Perigee
A 17' 3" Keel Cruising Sloop
By William Atkin
An Outboard-Powered Auxiliary
Always in the past the one serious drawback to sailing has been the difficulty of always arriving at one's destination or returning home at any regular time. The wind fails to blow; the little boat sits in her own reflection; the tide ebbs; and it is a long way home. In a very small boat even the most modest of inboard motors takes up precious room. There is the fuel tank to consider; the exhaust piping; muffler; water connections; shafting; stuffing box; and motor controls. These fittings require a lot of time to install; besides taking up room. And so for little boats the most satisfactory form of auxiliary power seems to be wrapped up in the efficiency of the modern outboard motor of modest horse power. Clean, light, and powerful these are, and excellent to use when the wind falls light; the tide flows foul; or time must be saved.
Perigee's cockpit is 3 feet 3 inches long by 3 feet 7 inches wide. A seat extends across its after end; under this there is a locker. The cockpit floor is 8 inches above the water line and fitted with suitable drain pipes. With the high door step and companionway opening closed there is no way for water to get below.
Perigee is purely a single hander's cruiser. I suppose in a pinch a second member of her crew could sleep on the floor, or by making a slight change in the height of the bulkhead forward of the seat on the starboard side forward, hang another pipe berth. The cabin as shown makes a handy and very practical arrangement. The sink and stove are well placed for a small boat. And with an ice box under the sink, dish lockers above it, small wash tray, and the stove near by, food can be prepared with the least inconvenience. There is a full length sofa along the port side with a pipe berth above. It will be seen that the underside of the pipe berth provides a back to the sofa. The short seat forward of the stove provides a little extra room for folks who come aboard. Up forward the space is devoted to shelves, chain locker, and fresh water tanks. Headroom under the sliding hatch is 4 feet 7 inches; under the cabin top 4 feet 3 inches. This is about all one can expect without having excessive freeboard and a high deck house.
The lines show an easily driven hull having well balanced ends, moderate displacement, easy buttock lines and diagonals, and powerful sections. You can depend upon Perigee to sail fast and balance perfectly. Despite her diminutive dimensions she is a real little ship. Her length over all is only 17 feet 3 inches, water line length 15 feet, breadth 5 feet 10 inches, and draft 3 feet 5 inches. She carries 1,400 pounds of lead on her keel with 300 pounds inside for trimming purposes. For the sake of economy the gaff head sail plan is used. Also this older design for spreading sail has certain advantages over the newer tall and narrow jib-headed sail plan.
 
PHOTOS OF PERIGEE
Plans for Perigee are $100

MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM

SHIPS PLANS STORE

https://store.mysticseaport.org/ships-plans/

shipsplanstore@mysticseaport.org

 

+1 (860) 572 5360

BACK TO PLAN LIST