Design and Construction
The hull is a solid-wood, flat-bottomed sharpie with a strongly crowned housetop and deck that act as a round bottom when inverted, aiding self-righting. Structural weight is concentrated low: the bottom is brutally heavy to serve as secure ballast and grounding protection, while well-secured inside ballast is spread through the bilge rather than piled against the tall centerboard trunk. A small, self-bailing cockpit and centerline hatches reflect a deliberate flooding-control philosophy. Above the waterline, low house sides and extreme athwartships crown reduce the apparent height of the house, and a strong sheerline with dark hull sides lessens the visual impact of substantial freeboard. The combined hull-house structure stands at least four feet tall for the length, a deliberate move to preserve stability and reserve buoyancy.
Rig and Handling
Kirby drew a handy cat-ketch rig to power the Island Sharpie 26, avoiding labor-intensive overlapping headsails or tiny mainsails. Full-length battens support considerable roach on each sail, and the sails are quiet, not flogging wildly when luffed. The original rig measured 302 square feet; after sailing the prototype the designer increased sail area to 340 square feet. He also shifted from aluminum masts to tapered, thin-wall carbon-fiber sticks. In strong winds those masts bend, relieving tension on the upper leeches and offsetting the heeling effect of the larger sails. Robert Ayliffe later devised a tabernacle that makes raising and lowering the masts a singlehanded operation. The low, light rig and substantial centerboard area let the sharpie go to windward as a sharpie should.
Performance
This is a shoal-draft boat that will sail on the morning dew, right itself after a knockdown, and handle rough water. The self-righting character comes from the low center of gravity and the crowned surfaces that shed water when inverted. A centerboard of substantial area is required to track upwind; without it the hull will not go well to windward. The easily built ketch sails fast on all points and can leave deep-keel cruisers behind in suitable conditions.
Accommodations
Plans describe both a two-berth interior and a sleeps-four production layout with a double V-berth forward and two quarter berths. Both show an “enclosed” head, though true privacy aboard a 26-foot sailboat is not realistic. The accommodations are reasonable for cruising rather than luxurious, consistent with the boat’s trailerable, shoal-draft mission.
Equipment and Power
Auxiliary power comes from an outboard motor housed out of sight in its own way aft, lifting vertically when not in use. The boat is trailerable, giving quick access to bridge-blocked or shallow waters from a road trailer.
The Verdict
The Island Sharpie 26 is a distinctive Kirby design that trades deep keel for centerboard pragmatism, pairing a self-righting flat-bottom hull with a quiet, easily managed cat-ketch rig. It is a fast, shoal-draft cruiser for sailors who value simplicity, trailerability, and rough-water capability over cabin luxury.
Pros
- Self-righting shoal-draft hull that floats in ~10 inches of water
- Fast on all points with a quiet, low-maintenance cat-ketch rig
- Trailerable with hidden, vertically lifting outboard power
- Tall crown and low ballast promote stability and grounding protection
Cons
- Enclosed head offers no true privacy at 26 feet
- Requires substantial centerboard area to windward adequately
- Wood construction demands disciplined maintenance
