GRAYHOUND Lugger Sailing

[Carl Cramer]

is the topic of this week's My Wooden Boat of the Week.

I can't tell you much about her -- she's building in Cornwall, with a launch date scheduled for this August.

You can watch the build video and please comment here:

http://boats.woodenboat.com

[keyhavenpotterer]

That looks like what was known as a 'Three Masted Lugger'.

It is more likely to be a design from east of the lizard point, as its got a square stern/ counter I think. Early ones had round hulls for storing all the fish caught then close to shore. The later ones became more streamlined and hydrodynamic when they had to go further offshore and needed more performance, but then needed yacht legs to dry out. The early ones had a bowsprit, the later ones it was raised up and attached to the foresail luff and called a vargord, until they organised a strong bolt rope on the luff. The boats were built 1750-1850. Rampant overfishing finished them off by 1900.

Anyone interested in Cornish boats, there's a good book by A.S.Oliver called "Boats and Boatbuilding in West Cornwall - a study of Cornish Fishing Craft" - 1971. Second hand bookshops only and quite rare, but good.