Thursday 19 June 2008

American style at Beale Park

The Slipway Co-operative in Bristol who built the Cornish pilot gig Young Bristol, also showed a smashing rowing skiff at Beale Park, the Whisp designed by Steve Redmond.
The Whisp is about as simple a boat as can be, but Win Cnoops and his fellow-craftsmen have created a lovely thing from the design. The boat is 15ft 9in long by 3ft 6in beam, and a draft described as 'very little', so it should be easy to row and especially handy when landing on beaches or slipways. It weighs about 70lb so can be carried on top of a car without too much difficulty.
The rowing version is available complete from the Slipway Co-operative at £3250, or in kit form at £1500. A spritsail rig is also available.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Plans for the Whisp are here.

http://www.sredmond.com/index_boat.htm

It's said to be a scary boat to sail, as it's very light and tiddly - but also pretty quick. It might be the boat to build if you happen to have a yen to impress your local sailing club's smug modern dinghy racers with the capabilities of a handsome boat with an old-fashioned rig. I confess that even though I hate racing myself, I'd love to see a Whisp pass a Laser on the water...


Gav