moth yacht

MACH2 Essentials

All you need to know about the Moth class and Mach2 in particular. All the essential information regarding the boat, it's history, evolution of foiling, the designer, the sailmaker and the boat builder. There's even an introductory video and a few testimonials. Enjoy!

The Designer

Andrew 'AMAC' McDougall first became involved with the Moth class when he built his first Moth at the age of 15 in 1970.

Need some parts for your Mach2? We have a full compliment of sails, spas, foils and Mach2 spares available online.

Speed Demons

36.6 ned goss.

Is this a world record speed for a dinghy? Ned Goss in a 18-25 knot Charleston sea breeze hit a peak speed of 36.5 knots, with a 10 sec average of 35.9 knots in his MACH2. Goss’s Velocitek files were verified by Bora Gulari & Velocitek founder Alec Stewart. Take that!

30.2 Josh McKnight

Following his win at Lake Garda, 2012 World Moth Champion, Josh McKnight then set an outstanding top speed and ten second average on his Mach2. It goes to show the Mach2 / KA Sail is a killer combination!

31.5 Scott Babbage

Scott Babbage set this speed sailing his MACH2 on Sydney Harbour whilst training with Josh McKnight. Any top speed that's above 30 knots is well worth a mention, but to have a ten second average that is also above 30 knots, wow!

31.4 Hiroki Goto

Sailing at a lake in Japan near Mount Fuji, Hiroki Goto, set a very impressive top speed of 31.0 knots, only to surpassed his on record the following day with a top speed of 31.4 knots and a ten second average of 28.4 knots.

MACH2.6 Is Here

This is the fifth major upgrade in the illustrious life of the Mach2 Moth. Already it's proving to be dominant. For the complete list of upgrades and features, hit the link below

Testimonials

We take a great deal of pleasure designing, building and supporting the best foiling Moth in the world. And nothing gives us greater pleasure than the positive feedback we have received from MACH2 owners over the past 10 years. Here's a few owner testimonials........

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The current International moth is a result of merging two separate but similar historical developments. The first occurred in Australia in 1928 when Len Morris built a cat rigged (single sail) flat bottomed scow to sail on Andersons’ Inlet at Inverloch, a seaside resort, 130km from Melbourne. She was hard chined, was eleven foot long, and carried 80 sq ft in single mainsail. The craft was named “Olive” after his wife. The construction was timber with an internal construction somewhat like Hargreave’s box kite. “Olive’s” performance was so outstanding, that a similar boat “Whoopee” was built. Len Morris then sold “Olive”, and built another boat called “Flutterby”, and with those three boats, the Inverloch Yacht Club was formed. Restrictions for the class known as the Inverloch Eleven Footer class were then drawn up, with the distinguishing characteristic that of being not a one-design boat but rather that of a boat permitting development within the set of design parameters. At much the same time, 1929 in fact, halfway around the world another development class, the American Moth Boat was started by Captain Van Sant of Atlantic City, New Jersey with his boat “Jumping Juniper” built of Atlantic White Cedar from the Great Dismal Swamp. The US development class was formally organized in 1932 as the “National Moth Boat Association” and in 1935, due to increasing overseas interest, changed its name to the “International Moth Class Association” or IMCA.

In October of 1933, an American magazine, The Rudder, published an article dealing with the Moth Boat scene in US. The Australians noted the similarities between the two groups of boats and intuitively realized that the name “Moth Boat” rolled more easily from the tongue than “Inverlock Eleven Footer Class”, so they changed the name of their class to Moth and adopted the “squashed bug” that was shown in the article as the class sail insignia.. The Australians also noted the differences, particularly in sail plan between the two boats, but since this was in the middle of the great depression, and the two groups were 13,000 miles apart, no attempt was made to reconcile these differences. The US fleet, and later the British and European moths, adopted a “circle M” for their sail insignia. Thus two large Moth classes developed separately for over 30 years.

