Yachting_Monthly_2016-01

JANUARY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 81

the UK’s most comprehensive yacht tests USED boat tESt

The ownerMidsummer II not completed and launched until eight was moulded in 1972, but

years later by the father of the current part-owner, Brian Thornton. Brian (70) also owned a 27ft woodie and a Roberts

34, which he also refitted himself. After retiring from dentistry and inheriting Midsummer IIto keep running costs down., he has sold shares in her

of the boat, but he and his partners, Peter and Andrew, ensure she is kept in tip-top condition.Not only does Brian know every inch

draught means she can creep up creeks and anchor in the shallows like a much smaller yacht. The centreboard is bronze,
thereby adding to her ballast as well as increasing her draught to 6ft 7in for beating upwind. The board is pivoted at its forward end, so flips up if it hits anything
and it is raised and lowered via a Spectra line running up through a wooden post in the saloon and onto a dedicated winch on the coachroof.
Deacons on the Hamble, a few (including our test boat) were completed by their original owners.While most Debs were fitted out at
SailplanThe Deb 33 has a masthead rig with either a keel-stepped or a deck-stepped
mast, both with a short boom and an overlapping genoa. Originally, they had a roller-reefing boom, but many have since been converted. Usually, a track and
turning blocks are added to make her slab reefed, sometimes even from the cockpit. Midsummer IIfurler riveted onto the back of the mast, has a Tab Sails vertical
which still seems to work admirably with her small mainsail. She has a track and traveller immediately behind the tiller

(or in front of the binnacle in the wheel steering model).Her 125% furling genoa has long tracks

along the side decks, starting aft of the shrouds. Although this offers a tight sheeting angle for improved pointing under full sail, the sheet lead angle isn’t

ideal when the genoa is part-furled.Deck layoutLike many yachts of her time she has a

raised toerail, which is teak-capped. Not only does this look good, it also offers security to your feet when going forward under duress – plus it stops small items

slipping overboard when dropped. Through-deck scuppers exit below the waterline, so she has no nasty dark streaks down her topsides.

easy access forward, although her stays are mounted on mid-deck chainplates. The coachroof is single-level, adding to Her side decks are wide enough for

headroom below and resulting in the full-length handrails being at a reasonable height for crew on deck.Cockpit stowage is good, with a full-

depth locker to starboard and a spacious lazarette aft, plus four cave lockers in the seatbacks. To port is usually

The Deb 33 is a classic from the board of the famous Sparkman

and Stephens design team