Design and Construction
Brewer designed the Whitby 55 with a displacement of 43,500 pounds and 18,000 pounds of ballast. Its 55-foot length and 15-foot 5-inch beam provide the volume expected of a boat this size. Buyers could choose a fin keel drawing 6 feet 10 inches or a shoal configuration drawing 5 feet 7 inches.
Writing in Canadian Boating, Brewer observed that the finishing details from the Whitby shop during this period were superb. Inside, the surfaces are finished in hand-polished teak.
The boat was developed for several markets rather than one narrowly defined use. Whitby offered center-cockpit and pilothouse deck configurations, along with various interiors instead of a single fixed layout.
Rig and Handling
The Whitby 55 carries a ketch rig with 1,360 square feet of sail in its standard form. The sail plan was deliberately divided between two masts to make handling easier for the charter-oriented market the design targeted.
Brewer had hoped to use a single cutter rig, but he accepted the ketch as a compromise for a broader audience. The mizzen is kept short to preserve upwind ability, although a sloop with the same sail area would still outperform it to weather. Even so, the smaller mizzen adds sail area off the wind and allows the headsails to remain a manageable size.
A self-tacking staysail provides an alternative on breezy or idle days when the crew would rather not tack the genoa. Whitby also offered a low-rig version for boats that needed to pass beneath inland-waterway bridges.
Accommodations
The interior uses space from the transom to the forepeak. The aft cabin has a full double berth and a head with an ample shower, placing the sleeper only a couple of feet from the boat’s name on the transom. Forward, two separate guest cabins share a second head compartment.
This arrangement suits relaxed sailing with the anchor down at night better than sustained ocean passages. There aren’t many sea berths for that kind of voyage, although the builder would rework the interior to add them on request. The gleaming teak and separation between guest cabins are better suited to coastal cruising and charter use than to bluewater watchkeeping.
Refits and Ownership
Because Whitby offered multiple deck configurations and interior arrangements from the outset, an owner’s plans to reconfigure a Whitby 55 wouldn’t be novel. The builder itself was willing to alter the interior to add sea berths.
Used boats may differ substantially in profile and bridge clearance because buyers could choose a pilothouse or center-cockpit deck and specify the low rig. Those differences are worth confirming against the intended cruising grounds.
Verdict
The Whitby 55 is a large Brewer-designed cruiser that trades ultimate upwind performance for the easier handling of a divided sail plan. Its teak-lined, guest-friendly interior makes it more of a coastal- and charter-minded boat than a passage-maker packed with sea berths, though the builder was willing to tailor the layout.
Pros
- Two-mast rig divides the sail area for easier handling and smaller headsails
- Hand-polished teak interior, with an aft double berth and two forward guest cabins
- Choice of center-cockpit or pilothouse configurations
- Optional low rig for bridge clearance
- Superb finishing details, according to the designer’s observation in Canadian Boating
Cons
- Few sea berths as standard, limiting bluewater passage use without interior alterations
- Short mizzen adds sail area off the wind but still leaves the boat behind an equal-area sloop upwind
- Brewer preferred a cutter, making the ketch rig a market-driven compromise