Also, in the early 1930s a small group of sailors in Great Britain formed a “British Moth Class”. The British class was restricted to a particular hull shape of a 1930s Vintage American Moth Boat, and is thus not a development class. Meanwhile, in Australia, in 1936 the Victorian Moth Class Association was formed, but it was not until after WWII, that the NSW Moth Class Sailing Association was formed with foundation members coming from Seaforth Moth Club and Woolahra Sailing Club. During this time Australian Moths were using pre-bent and wing masts in the 1950s. From 1956 to 1961 all other states formed Moth Associations and in 1962 the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) recognized the Australian Moth class as a national class, the FIRST small boat class in Australia to be granted national status.

After the Second World War, more and more European interest in the Moth Boat was expressed. The European Moth clubs subscribed, more or less, to the US class rules. One European Moth design from the early 1960s, the “Europa Moth”, broke away from the IMCA and formed the one-design Europe dinghy class and became the woman’s single-hander used in the Olympic games from 1992-2004. Also in the 1960s, the Australian Mothists began campaigning for rules changes that would permit the Australian Moths to compete in the IMCA’s “World Championships”. In 1971 the US-based IMCA completed a phase-in of new rules which attempted a “marriage” of the IMCA and the Australian Moth. This amalgamation process had started at the annual IMCA meeting in 1965. New rules embraced the more powerful high aspect, loose footed, fully battened rig of the Australian Moth and the squashed bug insignia. The new rules also permitted controversial hiking wings first seen on Moths from Switzerland. Finally, the rule change abolished the US centralized organization of the class in favor of an independent world body with equal-partner national associations. Each national association elected its own officers and world body representatives. The culmination of these changes was the recognition in 1972 of the IMCA by the International Yacht Racing Union (the forerunner of today’s ISAF) bound by the agreed upon new restrictions of the class (with metric measurement conversions) operating today. The moth class association that had originated in the US was now truly an international organization.

Being a development class, the moth has evolved from a hull in the 1930’s that could best be described as a heavy, narrow scow or a blunt nosed skiff, (weighing about 50 kg) to today’s remarkable foilers with hull weights of under 10 kg,. Designs have run the gamut from wide skiffs without wings, to lightweight scows, to wedge-shaped hulls characterized with narrow waterlines and hiking wings out to the maximum permitted beam. Likewise, the sail plan has evolved from cotton sails on wooden spars, through the fully battened Dacron sails on aluminum spars stage, to the windsurfer inspired sleeved film sails on carbon masts seen today.

The International Moth has fostered a number of remarkable achievements. For example, in 1966-67, The King of Siam was involved in the building of three Moths and sailed them on the pond at Chitrlada Palace. The King raced for almost 20 years on his second moth called ‘Super Mod’ until his design and construction efforts were cut short by the ‘press of royal duties’. In 1957 Patricia Duane became the first women to win the moth world championship in her Cates-Florida design and in 1968 Marie Claude Fauroux became the first woman skipper to win a World dinghy racing title from a IYRU sanctioned international class – in her Duflos designed moth. The International Moth was selected as an official training class for the Japanese Olympic sailing team, to hone their balance skills. And of course, the moth has become the standard of a successful hydrofoiling class, with most foils and control systems based on developments by John Ilett in Australia.

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Published on October 11th, 2021 | by Editor

Moth: World’s coolest yachts

Published on October 11th, 2021 by Editor -->

Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and speed record holder Paul Larsen nominated the International Moth. Here’s the report :

“There are so many boats out there that have cool aspects and yet remain horribly compromised or are no longer relevant. After a ridiculous amount of consideration (and excluding our own creations), I have to go for the foiling International Moth,” says the world’s fastest sailor, Paul Larsen.

“Like foiling or not, you can’t shoot the messenger! As a cool boat it stands on its own, and for what it has since inspired.

“The concept just works so well. Its performance and accessibility inspired sailors, backyard builders, designers and performance sailing in general.

“Buy a good one to race at your club or against the best of the best. This little foiler came to the local skiff/cat party and smacked all the old cool kids down. Things change when that happens.”

For Yachting World’s list of cool boats, click here .

