Jewell
Trailerable cabin classic yawl - 6m
A cross-Atlantic Collaboration between Francois Vivier Architect Naval
and Clint Chase Boatbuilder
CNC-cut plywood are ready!
LOA | 19'8" |
Beam | 7' 3" |
Weight | 1367 lbs |
Sail area | 237 sq ft |
(excerpted from an entry F. Vivier made into the WoodenBoat Design contest in 2010 in which Jewell received an honorable mention)
In January 2010, I got in touch with Clint Chase, a young boat-builder in the state of Maine, USA. I was looking for somebody able to market boat kits in North America and Clint was looking for designers to develop his boatbuilding and kit business. We had a very fruitful discussion by e-mail and phone and he expressed the need for a new day boat for his family. Jewell was born. A first draft project was drawn in 2010 and the final project was designed in April 2011.
As a family friendly day boat, Jewell has to meet the following main requirements:
To be trailerable by an ordinary car, and therefore light, and be able to beach temporarily for loading/unloading.
To have a large, wide and deep cockpit, comfortable, allowing for fishing and a place where children could be safe.
To have a stable hull for family sailing but give excellent performance for raids and weekend sails “with the guys”.
To have a cuddy cabin, with a toilet for women and children, a small galley to heat some meals and two berths to spend a night or two on board, or for napping.
We also made the choice of a yawl rig, firstly because it is beautiful, and also because Americans are fond of yawls. I was happy to make something different than the gaff sloop I generally prefer on such a day-boat (Stir-Ven, Beniguet, Lilou...). The yawl rig is very versatile, allowing one to sail under main only, or under mizzen and jib. The mizzen also allows the boat to safely point into the wind, tending itself while the skipper starts the motor, puts in a reef, or entertains the kids. In Jewell, the main mast is shorter and lighter, so easier to step. The jib has overlap in order to improve pointing ability. The luff is short in order to have it well tight. It is always a mania for me to design fast boats, especially to windward, as it is also the best for safety. The jib is small and fitted with a roller furling system to avoid the need to come on the fore deck at sea. The mizzen is a leg-of-mutton sprit sail which stow simply rolled around the mast. On a trailerable boat, the centerboard case is generally cumbersome, either in the cockpit and/or in the cabin. On Jewell, the case is almost invisible. The centerboard rotates under the cockpit allowing the skipper or crew (even a 6’6” person) to sleep athwartship on the cockpit floorboard!
I usually give to my designs name of rivers (Aber, Elorn, Laita, Aulne...), islands (Ilur, Ebihen, Béniguet, Méaban...) or capes (Pen-Hir, Toulinguet, Beg-Meil...) in Brittany. This time, Jewell is an island, but in the state of Maine, where Clint use to sail, on the other side of the pond!
(Photos coming soon)