Seahopper is a brand of wooden

folding boat A folding boat is usually a smaller boat, typically ranging from about 2 to nearly . Folding boats can be carried by one or two persons, and comfortably fit into a car trunk when packed. They come in several varieties. There are folding kaya ...

s, built in

Wellington, Somerset Wellington is a market town in Somerset, England. It is situated south west of Taunton, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills National Landscape, Blackdown Hills to the south of the town. The town had a population o ...

, England. Since 1974, more than 7000 Seahoppers have been built in this yard. Seahoppers are built from

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

, with a

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

membrane.

History

The Seahopper was developed in the 1970s by Geoff Lennard. Approximately a decade later, Lennard sold the business to Steve Rea. Initially, the yard only constructed the two smaller models. However, in 1997, at the request of Mark Walters, a larger

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 ...

similar to the

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

was developed, which became known as the Kontender. For a period of time, Rea and Walters collaborated in the building, promoting, and selling of the three models of Seahoppers. Eventually, the collaboration led to the formation of two separate companies: Seahopper and Stowaway. While Stowaway initially produced similar copies of the Seahoppers, further development eventually led to more distinct designs.

Construction

The hull of a Seahopper is built from 5mm-thick plywood. A sturdy PVC membrane allows it to fold, while keeping the water out. To unfold it into a boat one slots in the

thwart A thwart is a part of an undecked boat that provides seats for the crew and structural rigidity for the hull. A thwart goes from one side of the hull to the other. There may be just one thwart in a small boat, or many in a larger boat, especially ...

s, the seats and the transom. Seahoppers are

centreboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

prams, characterized by their centerboard and skeg, which provide directional stability. Additionally, the skeg features a skeg wheel, facilitating movement and launching of the boat without the need for carrying or using a launching trolley. The transom bow is defined by the membrane, indicating that the boat is a folding boat; internally, a transom is inserted to provide rigidity. The transom stern consists of two flaps on the inside and the membrane on the outside. A bracket can be added to this transom to attach a rudder, an outboard motor, or both.

Models

Seahoppers exist in three models:Seahopper Folding Boats
/ref>

Scamp

This is the smallest model Seahopper at . It was promoted as ''SeaScamp'' between 1997 and 2000, after which period it became the ''Crafty Scamp'' At the start of 2017 it got its current name. The base model can be used as a rowing boat or with an additional outboard bracket it can be used as a motor boat with a small outboard. There are two sailing rigs available for the Scamp: It can either take a

lug sail The lug sail, or lugsail, is a fore-and-aft, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port ...

, or it can be sailed with a Holt rig with just a

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 ...

Lighter

The Lighter is currently the middle model at . Originally this was the largest model of two, the 7'10". With the introduction of the Kontender, it became the middle model, and was promoted as ''7-tender'' or ''seven-tender'', a pun on its length and it possible use as a tender. After that period it became the ''Nifty Fifty''. At the start of 2017 it received its current name. Like the Scamp, it can be used as a rowing boat or a motorboat, and can be used with the two sailing rigs. But with the Holt Rig, the NF has the option to sail it cat rigged or

bermuda rig Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a type of sailing rig that uses a triangular sail set abaft (behind) the mast. It is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. Whilst commonly seen in sloop-rigged vessels, Bermuda rig is ...

ged. That is, it can be sailed with the mast closer to the bow and using just a mainsail, like the Scamp, or with the mast further away from the bow and sail with mainsail and

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its forward corner (tack) is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main ty ...

, like the Kondor.

Kondor

The Kondor is largest of the three Seahopper models, at . It was first designed and launched in 1997, under the name ''Kontender'', to contend with the Mirror. That name was later used for the Stowaway version of that model, which was slightly different, while the Seahopper version became the Kondor. Like the other two it can be rowed and can be used as a motorboat. For sailing, the Holt rig is available, used with main and jib. This is the normal rig for a boat of that size.

Stowaway models

The Stowaway models originally were the ''20'', the ''24'', and the ''Kontender''; similar to respectively the ''Scamp'', the ''Lighter'' and the ''Kondor''. Later a smaller model, the ''18'' was added. Stowaway models can be told apart from original Seahoppers by their relatively wide keel piece, which measures over .

Types

The base models are rowing boats, but each model is also available as a sailing boat. The Scamp can be sailed with just a Holt rig

main sail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main 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. The sail's foot ...

, or with a

. Similarly, the Lighter can be sailed with a Holt rig with just a main sail, or as a

, or alternatively it can be used with a lug sail. The Kondor can only be sailed with a Holt rig as a Bermuda rig.

References

External links

* Seahopper Owners Group a
Facebook

Seahopper Folding Boats commercial website
*{{cite web, last1=Beeson, first1=Chris, title=Folding boats test – Seahopper, url=http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/gear/folding-boats-test-seahopper-31541, website=

Yachting Monthly ''Yachting Monthly'' is a monthly magazine about yachting published by Future PLC. It is edited by Theo Stocker. The magazine is headquartered in Bath. History At its launch in 1906, from the offices of The Field, '' The Manchester Guardian ...

, date=28 July 2015 Folding boats