A peek at the Drascombe Association forum

[Graham W]

There has been an interesting set of posts on the DA forum on the subject of Bayraiders compared to Drascombe equivalents.  Swallow Boats are generally considered superior, though more expensive and to quote one contribution "they are for the twentyfirst century what the Drascombes were to the twentieth".  A typical comment from a Drascombe aficionado is that the attraction of owning a Drascombe is that it is an an excuse for pottering around at the back of the fleet, while BayRaiders are for racers.  I am glad he did not call us boy racers as I suspect that the average age of BR owners is a bit more elevated than that!

One curious comment was that you sit on rather than in a Bayraider.  I am not sure where that came from as there cannot be much difference between the two makes - a few inches at most - and amply justified by the SB water ballast system.

[Anthony Huggett]

Perhaps the comment refers to the use of hiking straps?

For the uninitiated, dinghy racers (on boats like the Laser) put most of their body weight outboard, using their feet hooked under the hiking strap to hold themselves in the boat. This gives a greater counterbalancing moment to the sideways thrust in the sails that is trying to tip the boat over than you would get sitting inboard.

More modern dinghies and skiffs tend to use trapezes, where you suspend yourself from the mast via a wire to a harness around your lower torso, and can hence get your weight further outboard, body horizontal(ish), feet on the gunwale. This is more hassle and takes more skill, with the opportunity to wipe out more spectacularly - fine if you are out with a rescue boat in support, but not really appropriate for unsupported day cruising.

I'm building a BR17 with no side decks, and will be sitting inside.

[gerald turner]

As a Drascombe member, I can say that one cannot make a generalised comments ,untill you have a boat,wether Drascombe ,Swallowboat , or Laser and all its ilks.

I bought my Dabber on the basis of affordability, and possible good resale value when and if the time to upgrade to a Swallowboat comes along, I aspire to one of the Storms or possibly the new BR17, niether of which I have had the oppurtunity to sail as yet, but after having reservations of the percieved notion that Drascombes are a slow boat, well maybe they are ,but they turn out to be superbly seaworthy boats which is the be and end all really.

I  still would like to have a go on a Swallow boat proper for a week or so, you cannot make your mind up about these things, in a trice , But in the meantime the Dabber has taken my affections , after crewing aboard a Wafarer for some years .

one should bekeep an open mind about these things, Would you rather have a proper Land rover than erzarte Japanese off roaders , or a modern Mini ove rthe original?

[Julian Swindell]

I had a Dabber for 13 years and loved it. My wife still hasn't really forgiven me for selling it. It is a really spacious family boat. Lightning fast to rig and sail. I once timed it at just under fifteen minutes from arriving with a trailer and sailing away, with most of the time taken up with putting the trailer away after launch. Huge cockpit, pretty sails and unlike the bigger Drascombes, a proper shoal draft rudder on the transom. What was wrong with it? A bit slow. Could tip over. If swamped it is unrecoverable, and on older boats they actually would sink if swamped. I think it is the best of the traditional Drascombes, but it needed updating to address the swamping issue and that was never done until the Swallowboats ketches came along and showed it was possible. The new Drascombe Drifter 22 addresses the rudder and buoyancy issues and they should similarly update the whole range, or the marque is likely to fade away. As the starting post says, they were brilliant innovators in the 20th century, but it is the 21st now.

[Simon Knight]

As Jullian says great boats (ignoring the rudder on the larger ones) but you have to keep them upright and the water out .....

Simon

[gerald turner]

Bit unkind that pic, still afloat tho'!

As Jullian says great boats (ignoring the rudder on the larger ones) but you have to keep them upright and the water out .....

Simon

[Simon Knight]

Not sure why it is unkind but she was still afloat and very stable.  She had additional buoyancy in the form of poly beads in the bunk lockers.  It would have been possible to bail her out if the lower washboard was a good fit, the crew were fit and the sea state was low. 

I did the test to find out how a flooded Coaster performed.  The key learning point was that it is far better to stop the water getting into the cabin rather than trying to get it out after the event, i.e. always sail with the washboards and lid in place.

best wishes
Simon