Pocket cruiserr

I'd settle for Bob Dylan, but I desperately want to be Beethoven. Ron Holland and German Frers can fight over Mozart for now. But Ted Brewer is certainly Woody Guthrie, and if you knew Ted, you would know that he would take this as a compliment.

I'll tell you my favorite Ted story. Ted flew in to Seattle to speak at Evergreen College, a very liberal, liberal arts school. He was picked up at the airport by three students for the hour drive back to the campus. On the way a student asked if Ted minded if they smoked. Ted said, no, he didn't mind and then watched as the student began to roll a smoke. Ted had rolled his own tobacco for years so he became frustrated with the student's inept attempts to roll a cigarette. "Hey, let me show you how to do that." Ted quickly realized that he wasn't rolling tobacco, but finished the job anyway. I'm sure that was an interesting if long ride.

This 25-footer from Ted shows a perfect sheer. It's perky without exaggeration. It's balanced with the low spot well aft. It's ideal in every way. Even the painted whale strip below the sheer is perfect. Note how it does not strictly parallel the sheer but slightly and slowly converges with the sheer toward the stern. Ted's patron for this design wanted a traditional design that he could sail from his home in the Bahamas. The design is pure whimsy but based upon traditional types. This design is not about tenths of a knot. This design is about looking cool.

The hull lines show a very shapely hull with a hint of hollow at the entry and a broad stern. The transom is wineglass shaped. You can't have a big conventional transom and not have some wineglass hollow to it. Well, you can, but it will look horrible.

This is a centerboard boat for the shoal waters of the Bahamas. There is an honest, barn door outboard rudder. The D/L is 262. The hull is beamy with an L/B of 2.6. Ballast is 2,200 pounds of internal lead. Board-up draft is a scant 2-feet, 6 inches.

The rig is a Bahama-style sloop with a big, loose-footed gaff mainsail and overhanging boom. The gooseneck is almost right down on the deck. The bowsprit projects 6 feet, 8 inches off the nearly plumb stem. The gaff is peaked almost vertically, and it's easy to see the technical progression from this rig to the "leg o'mutton" main we use today. The SA/D is 19.2. There are no spreaders, no battens, no backstay and no winches shown. Mainsail panels are shown running parallel to the leech and I suppose with today's fabrics you could do this without undue stretch.

The accommodation plan shows a cuddy cabin with three berths. There is no head and tankage will be jerrycans "to suit." There is an outboard well tucked in the stern.

Go ahead, buy a Melges 24. Then once or twice a week go out and get your butt kicked all over the place by some kids who have no lives off the race course. Come home humbled, bruised and most probably bleeding. Or, get Covey Island Boatworks to build you one of these Brewer beauties and get back to the romantic essence of why we sail. Hats off to Ted's client.