Sherpa

John Shrapnel lives in Queensland on the North East coast of Australia, an area that has a very high proportion of very nice weather but like everywhere, the chances are that the day you want to go sailing will be windy or wet. Or both!

John built a Sherpa with the intention of using it on a small water near his home, and joining in with others doing the same in traditional and home built small boats, and the initial reports from him were very positive. He was hugely pleased with the space which enabled his large and not as limber as it used to be frame to be comfortable , its stability, the vice free handling and the feeling of adventure and speed that the little boat gave him.

He has said that Sherpa is ideal as a first boat for teaching sailing, makes a great boat for exploring or just daysailing, and wonderful for taking grandchildren for a ride.;

John has sent several sets of photos to us, the latest show the boat with a larger rig designed by Bayside Wooden Boats Ross Lillistone. The original was intended to have all the spars able to be stowed within the length of the boat, but the boats extraordinary stability means that she can carry a lot more “rag” even in the 20 knots that John says was blowing on the day that these pics were taken.

He’s very very happy with his little boat, sails it lots, and says that he would not hesitate to recommend the design to anyone wanting a solid, fun, stable little sailing dinghy.

JohnWelsford
Designer.