Shearwater III

Shearwater III
Development
DesignerFrancis & Roland Prout
LocationCanvey Island, Essex, UK
Year1956
No. built2000+[1]
Builder(s)Prout & Sons, Fairey Marine
NameShearwater III
Boat
Crew2
Displacement120 kg (260 lb)
Draft0.91 m (3.0 ft)  min
0.18 m (0.59 ft)  max
TrapezeTwin allowed
Hull
General2
TypeCatamaran Twin Centreboard
ConstructionWood / Fibreglass / Composite / Carbon Fibre[2]
LOH5.03 m (16.5 ft)
LWL4.82 m (15.8 ft)
Beam2.29 m (7.5 ft)
Hull appendages
Keel/board typeTwin pivoting centreboards
Rudder(s)Twin drop rudders
Rig
GeneralFractional Sloop (Rotating Spar)
Sails
SailplanBermudian Sloop
Other sailsSpinnaker introduced 1972
Upwind sail area14.86 m2 (160.0 sq ft)

The Shearwater III is a type of two crew racing catamaran, produced originally by G. Prout & Sons of Canvey Island, Essex, and was first sold in kit form. It is a "restricted development class".[3] According to the UK's National Maritime Museum, The Shearwater III was the world’s first production catamaran.[1]

Brothers Francis and Roland Prout were canoeists who took part in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. They worked in the family firm G. Prout & Sons Ltd, with their father, making folding canoes and dinghies. They developed their first catamaran, the Shearwater I in the early 1950s. Initially, they experimentally lashed together two K1 kayaks and added a bamboo platform and a mast and sail, and after the success of this went on to build the Shearwater I, in which they participated in local regattas. They then developed the Shearwater III.[4][5]

Shearwaters regularly field at least 15 entries at National Championships since 1998.[2]

  1. ^ a b Loveland, Graham (June 2016). "Shearwater catamaran "Yellow Bird" – BC16". National Maritime Museum. National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Shearwater". Yachts and Yachting. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. ^ "SHEARWATER III". SailboatData.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Prout Catamarans - a History". Katamarans. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ^ McCave, Fred. "The Prout Story". CanveyIsland.org. Retrieved 28 July 2020.