Design and Construction
The Bagheera is a monohull of straightforward 1960s construction: a solid fibreglass hull with wood trim rather than the cored laminates seen on later Archambault models. She carries a raked stem and a reverse transom, proportions that mark her as a product of her era rather than the slab-sided cruisers that followed. At 19.68 feet overall with a 15.58-foot waterline, a 5.91-foot beam, and a displacement of 882 pounds, she is a light, narrow pocket cruiser whose 463-pound lead ballast gives a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 52.49 percent. The fixed fin keel draws 3.12 feet, and the skeg-mounted rudder is controlled by a tiller, a combination that keeps the helm direct and unassisted by wheel gear.
Rig and Handling
Aloft, the Bagheera is a fractional sloop with a Bermuda rig carried on aluminum spars. The mast is deck-stepped and supported by wire standing rigging, a simple arrangement that suits a boat of this size and keeps tuning within the reach of a single owner. With 184 square feet of sail area and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 32.01, the rig is modest but adequate for a hull of 882 pounds, and the small outboard normally fitted for docking and manoeuvring leaves the foretriangle uncluttered. Her hull speed is calculated at 5.29 knots, a figure consistent with the slender 104.12 displacement-length ratio.
Accommodations
Below, the Bagheera makes no claim to volume. The one interior feature named is a lazarette, a stowage compartment that speaks to the boat's minimalist character. At 19.68 feet overall the boat is plainly a daysailer or minimal cruiser rather than a cabin cruiser in the modern sense.
Known Issues
None.
The Verdict
The Archambault Bagheera is a period piece: a 1968 Joubert-Nivelt design from a French builder better known for later racer-cruisers, rendered as a lightweight fibreglass pocket sloop with wood accents and a tiller-steered skeg rudder. She is uncomplicated by design and small by any measure, the least of Archambault's production yet a coherent expression of late-sixties recreational boating.
Pros
- Smallest and simplest Archambault ever built, easy to own and store
- Fractional sloop rig with deck-stepped aluminum mast and wire rigging is straightforward to maintain
- Direct tiller control over a skeg-mounted rudder
Cons
- Minimal accommodation, with only a lazarette noted below
- Dependent on a small outboard for docking and manoeuvring