Tags: coolest yachts , Moth , Paul Larsen , Yachting World

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2022 International Moth World Championship at Yacht Club Argentino - Overall

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Swift Hydrofoils

Damic Design specialises in design and manufacturing of Moths and Hydrofoils for the International Moth Class. While Moth sailing is our passion, our main objective is to offer the fastest, most developed and best built boats and foils on the market.

Our involvement in the class started in 2004, exposing us to the world of Moth hydrofoiling technology since the early days. The initial period was quite experimental, but also fun and educational as it allowed us to learn and develop our design ideas. We made a lot of foils in this phase with the most successful being the Macita that won the 2013 World Championship. While this foil is not on offer anymore, it certainly paved the way for the foils we make today.

In particular, the Swift range which consists of a number of sizes, each with different lift and control characteristics designed to ensure optimal performance over a wide range of sailing conditions. This range has now grown to include: Two rudders hydrofoils (Small and Medium), three mainfoils (Super Small, Small and Large) and our super thin HM carbon verticals.

The Swift Hydrofoil range is a refined product line with the foils now in their 3rd generation of improvements. We are constantly looking to make gains that we first test, and then bring into production.

What this means for you is that every product in the range is on trend and offers performance improvements for your boat without the need to upgrade the entire platform. While this range is sold with our Swift Moths, it is also available to Bieker, Exocet and Mach 2 owners that are looking for a fast upgrade option. Our foils placed 7 out of the top 10 at Perth Worlds, won 2023 NSW and Australian Nationals and also got 2nd in the Waymouth Pre-Worlds regatta. Furthermore, all Damic Design foils are made in Australia and are constructed from solid carbon fibre, from market leading supplier, Toray. While this increases production costs we believe it is warranted as it insures superior quality and perfomance on what we consider as the most important part of the boat. We are also proud to be the only foil manufacturer that is solely focused on foil development and directly involved in design, testing and manufacturing of all of our products. That means that every foil that leaves our workshop has been hand finished by the designer and Moth sailor that truly understands the product and what is required to make it go fast!

Swift Mainfoils

Swift Super Small (v2)

Our latest hydrofoil, specifically designed for light sailors or as a strong wind foil. It features an innovative tip and bulb design that are optimised for reducing drag when going fast.

$3,350 AUD + GST

Swift Small (v3)

The ultimate all round medium wind foil, that has been winning regattas since the initial release. It is known for having great control features with a very wide performance window.

Swift Large (v2)

Excellent high lift foil that can be carried up range thanks to its thin section and very efficient profile. This foil is a proven race winner and a must for heavy sailors or light wind venues.

Swift Rudderfoils

Swift Small Rudder (v1)

The Small rudder is based on the same theory as our Medium. It is a high aspect low drag shape designed to minimise drag and maximise lift offering great glide though ability for ease of foil tacking. Unlike other small rudders, ours still makes foil tacking a breeze while being tiny in size and super fast.

$2,200 AUD + GST

Swift Medium Rudder (v3)

Our Medium rudder is a well proven design that is a result of many years of development. Its short cord makes it very low drag however it generates plenty of lift thanks to its high aspect ratio. This foil will help make your foiling tacks easy and repeatable. $2,200 AUD + GST

Swift Verticals

Swift HM Rudder Vertical (v3)

The v3 is our latest design to date. It further improves on the original v1/v2 designs with changes in the bottom 1/4 of the section. It is designed to be on the absolute limit of the materials to insure the ultimate performance from reduction in drag coefficient. It also includes a number of design features that combat the “all too common” rudder wash out problems. Made from pre/preg solid High Modulus carbon fibre construction, it is thermally stable and ultra stiff.

$4,100 AUD + GST

Swift HM Main Vertical (v1)

This is the thinnest main vertical on the market which offers significant reduction in drag by simply being smaller to reducing skin friction and displacement. Made from solid High Modulus carbon fibre construction, it is thermally stable and ultra stiff. Includes pushrod and bellcrank kit.

