| Cornish Crabber 17 | |
| Designer: | Roger Dongray |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Builder: | Cornish Crabbers |
| Role: | Day sailer-Cruiser |
| Draft: | 4feet, with centreboard down |
| Displacement: | 19500NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | fibreglass |
| Loa: | 17feet, with bowsprit 20feet |
| Lwl: | 16feet |
| Beam: | 6.87feet |
| Engine: | outboard motor |
| Keel Type: | centreboard |
| Ballast: | 2170NaN0 |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Gaff rig |
| Sailplan: | gaff rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Total: | 178square feet |
The Cornish Crabber 17, or just Cornish Crabber, is a British trailerable sailboat that was designed by Roger Dongray as a daysailer and pocket cruiser and first built in 1989.[1] [2] [3] [4]
The design was built by Cornish Crabbers in Wadebridge, Cornwall, United Kingdom starting in 1989, but it is now out of production.[1] [4] [5]
The Cornish Crabber 17 is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of fibreglass, with wood trim. It is a gaff riged sloop, with a bowsprit, with a plumb stem, a slightly angled transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a centreboard. It displaces 19500NaN0 and carries 3800NaN0 of ballast.[1] [4]
The boat has a draft of 4feet with the centreboard extended and 1.58feet with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1] [4]
The boat is normally fitted with a small 2to outboard motor for docking and manoeuvring, mounted in a transom well.[1] [4]
The design has sleeping accommodation for two people, with two straight settees in the main cabin. There are no galley provisions. The optional head is a portable type. Cabin headroom is 51inches under the fold-down dodger, which includes a zip-up back panel to enclose the below-decks area.[1] [4]
For downwind sailing the design may be equipped with a spinnaker.[1] [4]
The design has a hull speed of 5.4kn.[4]
The boat is supported by an active class club, the Cornish Crabbers Club.[6]
In a 2001 review naval architect Robert Perry wrote, "while these boats are attractive, it is difficult to do them justice in a review ... The 17 is a gaff-rigged sloop. Cornish Crabber owners seem to favor tanbark sails. I favor white sails. A small spinnaker is shown. The SA/D is a surprising 22.2. This should move the little hooker along quite well. Draft with the flat plate centerboard down is 4 feet; board-up draft is 1 foot, 7 inches. There is 217 pounds of ballast in the bilge. This is an ideal trailerable boat for a sailor looking for something a little different and is guaranteed to turn heads."[7]
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the Crabber is part of a line of traditional West Cornwall (Eng-land) watercraft recreated in fiberglass and elegantly finished. She's intended mainly as a daysailer but has camping space for two overnight under the fold-down 'spray hood' (dodger) with a zip-in back panel. Best features: Workmanship is outstanding for a boat this size. Foam flotation gives positive buoyancy. Intelligent organization of the very limited space includes a place for a portable head as well as basic overnighting gear (sleeping bags, camp stove, etc). Position of the outboard, in a well amidships and forward of the rudder, provides good steering control in both forward and reverse, and the engine can be removed and stowed in a locker meant for the purpose to eliminate prop drag. With her gaff rig and tan-bark sails, she's pretty as a picture underway. Worst features: Spars are varnished wood, beautiful to look at but a time-consuming maintenance chore. Price of both new and used boats, well above her comp[etitor]s, may not fit everyone's budget ..."[4]