The Lapworth 24, sometimes called an L24, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by

Bill Lapworth Charles William Lapworth (12 December 1919 – 3 April 2006) was an American naval architect who designed a large number of sailboats, many of them for Cal Yachts. He was active as a designer from the early 1950s until the 1980s. Described as " ...

as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and first built in 1958.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 296.

International Marine S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

/ McGraw-Hill, 2010. The Lapworth 24 design was developed into the flush-deck Gladiator 24 in 1958. The Spartan 24 was developed from the same design as an economy model.

Production

The design was built by Continental Plastics in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, United States, starting in 1958, but is now out of production.

Design

The Lapworth 24 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig, a spooned raked stem, an angled

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, a keel-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed modified long keel, with a cut-away forefoot. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel. The boat is normally fitted with a small outboard motor or inboard motor for docking and maneuvering. The design 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 a 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 both sides just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The galley is equipped with a two-burner stove and a sink to starboard and an icebox to port. A navigation station is on the port side, on top of the ice box. 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 centered in the bow cabin. Cabin headroom is and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 249 and a hull speed of .

Operational history

Sixteen year old Robin Lee Graham sailed a used Lapworth 24, named ''Dove'' west from California in July 1965, reaching

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas ( da, Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin ...

in November 1968 before switching to a Luders 33 to complete the circumnavigation in 1970. His adventures became regular features in National Geographic Magazine and Graham later wrote a bestselling book about the voyage, entitled ''Dove''. In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: The comparatively long deep keel on the L24 (and the Gladiator 24) versus her comp

titor John Titor and (TimeTravel_0) are pseudonyms used on the Time Travel Institute and Art Bell's Post-to-Post forums during 2000 and 2001 by a poster claiming to be an American military time traveler from 2036. Titor made numerous vague and specif ...

provides considerable directional stability (ie., ability to keep sailing in one direction without needing to correct the course using the helm or sail trim). Worst features: Like all her comps except one, the L24's draft is too deep for convenient trailer-sailing."

References

{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1950s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Bill Lapworth Sailboat types built by Continental Plastics

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References