SPECIFICS:

One look at Scruffie Marine’s Stornaway Weekender was all it took; it was love at first sight. If you feel the same, skip the article and go right to the contact info at the bottom of the page; nothing you’re about to read is likely to change your mind. Scruffie Marine Ltd., of Queensland, Australia will build you a Stornaway Weekender or the open Stornaway Dayboat — or deliver to your door a complete kit, containing everything but the paint, to enable you to build your own

Stornaway is an 18-foot evolution of the handsome Scruffie 16, the firm’s premier 1990 offering and source of the company name. When drawing Stornaway, designer Derek Ellard set out to create “the perfect small cruising yacht—the best in the world.” Among his many objectives were that the 18-foot Stornaway would:

• comfortably withstand winds in excess of 30 knots
• be able to support 4 adults and their gear when fully swamped
• be able to be rigged, launched, retrieved and sailed singlehanded
• be rigged and launched in under 20 minutes
• be self-righting and self draining
• have room to stow all spars in the length of the boat

All Scruffie Marine designs are built around a full length, lead-weighted keel. Of course every keel arrangement is a compromise in which one advantage is traded for another. We generally favor shoal keels with pivoting, weighted centerboards for offering the best, most practical blend of performance and seaworthiness. Still, a full length, lead-weighted shoal keel has much to offer, especially in a boat that might be used in rugged weather conditions. The long, heavy keel should provide good tracking and help resist broaching. The ballast is always where it’s expected to be—no surprises. Compared to a boat with a centerboard trunk intruding into the cockpit and/or cabin, a great deal of space is left open for other uses. Mechanical complexity is reduced, with one less system to think about when sailing, both in terms of how and when (and when not) to employ the board, and the potential for it or its mechanism to be damaged, or cause damage to the hull. It also means one less hole in the bottom of the boat.

No lofting or critical measurements are necessary for kit builders, nor is a building jig required. The plywood frames, bulkheads and seats fit to the keel assembly using a series of tabs and matching precut slots that position all components properly and dictate hull form. The single chine hull is a V-bottom design flattening out aft. Built-in watertight chambers provide abundant flotation. After assembly, the entire boat is coated with epoxy for durability. Trim can be of red cedar, Hood pine or the especially pretty Queensland silky oak.

The builder can choose from a variety of open or cabin layouts by adding or deleting bulkheads and/or seats. Stornaway can be built with fixed berths for up to four plus two occasional berths. A convertible canvas cabin enclosure can be fitted, or a pop-top coach roof can provide standing headroom.

Stornaway can be rigged as a sloop, cutter, ketch or yawl. Spars are of clear douglas fir. Unusual on a boat this size, an outboard engine-well to starboard contributes considerably to her sleek, distinctly “yachty” look by keeping the stern clean and uncluttered.

Prices shown are in Australian dollars (AU$) and include a ten-percent Australian goods and service tax, which may be deducted by U.S. customers. At last check, the exchange rate was U.S. 83 cents to the Australian dollar, so the deal keeps looking better!

Sales Inquiries: sales@scruffie.com
Technical Info: derek@scruffie.com
Phone: +61 (0) 7 5545 1015
Mobile: 0407 753 889
Fax: +61 (0) 7 5545 1995

Scruffie Marine
PO Box 120
Eagle Heights QLD 4271, Australia
www.scruffie.com

In the U.K. contact: Max Campbell @ Whisper Boats
Telephone 01223 832 928 /Mobile 07711 675 613
www.whisperboats.co.uk
info@whisperboats.co.uk

Scruffie Marine
PO Box 120
Eagle Heights QLD 4271
Australia
www.scruffie.com

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