$4,500 AUD + GST

AOA Templates

These angle of attack measuring templates, are designed to fit our range of Swift main and rudder hydrofoils. With the help of this device, you will be able to determine the all important foil angle relative to waterline. $45 AUD + GST

Swift Vertical Covers

Tailor made to suit Swift HM Main verticals and HM Rudder Verticals. These premium quality covers are Australian made using quality Dimension Polyant sailcloth. They features marine canvas outer skin and felt lining inside. $120 AUD + GST

Swift Horizontal Covers

Suitable for Swift Super Small, Small and Large horizontal hydrofoils. These premium quality covers are Australian made using quality Dimension Polyant sailcloth. They features marine canvas outer skin, felt lining inside and Velcro closure to protect the trailing edges. $110 AUD + GST

Gipsy Moth IV: The World’s Most Famous Yacht is Up for Sale

In 1967, Sir Francis Chichester became the first person to sail around the world solo from west to east. He had previously been the first to fly solo across the Tasman Sea, pioneered fighter pilot navigation during the Second World War, and won the first solo transatlantic sailing race in Gipsy Moth III while recovering from cancer. But it was his journey in Gipsy Moth IV that became international news and has inspired sailors for decades. Now the most famous yacht in the world is up for sale . For a mere $229,500, a piece of nautical history can be yours.

Photo: Sandeman Yacht Company

For years after Chichester’s iconic voyage, the Gipsy Moth sat on display in Greenwich. But yachting magazine editor Paul Gelder believed that such a craft should continue to sail the oceans, and in 2004, it was purchased for £1 and a gin-and-tonic (Chichester’s favorite drink) from the trust that administered it. It was rebuilt and actually did a second circumnavigation.

In 2010, another trust took it over with a promise to keep it in sailing condition. But COVID hit that small charity hard, and the trustees decided to sell the fabled yacht and to donate the proceeds from the sale to other sailing-related charities.

Francis Chichester set out from Portsmouth in August 1966. When he arrived back home 226 days later, over 300 boats, horns and sirens blaring, along with a quarter of a million people gathered to cheer him. It was a historic event that was televised globally. Shortly afterwards, he was knighted.

Chichester and Gipsy Moth IV broke the fastest voyage around the world by a small vessel, the longest passage by a small vessel (25,000km), and the third true circumnavigation by a small vessel via Cape Horn.

Photo: Chichester Archive/PPL

Gipsy Moth IV was designed by John Illingworth and Angus Primrose, and built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1966 specifically for the circumnavigation. The 16m, 16-tonne boat had her masts overhauled and new chainplates fitted in 2020. She has a cold-moulded, six-layer Honduras mahogany hull, a fibreglass outer skin, steamed timbers, a laminated one-piece hardwood backbone, laminated hardwood floors and a fibreglass plywood deck.

Photo: Gipsy Moth Trust

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Foiling and Hydrofoiling: Everything you need to know

A foiling International Moth dinghy. Photo: Christopher Ison / Alamy

What is foiling?

Although foiling or hydrofoiling feels like a recent revolution to take the world of watersports by storm, it is actually much older than many appreciate.

In terms of motorised waterborne craft, the first foiler was a motorboat designed and built by Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini in 1906.

It did, however, take quite a bit of time before foiling boats with sails took to the water, but even then many people might be surprised to learn that even in the 1970’s the foiling trimaran, Williwaw, covered over 20,000 sea miles in and around the South Pacific all on its foils.

It turns out the history of hyrofoiling goes back further than many think.

It was not until the early-2000s that foiling really started to take hold, with a  development dinghy class, the International Moth, leading the way.

Foiling boats

With huge amounts of interest in the 11ft Moth dinghy, foiling began to spread throughout the sport of sailing. And it was not long until hydrofoiling boats of all different shapes and sizes were taking the water.

Over time, some traditional classes converted to foiling – the A-Class and C-Class catamarans being examples. But more new boats were also designed specifically with hydrofoiling in mind.

In 2013 Emirates Team New Zealand built their 72ft America’s Cup catamaran to be a foiler, forcing their competition for the Cup, Oracle Team USA to convert their AC72 into a foiler to stay competitive – ultimately Oracle Team USA won the Cup in one of the biggest sporting comebacks of all time .

