The Blue Crab 11, also called the Gloucester 11, is an American utility

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

that can be rowed, used as a

motorboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...

or as a sailing dinghy. It was designed by Harry R. Sindle and first built in 1971. The design is named for the family of crustaceans.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 8-9. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

The design was built by Lockley Newport Boats and Mobjack Manufacturing in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but it is now out of production. Lockley Newport Boats was originally known as Newport Boats and later known as Gloucester Yachts. A total of 900 examples of then type were completed.

Design

The Blue Crab 11 is a recreational

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

. It has a fractional sloop rig, with a loose-footed

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...

and

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

spars, a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

and a retractable daggerboard. It displaces . The boat has a draft of with the daggerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer or car roof rack. The boat has a reinforced transom to allow the fitting of a small outboard motor. For sailing the design is equipped with transom-mount mainsheet traveler and can be sailed by one person, although a crew of two is used for

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

. When sailed three people may be carried and as a motorboat it has a capacity of five people. The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 110.8.

Operational history

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "Blue Crab is a beginner’s boat. It is dry and easily rigged, and it can be sailed by one person. For its size, it is a light boat and may be car-topped or trailered. Capacity is three adults. The transom is reinforced, so additional brackets are not required for an outboard. Blue Crab may be rowed; when not sailing, it has a capacity of five adults."

References

{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies 1970s sailboat type designs Sailboat type designs by Harry R. Sindle Sailboat types built by Lockley Newport Boats Sailboat types built by Mobjack Manufacturing

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References