Jewell – François Vivier Architecte Naval (2024)

6 m trailerable yawl for day-sailing and raid

Jewell came from adiscussion with Clint Chase, a boat-building partner in North America. As a family friendly day boat, she has to meet the following main requirements:

• To be trailerable by an ordinary car, and therefore light, and be able to beach temporarily for loading/unloading.
• To have a large, wide and deep co*ckpit, comfortable, allowing for fishing and a place where children could be safe.
• To have a stable hull for family sailing but give excellent performance for weekend sails “with the guys”.
• To have a cuddy cabin, with a toilet for women and children, a small galley to heat some meals and two berths to spend a night or two on board, or for napping.

We also made the choice of a yawl rig, because it is beautiful and very convenient to use, it proved to be fast, and also because Americans are fond of yawls. I was happy to make something different than the gaff sloop I generally prefer on such a day-boat (Stir-Ven, Beniguet, Lilou…). The yawl rig is very versatile, allowing one to sail under main only, or under mizzen and jib. The mizzen also allows the boat to safely point into the wind, tending itself while the skipper starts the motor, puts in a reef, or entertains the kids. In Jewell, the main mast is shorter and lighter, so easier to step. In addition, we intend to make the masts hollow-birdsmouth construction and use Dyneema shrouds, both light and easier to handle. The jib has overlap in order to improve pointing ability. It is always a mania for me to design fast boats, especially to windward, as it is also the best for safety. The jib is small, so can be easily tacked even if single-handed. The mizzen is a simple standing lug (stores in the cabin) improved with a foot flexible batten. The long boomkin crosses the transom, under deck, and is easily pulled into the boat for trailering.

Jewell is designed to be made both by home builders or professionals. She is plywood lapstrake-built, over plywood bulkheads. Even the backbone, incorporating the centre-board case, is made of several layers of plywood. A CNC pre-cut kit is available for home builders and is also used, of course, by professionals as it save a lot of working time. The kit includes all moulds and supports, allowing one to erect the hull without the need of a yardstick! All planking features an interlocking zigzag scarf to accurately align the pre-cut planks. Hull construction is kept light: 9 or 12 mm thick Okoume (Gaboon) plywood in order to have a lightweight boat but a sturdy one able to withstand trailering and the hazards of any adventurous sailing along the coast. The co*ckpit is made of two parts, a classic co*ckpit aft and an open full width co*ckpit forward. The co*ckpit is watertight and self draining. Recesses are fitted on sides to collect water and have it drained through Elvström type bailers in order to allow draining when the boat is heeled under sail. It will be possible to leave out the false co*ckpit floor in the case an owner did not need the self draining co*ckpit or wanted the extra co*ckpit depth and stowage under floorboards. There is an elegant, low and rounded coaming around the co*ckpit making it is possible to sit comfortably on the side decks. You may also sit on the aft side lockers, on the bridge-deck and also on the co*ckpit floorboard: very comfortable and well protected! Children and an adult can sit in the fore co*ckpit area out of the way of the mainsheet.

A 3 to 4 hp motor long shaft motor mounts in a cut-out in the transom. When the motor is stowed into the dedicated locker, a removable shutter (filler piece) drops into place. There is no visible cut-out into the transom and the boat looks unaffected. A Torqeedo 1003 electric motor is an excellent alternative to a gasoline motor. As usual on my designs, there is a scull notch into the transom head and 3 m long oars may be stowed inside. It is possible to row from the bridge deck (two rowers side by side) as on Stir-Ven.

The cabin has been drawn to give a enough comfort for short overnight jaunts and day-long excursions. In particular, there is sitting headroom, including the porta-potti toilet which is located at the deepest place. The berths are very long for comfort. The galley corner may be arranged as you like with a small stove. As there is no water ballast, you will find a lot of stowage space, including space for a cooler under the bridge-deck. Jewell is designed according to the EC and ISO safety rules in design category C (coastal sailing). She is unsinkable and complies with the wind stiffness test. After the first unit built by French & Webb is the USA, several Jewell have been built in Germany, Australia, Canada, UK, USA and France, and others are being built.