To date the America’s Cup has not looked back with the competition taking place in smaller hydrofoiling AC50 catamarans in 2017 and the newly conceived monohull foilers, the AC75 s, in 2021.

In 2021 the Olympics Games introduced the first ever foiling catamaran in the Nacra 17.

Foiling yachts

Offhsore, 90ft Ultime multihulls on their foils are competing to be the fastest to race around the globe and design houses across the globe are racing to create foiling yachts for the masses which could dramatically reduce cruising times from one destination to the other.

There are also many classes of yacht that are taking some of the lessons from fully foiling craft and putting them to use in a semi-foiling manner.

Here the biggest technical innovation is in the IMOCA60 class, which is famously used for the single handed non-stop round the world race, the Vendée Globe .

The latest couple of generations of IMOCA 60s have been build with huge, technologically complex foils to generate lift. These are powerful enough to lif the boats fully out of the water, but as yet the class rules do not allow for rudder foils which would stabilise flight and allow for full foiling.

Where sailing boats and yachts have, arguably led the way in the history of foiling over the past decade or so this has filtered down into a plethora of other watersports craft.

Although in the early days foiling was typically the preserve of elite sailors and watersports professionals, increasingly we have seen boats and boards designed to foil in the hands of the average sailor, surfer or windsurfer.

This race to bring the fun of foiling to beginners is continuing apace with beginner foiling boats, windsurfers, surfers etc. coming to the market every year.

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Harry Cates-built Florida design Classic Moth Boat, Nr 2496

Sun Fun Sailor built from plans in Science & Mechanics Oct 1962

Hi, I wish to advertise and sell my Moth built by my brother in the 1960’s   For Sale : Sun Fun Sailor built from plans in Science & Mechanics Oct 1962.   Includes trailer and 2 sails. Wood construction hull, mast and boom. Hull bottom was fiberglassed when built in the 1960’s.   Located in Appleton Wisconsin.   Asking $900.00.      Contact Ron Aavang @  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5 = 'raavang' + '@'; addy88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5 = addy88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5 + 'new' + '.' + 'rr' + '.' + 'com'; var addy_text88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5 = 'raavang' + '@' + 'new' + '.' + 'rr' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloak88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5').innerHTML += ' '+addy_text88afb0140d106daf8c464397bc3559b5+' ';  or call cell # (920)904-2167.

early Ventnor

This is an early Ventnor with an unknown registration number. 

Europe Dinghy in FL

Europe dinghy with

carbon fiber mast, aluminum Proctor boom,

wood dagger board, fiberglass rudder,

Cunningham, vang.

2 sails - practice sail and North racing sail.

Asking $1500.

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Gipsy Moth IV finds new owners

• Katy Stickland
• August 16, 2021

Gipsy Moth IV, the legendary ketch which took Sir Francis Chichester around the world in 1966-67, has been sold to new owners and will be moving to Guernsey

Gipsy Moth IV will be moving to St Peter Port in September 2021. Credit: Theo Stocker

Gipsy Moth IV has been bought by two businessmen and will be relocating from Hampshire to the Channel Islands.

The 53 foot ketch, which took Sir Francis Chichester around the world in 1966-67, was previously owned and run by the Gipsy Moth Trust.

The charity closed earlier this year due to a lack of funds because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gipsy Moth IV is now owned by Peter Tom, the chairman of the Rugby Union club, Leicester Tigers, and the owner of the Little Big Hotel group, Ian Walker.

The yacht will be leaving Buckler’s Hard in September for her new home port of St Peter Port, Guernsey, where she will be a working tourist attraction.

The yacht was built in 1966 by Camper & Nicholsons. Credit: Theo Stocker

Gipsy Moth IV will also be made available to the Guernsey Sailing Trust for educational activities in addition to participating in the island’s sailing calendar.

Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Tom said: ‘This iconic boat and its record-setting commissioning skipper remind us what can be achieved through skill and determination.

‘I was happy to help when Ian approached me with the wonderful idea of bringing Gipsy Moth IV to Guernsey as an educational and tourist attraction. We’re working hard to support the growth of St. Peter Port’s maritime economy and take our responsibility as her new custodians seriously,’ he stressed.

