| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Francis & Roland Prout |
| Location | Canvey Island, Essex, UK |
| Year | 1956 |
| No. built | 2000+[1] |
| Builder(s) | Prout & Sons, Fairey Marine |
| Name | Shearwater III |
| Boat | |
| Crew | 2 |
| Displacement | 120 kg (260 lb) |
| Draft | 0.91 m (3.0 ft) min 0.18 m (0.59 ft) max |
| Trapeze | Twin allowed |
| Hull | |
| General | 2 |
| Type | Catamaran Twin Centreboard |
| Construction | Wood / Fibreglass / Composite / Carbon Fibre[2] |
| LOH | 5.03 m (16.5 ft) |
| LWL | 4.82 m (15.8 ft) |
| Beam | 2.29 m (7.5 ft) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | Twin pivoting centreboards |
| Rudder(s) | Twin drop rudders |
| Rig | |
| General | Fractional Sloop (Rotating Spar) |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | Bermudian Sloop |
| Other sails | Spinnaker introduced 1972 |
| Upwind sail area | 14.86 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]