The Pacific Pelican

Stay tuned for the Pacific Pelican from Lou Brochetti....

Lou has revived a classic design in the San Francisco Pelican tradition. Part Banks dory, with the bow of a sampan and an attractive balanced lug rig, the Pacific Pelican at 14 feet 7 inches over all length is a hybrid between the famous San Fransisco Pelican (12 ft LOA) and the camp cruising classic, the Great Pelican (16 ft. pocket cruiser).

Lou tells me he's had the Pelican up on a plane going down wind in the San Juan Islands in blustery conditions and the modified dory stayed dry and comfortable. The flat bottom, generous rocker and strong side flare are the features that provide stable, extremely seaworthy sailing.

The low aspect balanced lug rig is reefed from the cockpit, providing safety and comfort for your gunkholing experience.

I can attest from personal experience that the Pelican is an easy boat to row, so the cruising purists among you would be able to forget those gas guzzling engines entirely!

The Pelican is a versatile family boat that can explore sandy beaches, weather a weeks vacation sailing, or compete in class racing.

LOA: 14 ft. 7 in.
Extreme Beam: 6 ft. 7 in.
Draft (board up): 5 in.
Draft (board down): 5 ft.
Weight: 600 lbs.
Sail Area : 145 sq. ft.
Cockpit length: 8 ft.



Hal and his wife, Loretta take a sunny day sail in their Pacific Pelican, lovingly restored by Lou.

That's a Coot burgee on the after deck; the Oregon Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association.















The Great Pelican Toucan at 16 ft. LOA is another lengthened version of the San Francisco Pelican. They share the seaworthy characteristics of wide hull flare, sampan bow and flat bottom. The centerboard for this pocket cruiser is weighted and she draws only eight inches with the centerboard up! With the centerboard down the full draft is four feet.
The standing lug sail is fully battened and main plus jib equal a total sail area of 187 square feet.

The Pelican class boats are stable, seaworthy designs that are adaptable to many conditions, from coastal cruising to family sailing lessons. The pram bow and articulating rudder make disembarking on your favorite island beach easy, safe and dry!
Note the hinged tabernacle for the mast...

William Short has this to say about the Great Pelican:
"The Great Pelican is an enlarged version of the immensely popular one-design, The San Francisco Pelican. She is 16 ft. long with an 8-ft. beam and over 30 in. of freeboard amidships. Built with a cabin for cruising, you’ll often find this little boat out as far as the Golden Gate on a windy day and, as any West Coast sailor will tell you, this is as rough as inland sailing can get."
"We even heard from one Great Pelican owner who had sailed his modified home-built down the Pacific Coast to San Diego and then, with his wife as crew, crossed to Hawaii. I would never have recommended such a voyage, because I think of the Great Pelican as a weekender for inland or coastal waters, but I am constantly amazed at the voyages the little boat makes, and it is not limited to the West Coast. I had a call recently from an owner who had sailed his Great Pelican from New Brunswick, Canada down to Florida, and a builder in Nova Scotia claims that the boat is ideal for rough coastal waters."

LOA 16’
Beam 8’
Draft (board up) 8”
Draft (board down) 4’
Sail Area 187 sq. ft.

Toucan's spacious and inviting cuddy cabin interior is roomy and inviting and it's utilitarian dory characteristics are tried and true. The balanced lug rig is a work of art!
I may have to ask Lou to build one of these for me........

Lou Brochetti also sells plans for the Pacific Pelican. He obtained the rights for these plans from the original designers, Ed and Jim Barlow. The Barlows designed the first Pelican in the 1980's and Lou received the rights to the Pacific Pelican a couple years ago:
The plans include six detail sheets with sail and rigging plans and full sized plywood layouts - no lofting required! Full sized patterns are included for special shapes. An instruction book runs 100 pages and has plenty of pictures with the first time builder in mind. Even if you've never built a boat, you could build your own Pacific Pelican!

The information pack for the Pacific Pelican costs $5.00 (postage paid)
And plans cost $90.00 (plus $6.00 shipping)

Lou has also designed a hollow mast with tabernacle for the Great Pelican.
the plans are $35.00 (+ $2.00 shipping).

Lou can be reached at 541-504-0135
.