Once the boat arrives in Guernsey, she will undergo maintenance and repairs at Boatworks+.

Ian Walker added: ‘Peter and I are both keen on nautical history and sea stories don’t get much better or more compelling than Sir Francis Chichester’s record-setting 1966/7 voyage.

‘We’re very pleased that the sailing trust’s young mariners will have the opportunity to sail in Gipsy Moth IV from her new home and benefit from their hands-on experience with history,’ he added.

Gipsy Moth IV is lifted out of the water at Greenwich ahead of a £500,000 restoration spearheaded by Yachting Monthly and UKSA. Credit: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

Designed by John Illingworth and Angus Primrose and built in 1965 by Camper & Nicholsons, Gipsy Moth IV made history in 1967, becoming the fastest small vessel to circumnavigate the world.

Continues below…

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Sir Francis’ voyage inspired thousands, and more than 250,000 people witnessed his return to Plymouth on 28 May 1967.

Following the circumnavigation, Gipsy Moth IV was lifted out and berthed alongside Cutty Sark in Greenwich, where she was left to slowly rot away.

In 2003, a campaign, initiated by the then Yachting Monthly editor, Paul Gelder, was launched to restore her.

The boat was bought for ‘£1 and a gin and tonic’ by the UKSA which then oversaw the £500,000 restoration carried out by her original builders, Camper & Nicholsons.

Gipsy Moth IV will become a tourist attraction and will be available to sailors at the Guernsey Sailing Trust. Credit: Theo Stocker

Gipsy Moth IV went on to complete a second circumnavigation in 2005.

The yacht was bought in 2010 by Elaine Skinner and Rob Thompson, who wanted to keep the boat in the UK ‘as a fundamental part of our sailing history, to make her available for people of all ages to see and sail and to inspire a new generation of young people.’

The Gipsy Moth Trust was launched in July 2011, and since then, over 1,700 people have sailed the yacht.

The boat has also been featured at numerous races, boat shows and events including the Golden Globe Race 2018 and the OSTAR .

Gipsy Moth IV was put on the market in February 2021 for £165,000.

WHITE MOTH 'Design perfection'

From our Guestbook

"We had heard so much about White Moth and she didn’t disappoint. What a serene, beautiful reminder of days gone by!"

"The experience of today, being on the Broads, a wonderful crew, will live a long time in our memories."

Name: White Moth

Length: 59 feet 

Weight: 23.87 tonnes

Type of Wherry: Wherry Yacht 

Built by: Earnest Collins

Launched: 1915

Maximum capacity for a day sail: 12

Suggested capacity if sleeping aboard: 8

Special notes: Ideal for longer charters.

Why sail on White Moth

Built in 1915, White Moth was the very last Wherry Yacht to be designed and consequently incorporates all the design updates and revisions made to improve the earlier boats.

She is also the longest of the Wherry Yachts and her excellent design makes her a favourite with our skippers as she is very agile on the water. 

She is also the only Wherry Yacht to have a shower on board, which makes her a good choice for longer charters.  She really is a true beauty and represents the height of elegance! .

Key features of White Moth

>  Large Saloon with table

>  Three cabins, all with two beds and wash basin 

>  Toilet and shower

> Aft deck and seating area

History of White Moth

Built in 1915 by Ernest Collins for private owner Arthur Moore, White Moth remained privately owned until Collins bought her back to supplement the other wherry yachts in his fleet in 1921. She remained with Collins until the mid-60s, until she was sold to John Lindford who worked to restored White Moth to full sailing order with the refitting of the rigging and engine. After Lindford's untimely death in 1969, White Moth was owned by a couple who lived on board. One evening the couple had an argument, and as a result  one of them vented their anger by cutting a hole in the hull which caused the wherry to sink in a small dyke at Neatishead! Len Whiteside then bought White Moth for £300, and worked to restore and replank her bottom with the help of Ted Withers. 

