Romilly Pocket Cruiser

In the last six months we've seen the Romilly pocket cruiser come up a couple times and it never ceases to delight...
Phil Holden, the author of the website; Roxane & Romilly, Traditional Hi-Tech wrote to me today from the UK:


"Quite a few people have contacted me recently and provided excellent photographs and descriptions [of Romilly]. I wanted to let everyone know that there is new content on the site and to give a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed. The web site is now becoming a valuable resource for Romilly and Roxane owners."

"Some articles are very inspiring, I would never have decided to build a Romilly in cold moulded veneers but Thomas Huber's hull looks stunning. Bill Buchholz has built using lapstrake construction and has modified the rig to high peaked gaff in a very simple way. Constantinos Peraticos has built a lovely Romilly which looks very Greek simply by the choice of colour scheme."

"Other recent articles provide practical information on hauling out and cabin layout. I've found every one valuable and have delighted to see the excellent photographs which are now on the site."

"We now have contributions for Romilly and Roxane owners in Greece, Scotland, Holland, England, Ireland, Germany, Finland and the US."

"If you visit the site you will see that I have reorganized it on a subject basis rather than by date."

The photo is provided by Bill Buchholz who has built the Romilly clinker fashion, rather than strip planked and changed the lug rig to a gaff. Here we see him coming home - near midnight - in Finland.

His explanation of the changes:

"Regarding the lapstrake construction, I really felt that it would look good with this design. Romilly has some sort of work boat inspiration behind her and while I don’t know for sure, I suspect that a lot of the coastal fishing boats on both sides of the Channel were clinker."

There is a lot more on Phil's website and I heartily recommend a visit.
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Romilly Pocket Cruiser

If I was to build another boat right now, the Romilly, a yawl from the hands of Irens and Burnett would definitely make my short list. A very pretty boat and a nice rig, too.
Her big cockpit makes her an ideal boat for camp cruising. There are a lot of inland waterways within a day’s travel that need exploring!




Phil Holden visited a previous post about Romilly and writes to me to explain that he has a web site dedicated to Romilly and Roxanne her larger sister, Romilly Sailboat. He hosts a forum for owners and builders to share ideas and would love input.



He tells me:
"I own a Romilly called Riant. I'm 6'2" and have slept in the cuddy cabin very comfortably. There's room for two adults but not much else. (The sitting headroom measured from the berth surface up to the cabin top is about three feet). There is also a cockpit tent, which extends the usable space."

"I fell in love with Romilly years ago when she was on the front of Classic Boats Magazine but I never thought I would be able to one day afford her."

"Most folks don't notice her on her berth but many sail over for a closer look when we have her out for the day. She really is a stunner."

It's the sails that make her a beauty everyone can recognize! That high peaked yard is simply beautiful.

Romilly's plans call for a strip-planked hull covered in 300gsm glass, but here is a cold molded version being built in Germany.




















The plans also call for carbon spars, the main yard, the boom, the boomkin, the mizzen yard and the mizzenmast are shown in the photo.



Phil says:
"I would strongly recommend the carbon fibre mast and other spars. No one, even other boat owners will know and they make a massive difference to stability and sail handling. Please don't make the mistake of making wooden spars."


I found this a little intimidating, since I usually build the whole boat, but have never made a carbon mast. As this video shows, it’s not exactly rocket science, so I’ll have to give it a go. (Sorry, there is no "part two" that I could find).

Apparently the hard part is engineering the mast for stiffness, since there is a fine line between too bendy and too stiff.

Since Romilly uses unstayed masts, error on the side of stiffness seems a good idea. I see Phil’s point about stability, such a fine hull would be easily upset by a top-heavy mast and yard.

Beautiful, but not conceited and above all, nimble and fast. A high performance family daysailer or gunkholer with a lot of class.

Romilly is also available as a kit and a very good article on building one can be found in Luggers for Today.
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Two Men and a Boat

I've directed you to my friend Phil's site about the Romilly cruiser before. "Roxane & Romilly" is all about Nigel Irens gunkholing designs. You will find many useful items there and some great photos of a couple of my favorite sailboat designs.

