HMS Kingfisher
| SPARRED LENGTH: | 22 FT |
| BEAM: | 5 FT |
| MAST HEIGHT: | 17 FT |
| DRAFT WITH LEEBOARD: | 3 FT |
| RIG: | Ketch rigged with a jib, dipping lugsail on the mainmast and a spritsail on the mizzen. |
| HULL: | Steel with wooden cladding above the waterline and wooden interior. wooden leeboard, 4 oars and 1 cannon. Retractable bowsprit and jibboom. |
In response to requests to attend more events further afield, we decided to build a vessel easily trailered and rigged, yet still impressive. We acquired a 14 ft. lifeboat hull built in 1945, stripped it down and built a rig not usually seen in the last 100 years. A samson post supports a 1 1/2 pound swivel gun as well as the butt of the retracting bowsprit. The mainmast is just aft of a small forecastle. The mizzen is just forward of the rudder post so that an offset tiller with an extension is required. A boomkin supports the spritsail sheet and can retract for easy docking and trailering. A leeboard clamps on one side and can be transferred easily when on another tack.
It takes vision to see a new life in this 60 year old lifeboat hull built at the Cleveland yard Frank Clarke and Sons.
The hull stripped and painted, new ash gunnels, and now a small fore deck.
