Bill's Log: Prelude, an Ian Proctor Small Sailboat

Ian Proctor has a host of small boat designs to his credit of which the Wayfarer is perhaps the most well-known, but the most manufactured* must be the 11’ Topper Polypropylene racing dinghy - more than 56,000 of them! Ian drew the lines of a number of small sailing cruisers such as the Nimrod, the Eclipse, the Pirate and the 19’ 3” Prelude featured here.

Preludes were initially manufactured by Rydgeway Marine and afterwards by Pegasus Yachts. Between them, over 500 were produced and sold. There were three versions. Prospective owners could choose from a drop keel, a fin keel or a bilge keel version. Preludes were made by assembling four GRP mouldings. The basic hull had an inner moulding bonded to it comprising built-in berths and a galley unit. Bolted to these, an upper moulding formed the cabin top, foredeck and cockpit. The cabin ceiling was lined with a thin moulding to impart an attractive, maintenance free surface.

If I had a choice, I would prefer a twin keel version with its cast iron streamlined rear extensions. They help stabilize the boat when taking the ground, so as to make her suitable for drying moorings. She is a practical, low maintenance sailing cruiser for two people. I like her spacious self-draining cockpit. I also like her easily managed furling Genoa, along with her slab reefed mainsail. Similar to other boats of her size, such as the 19’ Seawych, she will require to be reefed early to prevent undue weather helm. If she is a drop keel boat with a lift-up rudder, it will be important to keep the rudder fully down to maintain balanced handling.

Dimensions

LOA 19'3'' (5.86m)

LWL 17'0'' (5.18m)

Beam 6'10" (2.09m)

Weight: Approx. 750 Kg (1650 Lbs)

4- Berth minimum 6'1'' (1.86m)

Draft Fin Keel 3'9'' (1.15m)

Draft Drop Keel 2'0''/4'6" (0.61/1.38m)

Draft Twin Bilge Keels 2'3'' (0.689m)

Note

10, 800 Wayfarer dinghies have been built to date: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayfarer_(dinghy)

Links