-foot Sandpiper, the 18-foot Sanderling and the Marshall 22.  Arey’s Pond Boat Yard (also on Cape Cod) makes traditional catboats 12’ and up, with their 14-footer being the best-selling model.  Florida-based Com-Pac Yachts produces a line of trailerable gaff-rigged catboats 14-20’ with less wood trim that are more affordable then the high-end boats that Marshall and Arey’s Pond makes.

Beetle Cats , however, are catboats that are nimble sailers.  The design of this lightweight (for a catboat) 12-footer goes back to 1921 and four thousand of them have been built.  There are plenty of used ones available but you can buy new ones in wood from Beetle, Inc. on Cape Cod and in fiberglass from Howard Boats , also on Cape Cod. 

The Drascombe Lugger and its many relatives are triple-propulsion boats: they can be rowed, sailed or powered by an outboard motor in a built-in motor well.  It should go without saying that design compromises mean that they are not high-performance sailboats, rowboats or motorboats.   They are traditional looking open boats with a Gunter rigged mainsail and a small mizzen.  They are made in the United Kingdom so even though more than 2000 have been produced there are not a lot of used ones available in North America.  Expect to pay top dollar or even to have to buy a new one, unless you live in the UK.  There is no cabin on the Lugger but people use them for beach camping on extended cruises because they have plenty of storage space and shallow draft.  Their design is based on traditional English fishing boats that had to be beachable.  The Lugger is 18’ 9” but Drascombe makes many other models including the 15 ½ – foot Dabber and the 21’ 9” Longboat, all essentially the same except for the size.  The Norseboat 17.5 , “the Swiss Army Knife of boats”, made in Canada, is a modern alternative.  It is advertised as a sailing/rowing boat but with a beam of just 5’ 2”, round bilges and low freeboard it looks tender.  I would sail it in light air; I’m not sure how it would do in a gale. 

Cornish Crabbers and Shrimpers are also based on traditional fishing boats, and are also made in England.   However, most of these are heavy keelboats that violate my “not more than twenty feet and not over one ton” rule.  Even the popular 19’ Shrimper is really over 22’ with the bowsprit and weighs over a ton.  Also, since they are made in England there are not that many of them available in North America, unless you want to pay for a new one. 

Flying Scot: I used to sail one of these.  I single-handed it and found that this boat is really too big and powerful to single-hand very well.  The mainsail was bigger than a barn door.  Mine had no reef points.  I would come screaming back to the dock at the end of the sail thinking “geez, I sure hope I can stop this beast…” It’s not tippy, just has a lot of power.  You could water ski from one.  The company that makes them, Flying Scot, Inc . is located on a small lake in western Maryland; maybe it’s not very windy there.  Also, there is no place in the cockpit or forepeak or even on deck to lay out a sleeping bag for an overnight; it’s strictly a daysailer and racer.  That’s unusual for a boat that is 19’ long and almost seven feet wide. 

Cape Cod Mercury Sloop: Don’t confuse this with the 18’ “Mercury Class” boats; this boat is 15’ long.  It is a favorite with camps, sailing schools and community boating programs but it looks kinda generic and institutional – I don’t think that many people buy these for their own personal use.  At least all the ones I’ve ever seen have been in institutional fleets.  Come to think of it, there are other sailboats like that, the Flying Junior for instance.  Cape Cod Shipbuilding makes Mercury Sloops. 

Whitehalls are rowing boats.   They were originally water taxis in New York City.  So they are light in weight, and have narrow beams and low freeboard.  Today you can get Whitehalls with sail rigs but these light, narrow, low hulls aren’t ideal for sailing.  I would only sail one in gentle conditions, and gentle conditions are uncommon where I live.  Whitehall Rowing & Sail and Gig Harbor Boat Works (both in the Pacific Northwest) are two companies that produce them with sail rigs. 

So there you have it – every boat has a story that explains why it looks the way it does.  Many of the stories have happened on or near Cape Cod.  If you live there, you are lucky to be surrounded by all these pretty boats. 

Poem: Sailing Alone – by Michael Wing

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The Boat That Stays With You

Racing Package

The Flying Scot is one of the best racing classes in the world.The boat's simplicity allows for more participants. At the same time some of the best sailors in the world are also drawn to the class, because of the classes strict one design rules. Flying Scot racing makes for a truly fair competition as all of the boats are designed to be easily measured with strict restrictions on changes.  The Flying Scot Sailing Association is the governing body of Flying Scot racing and you will find over 100 fleets around the nation. Most fleets meet for weekly racing. It's a ton of fun, no matter your skill level!

