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Pocket CruiserA Pocket Cruiser, Microcruiser or Pocket Yacht is a small sailboat with a cabin, whose length is at or under 20 feet (6 meters), with some examples as short as 10 to 12 feet in length (3 to 3.7 meters). Pocket cruisers are different from day sailers in that the cabin makes it practical for one or more people to sleep in the boat, meaning it can be used for trips of more than a day. Both commercially made and designs for home built pocket cruisers are readily available. Description Pocket cruisers are usually about 15 feet (4.25 meters) long, with a beam over 6 feet (1.8 meters). Commercial models generally have either a short, ballasted shoal draft keel or a weighted centerboard, while home-built designs often use water ballast and leeboards. The short length and low weight of pocket cruisers (and short keels on models with fixed keels) allow them to be trailered easily. Pocket cruisers generally are willing to sacrifice some performance for ease of use, and so often use traditional rigs, like gaff rigs, rather than the more trendy high aspect Bermuda rigs. The West Wight Potter 15, for example, uses a unique sail design that is a cross between a gaff sail and a Bermuda sail, which gives it more sail area on a shorter mast than would be possible with a true Bermuda sail. Still, it is not a performance craft, as evidenced by the fact that it has the lowest Portsmouth handicap (138.1) of any production centerboard boat listed. The Sunfish, which is by far the most popular day sailer ever made, has a Portsmouth handicap of 99.6. This means that the Potter 15 would take nearly 1.4 hours to sail the same distance under the same conditions as a Sunfish could in 1 hour. Pocket cruisers generally not fast boats; the short waterline and wide beam required to provide the basic accommodations generally limit the speed that the hulls are capable of. While the short overall length keeps most of these boats to inland waters or onshore sailing, many have keels or other forms of ballast (often water ballast) that allow them to be self-righting from angles of greater than 90 degrees. Many people have sailed pocket cruisers long distances across open ocean, including a number of Atlantic crossings. Pocket cruisers are often fanatics about their boats. There are a number of reasons for this: - They are inexpensive; popular designs such as the Montgomery 15 or West Wight Potter 15 sell new, with trailer, for around US$10,000 or less.
- They are easy to build out of easily obtained materials such as plywood, using stitch and glue or more traditional methods.
- They are small enough to sail single handed, yet the wide beam gives them the capacity to hold more people.
- They are light enough (most under 2000 lbs) to be towed behind most cars.
- They are suitable for overnight trips.
- The wide beam and common use of ballast makes them very stable.
- The small size means they can be stored out of the water, which negates the need to rent expensive marina slips.
Example One of the smaller commercial pocket cruisers (shown above) was the Guppy 13, made by Melen Marine Ltd. in California. They made about 300 of them in the period between 1974 and 1975. The Guppy was a fiberglass boat with a shoal draft keel, and would sleep 2 adults in a 6'8" cabin. Overall length was 12'6", beam was 5'7"; displacement was 480 lbs. with 150 lbs. of ballast in the keel. It drew 1'7" empty, and flew a Bermuda rig consisting of a 32 sq. ft. high aspect main sail and a 48 sq. ft. jib (technically a genoa since it overlapped the main). Length at waterline was 11'10", giving a hull speed of just under 4.5 knots. The shallow V hull was not designed to plane, but is generally considered very capable at cutting through choppy water. See Also Cruising (maritime) External Links http://www.shortypen.com/boats/pocket/ Shorty Pen's Pocket Cruiser Guide, a list of most commercial cabin sailboats from 12 to 20 feet in length.
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