Wayfarers

Hi from Turkey !!! for a long time I want to have a wayfarer it is almost impossible to buy one because I could not find any wayfarer for sale in Turkey and Cyprus so I want to build a wayfarer

But as far as I understand the plans of the wayfarer have never been published or no link is available anymore Many people have suggested different designs but for me no design is as impressive as a wayfarer I wonder why no one has drawn the plans to increase the number of wooden wayfarers I wonder if anyone is interested in drawing a wooden wayfarer plan ? I have sent an e-mail to several boat designers but none of them have come up with the idea of drawing a wooden wayfarer plan

 

The simple answer is copyright.Ian Proctor was a good and careful businessman and never released the plans to any person or organisation,other than the licensed builders.It meant that the boats were closely controlled and all the same-within quite tight tolerances.The most basic kit that was made available was an undecked wooden hull that had the deckbeams in place to lock in the hull shape and they could be completed by amateurs.The current builder has invested a lot of money in new tooling and would be unlikely to welcome a rival.It would be possible to build a quite similar boat and perhaps even to use the same size sails but calling it a Wayfarer would be wrong.

You might find it easier to locate a Laser Stratos that has done a few seasons at one of the sailing schools in the Ionian Sea and it won't be too far away from what a Wayfarer is.

 

Everything depends on the relative importance of getting hold specifically of a Wayfarer and nothing else, getting hold of a boat that can do the same things, building yourself (do you enjoy building or would you only do it to get the boat you want), and cost.

With the Wayfarer not being in the public domain, you could spend a fair bit of money on ordering and importing a new one.

If money is your main constraint and you just want to sail, wet feet's advice is good. Buying second hand is often cheaper than building, so buy the closest to a Wayfarer you can find. If you haven't already joined the Dinghy Cruising Association, do, and you will find lots of information on the variety of boats people have used and how they modified them to suit their purposes. Look up relevant youtube channels, like those of Roger Barnes of the Dinghy Cruising Association (https://www.youtube.com/@RogerRoving), Igor Stropnik (https://www.youtube.com/@igorstropnik), and just search for "dinghy cruising".

You could build a design intended for the same use as the Wayfarer. John Welsford has several such designs, and was invited by the Dinghy Cruising Association to give a talk: John Welsford talks about designing boats https://www.dinghycruising.life/john-welsford-talks-about-designing-boats.html

The Slider catamaran was designed for much the same purpose as the Wayfarer: https://www.youtube.com/@knobmaker

Also look up the Open Canoe Sailing Group: Open Canoe Sailing Group - for canoe sailors across the UK https://www.ocsg.org.uk/ The OCSG is all about turning canoes into sailing craft that can do much the same job as cruising dinghies, and I expect second-hand canoes can be found in Turkey.

Finally, read accounts of people who have done what you want to do with a Wayfarer, and see how important the boat is. Here are some I can think of right now:

Grillabongquixotic's Blog https://grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com/ is the blog of someone who built a proa based on a Gary Dierking design, and sailed along the coast of Mexico. You need to go back to the beginning of the blog.

In "The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow" (https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-unlikely-voyage-of-jack-de-crow/a-j-mackinnon/9781574091526), A. J. McKinnon tells how he planned to sail a Mirror dinghy just a little bit down the river, and things escalated until he found himself in the Black Sea.

I can also recommend "Sailing Just For Fun" and "In Shoal Waters", by A. C. Stock.

"Beach Cruising and Coastal Camping" by Ida Little and Michael Walsh is also very informative.

If you just can't get a Wayfarer with the money you have, then these sources should help you select another boat that does what you want.

 

Check out "Stornoway 16" GP Dinghies over 13' (selway-fisher.com)
and Highlander 16 Dayboat Highlanders (selway-fisher.com)



If it a Wayfarer and nothing else, you will have to look at importing one.

 

Falcon Sailing (later Sovereign Sailing, which then became Sunworld) had a sailing holiday base at Bitez (not too far from Bodrum) in the 90's - I think they eventually got bought out by another holiday company.
They had a fleet of probably 10 Wayfarers at Bitez, which had (I think) been brought out from England on trailers behind cars - it is probable that these Wayfarers are still in Turkey somewhe2re, perhaps in the general vicinity of the Bodrum area?

 

@M4R1N,
I was in turkey last year and there seemed to be an active sailing scene anywhere from Istanbul to Marmaris. Although, I didn't see much in the way of dinghy sailing.

There are a lot of chandleries and marine supply shops In Marmaris. Çeşme also has an active sailing fleet. I would guess anywhere along the Adriatic would be fruitful.

If the boat doesn't have to be a Wayfarer, I'll bet you could find a similar boat anywhere from Izmir to Çeşme.

I did not get to visit the Black Sea, but, as you know, Turkey has a lot of coast. There has to be great boats for sale without having to trailer a Wayfarer from England.

-Will