Design and Construction
The Bagheera has a solid fibreglass hull with wood trim, rather than the cored laminates found on later Archambault models. Her raked stem and reverse transom give her the proportions of a 1960s design, rather than those of the slab-sided cruisers that followed.
She measures 19.68 feet overall, with a 15.58-foot waterline and a 5.91-foot beam. Displacement is 882 pounds, including 463 pounds of lead ballast, for a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 52.49 percent. These figures describe a light, narrow pocket cruiser.
The fixed fin keel draws 3.12 feet. A tiller controls the skeg-mounted rudder, keeping the helm direct and free of wheel gear.
Rig and Handling
The Bagheera is a fractional sloop with a Bermuda rig on aluminum spars. Her mast is deck-stepped and supported by wire standing rigging. It’s a simple arrangement suited to a boat of this size, with tuning within reach of a single owner.
Total sail area is 184 square feet, producing a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 32.01. The rig is modest but adequate for an 882-pound hull. A small outboard is normally fitted for docking and manoeuvring, leaving the foretriangle uncluttered.
Calculated hull speed is 5.29 knots, consistent with the slender displacement-length ratio of 104.12.
Accommodations
The Bagheera makes no claim to spaciousness below. The only named interior feature is a lazarette, a stowage compartment that reflects the boat’s minimalist character. At 19.68 feet overall, she is plainly a daysailer or minimal cruiser rather than a cabin cruiser in the modern sense.
Known Issues
None.
Verdict
The Archambault Bagheera is very much a period piece: a 1968 Joubert-Nivelt design from a French builder better known for its later racer-cruisers. It is a lightweight fibreglass pocket sloop with wood accents, a fractional rig, and a tiller-steered skeg rudder.
Small by any measure and the least of Archambault’s production, the Bagheera is uncomplicated by design and remains a coherent expression of late-1960s recreational boating.
Pros
- The smallest and simplest Archambault ever built; easy to own and store
- Straightforward fractional sloop rig with a deck-stepped aluminum mast and wire standing rigging
- Direct tiller control over a skeg-mounted rudder
Cons
- Minimal accommodations, with only a lazarette noted below
- Dependent on a small outboard for docking and manoeuvring
