Design and Construction
The modern Stuart Knockabout is a shoal-draft sloop with a 22-foot 10-inch resting waterline and a centerboard that lifts the draft to just 2 feet 9 inches and drops to 5 feet 6 inches when lowered. At 4,000 pounds displacement with 2,400 pounds of lead ballast, the boat wears a 50-percent ballast ratio that Harding upped a bit from the original timber hull, adding extra stiffness. The foam/fiberglass sandwich hulls and decks weigh less than the original construction, and Ballentines adds buoyancy foam aft with a water-tight bulkhead in the stem so a swamped hull stays on the surface. Custom bronze hardware is cast at Edson Anbar Foundry in New Bedford, Schaefer Marine blocks and tracks come from the same Massachusetts city, the fiberglass hull and parts are molded at Pine Grove Plastics in Freetown, the lead keel is poured by I. Broomfield & Sons, and Hall Spars builds the rig in Bristol, with finishing at Ballentines in Cataumet.
Rig and Handling
What is left after the designer stripped the unnecessary gear is an uncluttered, simple, easily handled thoroughbred that is quick to get underway and put to bed with or without a crew. The Marconi mainsail and small clubfooted jib yield 265 square feet of working sail, and a genoa can substitute for the self-tacking working jib while an asymmetric spinnaker rounds out the light-air inventory. A rail-to-rail traveler sits on the aft deck with a mainsail vang, the alloy spar carries a buff-color traditional finish, and the running rigging is traditional three-strand line that is easy to splice. Practical Sailor found her exceptionally fast with surprising power for the modest sail plan, and not slowed perceptibly by an oncoming sea — a joy to sail and comfortable and forgiving in the hands of an amateur.
Accommodations and Intended Use
The Stuart Knockabout gathers space, comfort, ease of handling, and shallow draft with lots of speed in a larger elegant daysailer, making her an excellent step up from a smaller daysailer and a simpler alternative to a large cruiser. High coamings define the cockpit, and a long varnished locust tiller reaches the helm from a port-mounted outboard bracket near the rudder, with the low freeboard giving a small long-shaft outboard plenty of prop submersion. The boat fits perfectly in a 40-foot container, and every new example left the shop with Hall Spars, Harding Sails main and jib, standing and running rigging, running lights, a fixed bilge pump, an anchor, two life vests, and a bucket and oar.
Known Issues
The non-self-bailing cockpit is the design's acknowledged vulnerability: the proclivity to heel combines with the lack of automatic drainage, and only the high coamings stand between the crew and a filled sole. The built-in flotation has proven its worth — one boat was knocked down and swamped in a tornado vortex over a lake with winds well over 100 knots, and the foam and forward bulkhead kept the hull on the surface rather than letting it sink.
The Verdict
The Stuart Knockabout is a splendid example of her pedigree, a fiberglass interpretation of a Herreshoff timber daysailer that preserves the classic look while delivering a fast, forgiving, and uncomplicated sail. She rewards the sailor who wants elegance without complication and a shallow draft without surrendering stiffness or speed.
Pros
- Exceptionally fast and not slowed by an oncoming sea
- Shallow 2-foot 9-inch draft with centerboard up, 5-foot 6-inch down
- 50-percent ballast ratio with added stiffness over the original
- Built-in foam and forward bulkhead keep a swamped hull afloat
- Uncluttered rig easy to handle single-handed or short-handed
Cons
- Non-self-bailing cockpit demands crew vigilance when heeled
- Modest 265 square feet of working sail in the standard rig
