t was the first of many pleasant surprises.
I put a snap of the John Welsford
Navigator Korora on my How to sail a Boat
Facebook page mentioning that I was
doing a boat review.
Having no grip on social media
marketing, my followers are normally confined to my family.
The next morning I had over 1,600 views and 25 likes and a
sneaking suspicion that there was a whole cult following of
Welsford cruising dinghies out there.
John Welsford has been quietly designing cruising dinghies,
yachts and rowing boats for over 35 years. Like many good NewZealand designers he has a popular following overseas but is
less well-known here.
The Navigator has been one of his most popular designs with
over 700 plans sold. Its popularity has also come as a pleasant
surprise. Originally designed on the instigation of Captain Tim
Ridge of Westhaven’s Boat Books, the design was intended as a
race trainer for a local club. She had a sloop rig and, with a crew
of three teenagers, was designed to stand up to some breeze.
“But the surprise came with my friend Bob Jenner who
wanted a long-range cruising dinghy just a little bigger than
his Rogue design,” says Welsford. “We sat down for a browse
through my drawings for some inspiration. Bob was very takenI
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