At 23.95 feet overall, with a 19.03-foot waterline, an 8.53-foot beam, and a displacement of 4,189 pounds, the Gypsy is no featherweight racer. Her length-to-beam ratio is 2.81, while a displacement-to-length ratio of 271 places her among heavy cruisers. The result is a stout, narrow-bodied boat intended for coastal cruising.
Design and Construction
The standard record lists the Gypsy’s hull as plywood, although some individual boats were built with fiberglass hulls instead. The deck is a fiberglass-wood composite.
The boat carries a triple keel with roughly 1,001 pounds of iron ballast, giving a ballast ratio of about 24 percent. Depending on load, draft ranges from 2.62 to 2.92 feet. Together, the shallow draft and triple-keel arrangement let the Gypsy enter even shallow marinas that deeper fin-keelers can’t reach.
Wetted surface is about 161 square feet, and the immersion rate is 565 pounds per inch. In practical terms, she sits heavily in the water and changes trim slowly as crew and stores come aboard.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Gypsy has a masthead sloop rig and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.03. That modest figure favors steady cruising rather than punchy acceleration.
The standing and running rigging use practical dimensions. Jib and genoa sheets are 24 feet long and 3/8 inch in diameter. The mainsheet is nearly 60 feet long at the same diameter, while a spinnaker sheet of about 52.7 feet completes the light-air inventory.
Her theoretical hull speed is 5.8 knots. A Motion Comfort Ratio of 18.0, combined with the heavy-cruiser displacement profile, suggests a damped, forgiving motion in a chop rather than a lively twitch.
The capsize screening value is 2.12, a figure that would not be accepted for ocean races.
Machinery, Tankage, and Cruising Range
A single 10-horsepower Saab diesel provides auxiliary power. The builder’s recorded specifications list capacity for 13 gallons of water and 11 gallons of diesel—tankage appropriate to a hull under 24 feet.
The triple keel and shallow draft extend the boat’s gunkholing range.
Refits and Ownership
Because Gypsy hulls may be either plywood or fiberglass, a buyer should confirm the construction of a particular boat before planning structural refits.
The Saab diesel and the 3/8-inch sheet inventory are period-standard and straightforward to maintain or replace.
The Verdict
The Falmouth Gypsy is a compact, heavily ballasted cruiser whose shallow triple-keel footprint opens up shallow-water cruising on a small-boat budget. Her modest sail plan and comfort-oriented numbers make her a stable coastal companion rather than a distance racer.
The principal variable for a careful owner is construction: with both plywood- and fiberglass-hulled boats in the fleet, the material of any particular example needs to be pinned down.
Pros
- Triple keel and 2.62–2.92-foot draft suit shallow marinas
- Heavy-cruiser displacement and 24 percent ballast ratio contribute to a calm motion
- Simple masthead rig with standard 3/8-inch sheet sizes
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.12 excludes ocean-race acceptance
- Mixed plywood and fiberglass hull construction requires verification
- Low sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.03 limits light-air performance
