Wanderer (sailing dinghy)
| Current Specifications | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Class Symbol | |
| Crew | 2–3 |
| LOA | 4.3 m (14 ft) |
| Beam | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Main & Jib area | 10.7 m2 (115 sq ft) |
| Spinnaker area | 9.9 m2 (107 sq ft) |
| RYA PN | 1132 |
The Wanderer is a 14 foot Fiberglass hull Bermuda rigged sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. One of the main objectives of the design was to produce a robust safe and versatile dinghy that could be used for knockabout day sailing and cruising as well as racing, but was light enough to be handled ashore. The Wanderer has Main and Jib sails it can also be fitted with a Spinnaker. Reefing of the main sail is by slab reefing, the jib can also be fitted with roller furling system. The boat has high intrinsic stability, and the normal wooden centreplate can be replaced with an 85 pound steel centre board which makes it even harder to capsize. The relatively light weight of the boat contributes to its ease of launching and recovery. The design allows for fitting of an outboard motor of up to 3.3 hp. There is very ample storage which includes a waterproof locker for storage of the outboard motor when not in use.
On the water the boat can be recognized by its Sail logo of a white W in a blue circular background. Over 1600 boats have been produced.
The Wanderer has an active class association with a web site [1]. The association organises national racing and cruising events all over the United Kingdom.
The Wanderer dinghy has evolved during the years of manufacture, one of the most significant early changes was the introduction of the MD modification. This was a modification to the distribution of buoyancy resulting in a reduction in the floating height of the boat after a capsize thus aiding recovery. The initial design brief was given to Ian Proctor by Margaret Dye who wanted a lighter dinghy than the Wayfarer that she had sailed with her husband Frank. Margaret and Frank Dye have a wealth of dinghy cruising experience, and their adventures have been captured in Margaret's book Dinghy Cruising – The Enjoyment of Wandering Afloat. ISBN 0-7136-5714-6.
More recently Hartley Laminates took over the copyright and manufacturing license for the design. They secured the services of Phil Morrison to redesign the deck plug to modernise the appearance of the boat, allow the hull to self drain through transom flaps and to reduce the complexity of building the hull and thus production costs while retaining the same hull shape and rig.
