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| © Yachtsnet Ltd. 2000/2024 |
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Yachtsnet's
archive of boat details and pictures
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The following information and photographs are
displayed as a service to anyone researching yacht types. HOWEVER THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT ARE COVERED BY COPYRIGHT, AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF YACHTSNET LTD. Details and photographs
are normally based on one specific yacht, but could be a compilation.
No reliance should be placed on other yachts of the same class being
identical. Where common variations exist, we have endeavoured
to indicate this in these archive details. |
Vertue II (GRP) |
Brief details |
Builder |
Bossoms Boatyard, Oxford |
Based on a 1936 design by Laurent Giles, the Vertue II is a later GRP version of this classic small cruiser. By modern standards the Vertue is heavy displacement, but this makes her a reassuringly solid and stable yacht. With laid teak decks and quality joinery, plus expensive detailing such as closed fairleads set into deep toerails, the Vertue II was always an expensive yacht for her size when built. Over 75 years since the design originated, the Vertue remains an excellent choice for safe short-handed cruising. |
LOA |
25' 8" |
Sail area |
464 sq ft main and genoa |
LWL |
21' 6" |
Rig |
Sloop |
Beam |
7' 10" |
Cabins |
Saloon and forecabin |
Draught |
4' 5" |
Berths |
4 |
Displacement |
approx 9,200 lbs |
Engine |
various small diesels |
Ballast |
approx 4,400 lbs |
BHP |
12- 20 |
Keel type |
Long keel with transom-hung rudder |
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In 1936 Laurent Giles designed a small yacht called "Andrillot". Built in Oregon pine for £400 by Moodys, she was gaff cutter rigged, with bowsprit and topsail, the designer describing her as having "...the general outward character of a pilot fishing boat". "Andrillot" soon became noticed for the long passages she began to make, one cruise to Biscay took in the West of England and the Scilly Isles, and returned via the Channel Islands, winning her skipper the Royal Cruising Club's Founders Cup. By 1939 ten sisters had been built, rigged as Bermudian sloops having double headsails, sometimes known as "slutters". In 1939 one of these won the Little Ships Club's Vertue Cup in 1939 for a 750 mile summer cruise, taking in 22 ports and taking only 19 days for the round trip - a remarkable achievement for a small yacht without an engine.
After winning the Vertue Cup, Laurent Giles entitled the class the Vertue, making minor modifications to the hull and coachroof design. These Vertues became the classic small boat of choice for the single-handed long distance sailor. The owner of the original "Andrillot", in the post-war Vertue XXXV, took her transatlantic east-west, surviving a hurricane and a knockdown in the process. Many other Vertues made much longer voyages, including several circumnavigations.
There were various 'tweaks' to the Vertue lines over the years, including different coachroof designs, and slight alterations to the sheer. In the late 1970s the Vertue II was created for GRP production, these again had slight alterations to the original design, including a simpler sloop rig and about 4" more beam than the original Vertues. They also have a slightly higher ballast ratio, and retain the essential character of a tough, all-weather little cruiser. |
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