Sundowner

A customer wanted to build a small ocean cruiser himself and then sail it to Hawaii, Cape Horn and Fremantle, which sets a hard problem: a big comfortable boat takes years to build and years to save for, time that could be spent sailing a smaller one. The deciding figure is stores. Two people on a 3,000 mile leg need something like three quarters of a ton of consumables, counting stove fuel, engine fuel, laundry powder and tissue paper as well as food and water, and a boat too small cannot carry it. The voyage length therefore sets the minimum size, and Sundowner sits where those two pressures meet.

An ocean-going cruiser of 21 ft 4 in on deck, drawn for a customer who wanted to build his own boat and then sail it to Hawaii, Cape Horn and Fremantle. Heavy for her length at 2800 kg rigged with 730 kg of ballast, 9 ft 3 in of beam, 383 sq ft of working sail, 6 ft 2 in of headroom and a small inboard diesel.