Knockabout

The 6th Annual Stuart Knockabout Regatta was held July 23rd and 24th on Buzzards Bay. A fleet of eleven competed in nearly ideal conditions with the final results being our closest yet. Five races were completed over the two day event with more than half the fleet scoring finishes in the top three.

Earning first place finishes in three of the five races, POLAR EXPRESS becomes our first repeat SKR winner. HARPOON and crew took second overall and MARGUERITE, one of two boats representing the Hingham, MA fleet, ended the weekend in third place.

The Stuart Knockabout is a descendant in a long line of great Herreshoff yachts. More than 80 years since L. Francis Herreshoff drew her graceful lines, she remains a splendid example of the genius in his design.

The design was intended to serve as a large and elegant daysailor among Maine’s coastal islands. The original hull, BEN MY CHREE, achieved that goal perfectly. As the fiberglass reproduction became available in the late 1980s, the Stuart Knockabout found new popularity with PHRF, and more recently, one-design racing. Eighty two boats have now been built to this design and sail from ports around the globe. Established fleets in Massachusetts are growing and new fleets are beginning to gain momentum up and down the East Coast.

The Stuart is exceptionally fast, yet well mannered in all but the heaviest conditions. Designed with a fairly modest sail plan, the rig is surprising powerful and capable of carrying full sail into wind speeds of 20 knots and greater. Light air conditions are equally handled by the relatively light displacement and long waterline.

The Stuart Knockabout is comfortable and forgiving with a classic elegance lost in modern one designs. Remaining true to L. Francis’s design philosophy, every unnecessary piece of gear remains absent. What is left is an uncluttered, simple, easily handled thoroughbred.