OWNER’S
VIEW
“I think Corribees
are the business
for the solo or duo
voyager. Cheap,
entirely susceptible
to DIY, charming hull
form (I speak of the
fi n-keel version – bilge keels
are not something on which I am
keen). Light as a feather, brilliant upwind, weighs
less than a tonne, trailable behind a beefy station
wagon, though only at the beginning and end of
a season, as launching is a bit of a faff , ideally
involving a crane.”
Sam Llewellyn, owner, SurpriseD
esigner Robert Tucker led the post-war
charge into small sailing yachts. He
introduced countless British sailors to the
joys of cruising in his jaunty little creations
such as the 17ft (5.2m) Silhouette in 1954 and 19ft
(5.8m) Caprice in 1957.
Perhaps Tucker’s most famous (and prettiest) design
was the Corribee. The 20ft 3in (6.2m) Mk l (clinker then
GRP) appeared in 1963, followed by the lengthened
20ft 9in GRP Mkll in 1975 and the Mklll in 1982. The
most signifi cant variations relate to keels; some are fi n
but most are twin. Two different rig heights were offered.
The hull on later asymmetric twin-keeled boats is a little
deeper, increasing interior headroom. Below the waterline
many early boats had no skeg. The excellent corribee.org
website explains it all.
I fi rst looked closely at a Corribee when a well-used
example landed in the pool alongside our Hunters at the
Earls Court Boat Show (those were the days). Perched in
its cockpit was a petite teenage girl who had just sailed it
singlehanded around Britain, winning the 1995 Young
Sailor of the Year award. Her name was Ellen MacArthur.
When I contacted Ellen asking why she chose this boat
she replied: “I always felt that the Corribee was the perfect
pocket cruiser. She is built of heavily laid up fi breglass,
and Iduna has a long keel rather than the bilge keel
option. I made some hatch modifi cations in case she was
knocked fl at [making the companionway entrance
smaller]. She was a superb little boat for sailing round
Britain, and for her size is extremely seaworthy.
“She handled beautifully, even in really rough
conditions. The only challenges were beating upwind
to make ground to weather in a short chop, and also
in very light airs as she was the short-masted version – so
a little light on canvas. Manoeuverability-wise, Corribees
are not the easiest boats to tack nicely if they haven’t had
a skeg fi tted in front of the rudder – although I’ve never
sailed one with this adaptation. All in all, the perfect
pocket cruiser... though with a good seaworthy nature.
I would recommend a Corribee to anyone!”
In 2006, the equally young Katie Miller emulated
Ellen’s voyage in another Corribee (Elektra), raising
large sums for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust (which
helps children recovering from cancer) in the process.
Roger Taylor is another celebrated Corribee voyager.Describing one solo expedition in Mingming (his
twin-keel Corribee with homemade junk rig and
modifi ed companionway), he wrote: “A fantastic
voyage, very tough, with plenty of heavy weather and
cold conditions. But the northern waters were magical.
From the Shetlands to western Iceland I saw fewer
than 10 other vessels. Total distance sailed was about
2,500 miles – in time and distance almost identical to
last year’s Azores voyage. Mingming was again brilliant- an extraordinary little seaboat, always at ease in the
big stuff.” By the time Roger sold her, he reckoned he
and Mingming had sailed nearly 20,000 miles in six
years, mainly in high latitudes.
Guy Waites also proved the Corribee’s versatility,
returning from the USA to Plymouth in 2017 after
a solo transatlantic “circuit” in Betsy. With her solid
sprayhood and substantial hinging hatchway (instead
of washboards), she looks very secure on Guy’s
YouTube videos.
Sailing journalist and novelist Sam Llewellyn also
restored a cheap (£800) Corribee and proceeded to gut
most of the interior giving it “two 7ft-long, 3ft-wide-
at-the-shoulders quarter berths, a small cook and nav
department, and forward of the bulkhead/beam that
supports the deck-stepped mast, a forepeak in which
children could sleep if they insisted, but which was
mostly occupied by sails, water, gin, tins and so on.”
The Corribee has many fans and looks the business.
A further benefi t is the existence of an owner’s
association where you can fi nd many like-minded
owners selling boats and bits, and offering advice.
You can also buy Corribees on the usual sites such as
Apolloduck, and they sometimes come up on the big
selling sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. At
the time of writing, we found countless boats for sale,
ranging from £750 to £4,000. About £2,500 seemed
to be about right to get a decent one.
Anyone wanting a small GRP classic yacht at a
modest price for weekend pottering or something more
adventurous could do a lot worse than buy a Corribee.
NEXT MONTH: Buchanan Wind ElfTwo on the market
£495 Thought to be a Mk1,
fi n-keeler version, refi tted in 2000
but ashore for 12 years. Lying
Gwynedd, apolloduck.co.uk£3,500 Built 1975, twin-keel
version, with custom trailer. Looks
to be in VGC. Lying Isle of Skye,
apolloduck.co.ukCORRIBEE
MK 1
LOA
20ft 3in
(6.2m)LW L
14ft 6in
(4.4m)
BEAM
6ft 3in (1.9m)
DRAUGHT
3ft 3in (1m)
or 3ft (0.9m)DISPLACEMENT
1,120lb
(508kg)CORRIBEE
MK 11 &111
LOA
20ft 9in
(6.3m)LW L
16ft 4in (5m)BEAM
7ft 2in (2.2m)
DRAUGHT
2ft 2in (0.7cm)
or 3ft (0.9m)DISPLACEMENT
2,000lb
(907kg)Earlier models
do not have
skegs. Check
on corribee.org
for detailsCBA
RCHIVE