Question:
I bought a cute little homebuilt sailboat over the weekend and I can't
identify it. It may actually be unique, but I figured this website
might be a good starting place if it is not.
The boat is 12'9" loa, 58" beam.
It looks for all the world like a stubby version of the Peter Milne
Fireball--alike in almost every line save for the aft end of the
foredeck, which is straight across instead of vee'd as in the Fireball.
Uses a centerboard and kickup rudder. This one is nicely built of
mahogany ply (3 equal plies) of a little under 1/4" and is glued with
resorcinol. I estimate the year of construction as between 1965 and
1975. It really doesn't look like a one-off, as the complex fits work
too well.
The builder was local, but no longer around. The rig he used was from a
Moth, but this is too long a boat to qualify as a Moth.
Definite British look to it. A cute little mini-scow. With the right
rig it could scream. But what is it? Your thoughts much welcomed.
Answer:
There was a thing called a "Bullet" which was a sort of baby Fireball.
A distinctive feature, IIRC, was a sort of slow flooding sidetank so
the boat would float lower in the water if you'd been capsized a
while... Not very successful sales wise over here.