A recent addition to the site is a great story about delivering a newly purchased Romilly on the west coast of Scotland which speaks volumes about the qualities of this excellent design as well as the durability and resale value of a well executed boat. Please visit 2 Men and a Boat

Phil Holden started his website a couple years ago to document the community of sailors and builders who are attracted to the yawl rigged luggers Romilly and Roxanne. In ensuing years an impressive collection of stories have aggregated there. I'd recommend spending some time with Phil and friends, even if you've visited before. Nigel Irens often checks in with articles and comments and it's very interesting to hear how a designer's thoughts evolve through development of a design in real life.

Photo by Alistair Gillone.
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Pocket Cruisers

It seems lately that I am shopping for a boat. Not just any boat. One that will travel light, but with confidence. Beautiful, but not conceited and above all nimble and fast. Not just shopping, either. Looking at study plans, scrutinizing the underwater profile, sail placement, ballast, scantlings, keels, rudders. All the things that go into designing a thoroughbred. Paul Gartside's Ida, featured a few posts back is such a craft.


The latest study plans to come across my desk are from Nigel Irens. The pocket cruiser Romilly was conceived for estuary and coastal sailing.

Romilly is an open boat with a small cuddy forward. The cockpit is roomy, which as any mariner can attest is essential to coastal cruising. Room to work with minimal visual obstructions makes this an appealing design
With her high ballast ratio she will carry her way through stays and is sure to be stable sailing in gusty conditions.
And best of all, the strip plank version of Nigel Irens Romilly was developed following many inquiries from those wishing to build the boat themselves.



The hull is constructed from Western Red Cedar over eight plywood bulkheads and frames. The transom and stem are also set up before planking. The planking uses a conventional beveled edge section with edge fastenings between frames. The planked hull is 'glassed to seal and protect the wood. The result is a beautiful and durable hull shape with the appeal of a winner.
The keel is a lead casting, and is bolted on externally in the traditional manner. It has a slot in the center for the centerboard. The centerboard is a plywood and glass sheathed steel fabrication. With the ballast centrally located, the Rommily would tack easily.
The rudder is made up from layers of plywood, and protected by 'glass sheathing.
Romilly’s lug yawl rig is one of the main features of the design, and its light weight helps the boat perform well with her shallow draught and minimal displacement.
The plans call for a carbon fiber mast, but it seems a hollow wood mast would work just fine (and I could build it myself. Even more fun!)




SPECIFICATIONS:

LOA 22’ 0”
LWL 19’6”
Beam 6’11”
BWL 5’ 0”
Draft (board up) 1’ 8”
Draft (board down) 5’ 1”
Displacement 2640 lbs.
Total Sail Area 242 sq. ft.

I love the graceful, efficient hull shape and the unobtrusive cuddy cabin. The sail rig is a departure from my usual emphasis on performance but my; doesn't it look fine?
More about this exquisite boat can be found at:
Burnett Yacht Design
While there, check out the other beautiful sailing designs from this innovative naval architect.

More on Romilly

Phil Holden sent me a note today to pass on some links and additions to his site on Nigel Irens designs. Good stories and beautiful boats. One of the links is to a new lugger site (in Dutch) which promises to be a winner.

Here's what Phil has to say:

"Hi Everyone,
Two new articles added to the web site in the last month.

David Collin sent me an interesting article about a trip he made in Speedwell to the Manx Traditional Boat Festival in 2001. You can read it here.

Karel Heijnen sent me a great set of build and sailing pictures, with notes, of his woodcore Romilly, Zeuntje. You can see the article here.

As always I would very much welcome new articles plus comments on articles that are already on my site.
Best wishes, Phil"

"P.S. Cees Verhoef has launched a new website in the Dutch language on all things lugger but more particularly Roxane and Romilly here."

Thank you, Phil, for the update!
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Cold Molded Romilly by Nigel Irens

Nigel Irens' Romilly is on my short list of boats to build. Most of these gunkholing treasures are strip planked, which works very well, but this cold molded gem takes home the prize.

And here is the beautiful Anna Sophia at her first launch.







Thanks to our friends Phil Holden and Thomas Huber.
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