In the Beginning . . .

Terry Marsh

IN THE BEGINNING was Richard Hartley and the need for yachts more commodious than dinghies yet trailable behind the increasingly-common family car; something a small family could build over the winter, cruise in during the holidays and race on weekends. Marine plywood was becoming available during the late nineteen-fifties and Hartley designed a sixteen-foot yacht which evolved into the TS-16, the first trailer-sailer.

The shallow vee bottom and double chines approximated the shape of the patiki yachts Hartley admired, and a galvanised-iron swinging centreplate approximated a keel. Although it looks heavily built, the displacement is only 363 kilos. These days one might built it stitch-and-tape, which is both stronger and lighter than using chine logs; the bend in these timbers forward usually causes at least one to break during construction.

The design was an enormous success and got thousands of families on the water worldwide. Something over 6,000 have been built and most of those are apparently still sailing, or at least motoring. It remains one of the most popular trailer yachts in New Zealand. Wide beam and light displacement make it easy to launch (on a good ramp the trailer hubs stay dry) and the rig is simple. One person can raise the mast and get sailing in 10 or 15 minutes. There are no winches or expensive go-fasts, and the hull's stability reassures nervous family members. It will plane without much fuss and, with a boom tent, sleep four people.

Many Hartley 16s were built as inboard launches and served very successfully as long as the power was kept low, equivalent to the original Ford 10. Outboards larger than 25hp don't do much good. Ageing TS-16s are often seen without sailing gear, motoring about. The cockpit is ideal for fishing. Some have also been built as keelers.

	Some vital statistics LOA BMax Draught Displacement Sails Main^Align Jib^Align Spinnaker^Align	5.03 m 2.24 m 0.33 m 363 kg 11.1 m² 5.1 m² 10.86 m²
Hartley TS-16. Copyright ^©Hartley & Brookes Associates, PO Box 33-1094, Takapuna.

Hartley later designed 18, 21 and 14-foot variations on the theme, but none was as successful as the original. The larger versions needed ballast to keep them on their feet, so were harder to launch and less exhilarating to sail, but proved popular on lakes, where flat water let them show their best qualities. The TS-18 has four berths, a galley and space for a Porta-Potti inside. A fibreglass version of the TS-16 was manufactured in Rotorua for a while, but (fibreglass being much heavier than wood) was 100kg overweight and so harder to launch, and slower than the original. In Tauranga and other well-governed places there are good launching facilities with floats to tie boats to while vehicles are being parked, but in the Auckland area there are few safe launching ramps (none in the North Shore), so launching a large trailer yacht is likely to lead to injury of crew members. Consequently, larger and more expensive trailer yachts in Auckland spend their lives gathering bird droppings while cheap 'n' cheerful sixteens sail nearly every weekend.

The little yachts are safe and seaworthy: a woman told me of her surprise at seeing Rangitoto sink over the horizon on her family's cruise out to Great Barrier, where they spent many happy days fishing, exploring and camping. A man who has been sailing sixteens for 26 years says he uses his primarily as a fishing boat (with a 15hp outboard) around the Manukau Heads, but he still wins races on Sundays. One adventurous soul sailed his across the Tasman.

There are yacht clubs throughout the country with a fondness for TS-16s. In the Auckland area the Manukau Yacht & Motor Boat Club at Mangere Bridge is especially fond of them, and a good source of information. They seem most active on Sundays on both sides of high tide (the ramp's dry at low tide). One recent race was won by an eight-year-old helmswoman and the place is aswarm with kids training on dinghies.

Hartley TS-16s are sturdy and long-lived, but don't like to sit with rain water in the bilges. If you're looking to buy one, check out where the sun don't shine to make sure rot hasn't set in. Some tend to seep a bit around the centreboard case if they're dry; chuck in a bucket of salt water the night before launching and the seams will "take up" and prove trouble free.

They are often available for less than $1000, and there must be thousands sitting half-forgotten in the back of urban sections. Ya wanta go sailing? Here's your chance. It's faster than a whole lot of small keelers, funner than a superyacht and cheaper than a course of Viagra or (gagg) a P-class.

Price range $200 - 10,000 (Ya gets what ya pays for, or a great deal more sometimes.)