Way To Go Wayfarers

Everyone has sailed one of these at some point! DAVID HENSHALL examines the classic all-rounder in its anniversary year.

A current trend is for boats to go one of two ways: either into the realms of the super high-tech racer, or of the roto-moulded training and general purpose dinghies. Yet the Wayfarer – by definition, the cruising boat that can race (or equally, the racing boat that is happy to cruise) – is celebrating its six decades by going from strength to strength. With the 2017 Nationals booked for a classic open sea ‘bash’ at Arun, the organisers are confidently expecting another bumper fleet.

A DESIGN FOR ALL 

In many ways the Wayfarer, one of dinghy innovator Ian Proctor’s finest designs, is something of a surprise. Jack Holt had produced the first multi-role dinghy with his GP14 and established the baseline for a boat that would potter along an inland waterway one weekend, then, with the outboard and extra gear left ashore, would cut a dash on the racecourse the following weekend. But Proctor’s brilliance was to look at the GP14 and see that it was just a bit too small for that; with the Wayfarer he pushed the hull length out to nearly 16ft long and gave it a generous beam of over 6ft. The powerful hull was roomy enough to take the family, yet could be sat out hard, making the Wayfarer a real all-weather racing dinghy.