Sarastus
Sarastus is a Wayfarer class sailing dinghy built of marine plywood. She was built in the United Kingdom in 1987 for racing use. I bought her in 2014 and brought to Finland in a shipping container to explore the local waters with my family. The boat has some modifications to make it safer for dinghy cruising.
Her name Sarastus means literally “Dawn” but is also the Finnish name chosen for sailing ship Dawn Treader in Chronicles of Narnia which is a classic of British children’s literature. One of the motivations for the name was to remind of her British origin.
Sarastus has proven to be a versatile and dependable vessel on our trips in the Finnish lakes and archipelagoes. Our family of five fits in the boat relatively well, and despite of her size the boat has several sitting places to choose from.
| Name | Sarastus |
| Class | Wayfarer |
| Model | Mark 1 |
| Designer | Ian Proctor |
| Build year | 1987 |
| Builder | Porters |
| Hull | planing |
| Material | plywood (Brazilian mahogany) |
| Rig | Bermuda |
| LOA | 4.85 m (16 ft) |
| Beam | 1.83 m (1.9 ft) |
| Draft | 0.20 m (8.0 in) centreboard and rudder raised 1.17 m (3 ft 10 in) otherwise |
| Hull weight | 169 kg (373 lb) |
| Ballast | — |
| Mast height | 6.8 m (22 ft) |
| Sail area | mainsail 8.8 m² genoa 2.8 m² spinnaker 13.5 m² |
| Launching time | 20-40 minutes |
| Crew | 2-6 adults in inland waters 2-4 adults in archipelago waters |
Wayfarer’s strength is its versatility. For a sailing dinghy under five metres, the maximum crew size is considerable, although with a crew of six, the boat is so cramped that it’s better to have a couple of people sitting on the foredeck. With a crew of 2-3, the Wayfarer is at its best, as there’s plenty of room and the hull planes relatively easily. For single-handed sailing, the boat is a bit too big in rough weather.
If you would like to read more about Wayfarers, there was a good article in the Classic Boat magazine some years ago. Actually many consider it as one of the most successful sailing dinghy designs in the world. In the British Isles, Wayfarer is widely used for cruising, racing and teaching.
| Katso myös: |
Frequently Asked Questions @sv_sarastus (Instagram) Wayfarer (Classic Boat) |
Articles
The history of Sarastus as our boat is documented in the blog posts listed below. The posts marked with star are featured posts.