The Cornish Crabber 24 is a series of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s, designed by Roger Dongray as cruisers and first built in 1974.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page XX.

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, 2010.

Production

The design has been built by Cornish Crabbers in

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent populat ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

since 1974. It has passed through five marks with the Mark V remaining in production.

Design

The Cornish Crabber 24 series are all recreational sailboats, originally built from wood, they are now predominantly of

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

, with wooden trim. The boats are

gaff rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shape ...

ged

topsail A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails. Square rig On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the course sail and ...

cutters, with

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

s, angled transoms,

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle L ...

s and keel-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

. The Mark I was originally fitted with a British Sole

inboard engine Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electri ...

, but later models use a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, Heavy equipment, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasu ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

of or an

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

for docking and manoeuvring. The Mark I has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double

"V"-berth A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths. Beds in boats or ships While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, the lack ...

in the bow cabin and two straight settee

quarter berth A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths. Beds in boats or ships While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, the lack ...

s in the main cabin. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the starboard side just aft of the bow cabin. The galley is equipped with a stove and a sink. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is located centred in the bow cabin, under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is .

Variants

;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark I :This model was designed by Roger Dongray and introduced in 1974. It was originally made of

marine plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

and later of glassfibre. It has a length overall of with the bowsprit, a length on deck of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer. The boat is fitted with a British Sole or a Japanese

of . The boat has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 360 and a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-tro ...

of . ;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark II :This model displaces and has a rig with a large area

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...

and a gaff with higher peak angle. ;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark III :This model was introduced in the early 1990s and brought a fixed, deeper draft, long keel. ;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark IV :Improved model, with the fixed, deeper draft long keel. ;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark V :This current production model has a new hull that was designed by Andrew Wolstenholme and a gaff-rigged mainsail, a staysail and a jib. It has a length overall of with the bowsprit, a length on deck of , a waterline length of and displaces . The boat has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer. The boat is fitted with a Japanese Yanmar 2YM15 diesel engine. The fuel tank holds .

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club, the ''Cornish Crabbers Club''. In a 2010 review of the Mark I and II Steve Henkel wrote, "The Cornish Crabber can be ordered in a variety of permutations. One choice is the rig: either (A) a gaff-headed mainsail with a standard topsail flying over it (top sailplan), which permits quick sail reduction when the wind pipes up, just by striking the topsail; or (B) the 'Mark II,' a rig with a larger main and a higher peaked gaff (bottom sailplan), which is more efficient to windward and in light air (but still not as efficient as a Marconi rig). The Mk II has 600 Ibs. more displacement (compared to the base case of 4,600 lbs.) and a couple of inches difference in some dimensions (i.e., the Mk II sits 2 inches deeper in the water, making bridge clearance 2 inches less). Outboard power (8 hp recommended) or a 10 hp Yanmar diesel are also choices. Best features: As a character boat, the Cornish Crabber is hard to beat. But you have to like 'pulling a lot of strings,' that is, halyards, sheets, reef lines, and so on. Worst features: In light air the boat's weight is a bit too much for her sail area, with either rig. Not to put too fine an edge on it, in light air she’s slow. (Note high PHRF.)" In a 2017 review Jack Hornor wrote, "the Cornish Crabber 24 is a handsome little yacht, which will get attention wherever she sails, and its fair to assume that owners and admirers of this classic take considerable pride in their boats."

References

External links