White Moth eventually ended up out of the water in 1980 on Bell’s slip in Brundall where she ended up with large holes in the hull. In 1985 she caught the eye of Colin Facey who bought her for £1000 with the help of his father, Stan Facey, and took her back to his Horning yard. Over the next four years she was finally transformed back to her former glory by the renowned Norfolk Boatbuilder Maynard Watson.

Whilst in the care of WYCCT, White Moth has undergone several changes including the fitting of a steel keel, a new vane and linoleum on the coach roof as well as the decks.

White Moth Gallery

Click the image to view full screen.

Would you like to charter White Moth?

Please email our friendly team to discuss your requirements.

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Great yacht design 12 – Gipsy Moth IV

Gipsy Moth IV, Francis Chichester’s cantankerous ketch, is one of the most controversial of all yacht designs

Contradictory design parameters mean that Gipsy Moth IV  is an interesting case study, but not such a pleasant sail.

Having just won the first singlehanded transatlantic race in 1960, Francis Chichester wrote “I think my yacht is too big for single handed sailing… A 9-tonner is the ideal size, in my opinion”. His yacht for that (and the 1964 race) was the Robert Clark design Gipsy Moth III which was 13 tons (Thames), so Chichester was advocating a considerably smaller boat. When he had the opportunity to build a custom yacht in 1965 specifically to sail around the world single-handed, he commissioned the design from the partnership of John Illingworth (who had redesigned Gipsy Moth III’s mast) & Angus Primrose. The design and build process was difficult.

The final design was stretched to 10.4 tons displacement (and 18.5 tons Thames, more than twice what Chichester had originally asked for); when Chichester protested, Illingworth explained that due to her length she would be easily driven. Chichester also complained about the proposed separate rudder, so it was agreed to extend the keel so the rudder could hang off the sternpost. It sounds like a most curious way for the design to evolve, and things did not improve. When she was launched she proved horribly tender. Forced into adding a ton to the keel, she was eventually 11.5 tons displacement. A whole chapter of his book “Gipsy Moth Circles the World” is devoted to a detailed discussion of the problems

In “Further Offshore” (1969) Illingworth replied to Chichester’s version of events. Illingworth had advocated a schooner rig, but Chichester insisted on ketch, and limited the maximum size of the working sails for handling reasons (Chichester was 64 and had a long history of health problems). Working from the sail plan to derive the hull shape, Primrose went for length to generate speed potential, but was handicapped by Chichester’s resistance to a larger boat; the result was very narrow and, with insufficient ballast, tender. The extra ton of ballast rectified things, in Illingworth’s opinion, so the result was “very adequately stable”; but Chichester was still far from happy with her stability and (with the rig size by then fixed) felt she was also now under-canvassed.

The parameters are telling. A beam / length ratio of 0.27 is narrow, and ballast ratios associated with this length / beam ratio are more usually approaching 50% (or more) to provide the necessary righting moment; in any event, waterline beam effectively determines initial stability, so this was always going to be a boat that tended to sail at a large angle of heel.

By keeping her light, Primrose was evidently trying to minimise wetted surface area, but Chichester’s insistence on a long keel offset that at a stroke. The “bite” from the aft end of the keel was presumably part of the same thinking, but it was filled in when she reached Sydney in an attempt to improve her directional stability; Chichester complained that she rolled (a characteristic she shared with Dorade) and tended to broach when off the wind. Other complaints were that the helm was impossibly heavy, that she would hobby-horse in moderate seas, was very sensitive to sail area, trim and heel angle, had a tendency to slam on the wind, would not point in any sort of sea, and would not run downwind under bare poles. The remarkably fine waterlines, especially aft, are certainly contributory to some of the behavioural quirks, but Chichester’s complaints are evidently exacerbated by his antagonism to the design; he obviously took against it from the start, and was quick to damn and slow to praise as a result. On the other hand he recorded some fine runs; 190 miles in the first 25 hours (average 7.6 knots), 1,400 miles in eight days; and the pairing completed the 29,630 mile circumnavigation in 226 days of sailing. A twitchy, flawed thoroughbred for a man that wanted a steady pony, perhaps, but she makes an interesting study in the art and science of yacht design.

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