Single-handed sailing dinghy Wanderer

recreational

I first got involved with the Wanderer having just bought the Copyright from the Proctor family. I was asked by the builder to attend a committee meeting with the Wanderer Class Association. At this meeting the whole committee raised their concerns regarding the build of the new version of the Wanderer and many of the committee were not happy with the new boat. The main areas of discontent were the floor, which was very slippery. The boat was difficult to right after capsize and it came up full of water, this made the boat difficult to handle in heavy winds. In short, it was not a very good first meeting, “what had I bought?” I had spent thousands of £’s buying the Copyright, the patterns, moulds and tooling to now be told I had bought a bad boat. The previous Wanderer was a successful boat with thousands of Wanderer’s cruising and sailing throughout the UK. It left me very disappointed and uncertain. Following that disastrous meeting, I turned to the then builder and asked him to find me a Wanderer and Hartley Boats would test the boat, maybe the committee were wrong and this was a great boat. I loved the size of the boat being 14ft (4.27m) it was ideal for small family sailing or single-handed sailing, weighing only 135kgs and much lighter than the Wayfarer, this had to be a great alternative to offer in the Hartley Boats stable range of boats. The big day for testing the boat came, sunshine and good winds, Carsington Sailing Club was our destination. What would Mark, my son and I think? After a few minutes of sailing the boat we began to smile, the boat handled so well, it was a dream to sail, so stable, forgiving, responsive on the helm with superb balance.