Easy to Launch, Easy to Sail, Easy to Keep

Single Handling - no advanced Sailing Experience needed! It can be Launched, Rigged and Sailed by 1 person

5-year limited warranty on hull, 2 year warranty on rigging. Flying Scot Inc. Means Service!

Unsinkable - Due to 900 lbs of Installed Positive Flotation.

Customization - Any Color you like! - Send us a sample color, we'll match it.

Built to Last - With six  layers of mat and bi-directional glass sandwiching a balsa core. This boat will be in the family for generations!

Highest Quality Materials - Mast and spars are anodized aluminum, rigging is quality stainless steel, all fittings are stainless. Centerboard has 80 lbs of lead, with 16:1 differential winch. The centerboard is set in a unique trunk that does not require the traditional, leak prone, pivot point.

Great Racing! - Active fleets nationwide, and strong organization: The Flying Scot Sailing Association publishes a bi-monthly publication, Scots N' Water. Casual to expert racing. This means a ready used boat market, protecting your investment.

Shallow Draft - great for exploring in shallow rivers and lakes. Launches in 12 inches of water!

Good for the Whole Family - can seat 8 adults!  Weighing only 1200 lbs on the trailer - most cars can tow .

Take a test Sail , Visit us anytime. Call for details

Racing Package comes turn key ready to race!

Includes: Trailer: Galvanized Steel Boom Vang: 12:1 cascading cleated aft Centerboard Cleat: 360 swivel cleat Cunningham: 6:1 Led Aft to Console Extension Plate for Forestay: included to set rake for racing Hike out Stick: Universal Ronstan X-10 Jib Sheet: Dyneema Performance, Cleated on Seat, w/ 2:1 purchase Mainsheet: 2:1  Dyneema Performance Line Mast Head Fly: Davis Telo-Vane Outhaul: 6:1 Internal Forestay: 1/8" Pole Down Haul: Through Deck Pole Topping Lift: 2:1 Led aft to Console Shims: Top and Bottom of trunk are shimmed tight Sails: Mad Main, Jib & Tri Radial Spin, built in Madison Wisconsin Spinnaker Guy Hooks: On Deck with Cleats Spinnaker Halyard: Led Aft to Take Up Reel Spinnaker Pole Spinnaker Pole Rings: 2 on mast Spinnaker Sheet: Dyneema Performance Line, led internal

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Flying Scots are often referred to as the "Best Daysailer in the world" because of her big aft deck and roomy cockpit. Not to mention how her simplicity makes her easy to rig and sail. You can get this boat together by yourself, or bring as many as seven passengers aboard. The big back deck is great for swimming or just dangling your feet in the water. The kick up rudder and centerboard allow for you to sail through extremely shallow water and even beach the boat. You can put an outboard motor on the back and we even offer a throttle to let you control the motor from the cockpit. Sandy designed the perfect boat!

Built to Last - With six  layers of mat and bi-directional glass sandwiching a balsa core. This boat will be in the family for generations!

Highest Quality Materials - Mast and spars are anodized aluminum, rigging is quality stainless steel, all fittings are stainless, hardware is Harken. Centerboard has 80 lbs of lead, with 16:1 differential winch. The centerboard is set in a unique trunk that does not require the traditional, leak prone, pivot point.

Great Racing! - Active fleets nationwide, and strong organization: The Flying Scot Sailing Association publishes a bi-monthly publication, Scots N' Water. Casual to expert racing. This means a ready used used boat market, protecting your investment.

Good for the Whole Family - can seat 8 adults!

Weighing only 1200 lbs on the trailer - most cars can tow .

Includes: Trailer: Galvanized Steel Boom Vang: 5:1 self cleating Centerboard Cleat: flat clam cleat on side of trunk Hike out Stick: 3D swivel with metal life time fitting Centerboard: Shimmed Jib Sheet: Ratchet and Cleat on Side Deck Mainsheet: 3:1 Mid Boom Rig Outhaul: 2:1 external Sails: Mad Main & Jib - soft cloth - built in Madison Wisconsin

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