I have sailed a couple of twilight and Wednesday RPESC races on a couple of these converted Etchells.
The basic Etchell are around for $3-4-5-6k in ok condition.
i am pondering a poor man's conversion. Teak decks and coamings etc seem heavy and unnecessary.
remove pedestal, add seats, get rid of the endless tweakers.
A super simple sail plan, simple furller possible self tracker and execution of controls set up for short hand and even solo ( I have no friends) / ( doesn't play well with others).
Any collective thoughts?
Yes,just open up the cockpit/install seating,and get an autohelm = for the joy of sailing !
Pretty sure I remember from the dim dark past people converting them so that a small cabin can be isolated so that presumably they can't sink if they take a wave offshore.
Probably the added weight ruins the sailing characteristics but I guess it depends upon how you intend to use the yacht.
Select to expand quoteSoloCMV said..
I have sailed a couple of twilight and Wednesday RPESC races on a couple of these converted Etchells.
The basic Etchell are around for $3-4-5-6k in ok condition.
i am pondering a poor man's conversion. Teak decks and coamings etc seem heavy and unnecessary.
remove pedestal, add seats, get rid of the endless tweakers.
A super simple sail plan, simple furller possible self tracker and execution of controls set up for short hand and even solo ( I have no friends) / ( doesn't play well with others).
Any collective thoughts?
I've got an Etchells mast and main on the old boat, and I've raced them a bit. The standard heavily-filled dacron main isn't always the easiest thing to hoist, given the normal halyard exit position. You may want to modify the halyard setup (although I haven't used one in eons and the new ones may be better) and fit some sort of pre-feeder below the luff groove slot.
Select to expand quotejulesmoto said..
Pretty sure I remember from the dim dark past people converting them so that a small cabin can be isolated so that presumably they can't sink if they take a wave offshore.
Probably the added weight ruins the sailing characteristics but I guess it depends upon how you intend to use the yacht.
Hilweh III had a self draining cockpit, runners and a tiny cabin top and went very well for a while, winning a JOG championship. She did slam upwind so was eventually fitted with a deeper and uglier bow.
There were also Solings fitted with a much prettier lid that gave them more room down below, although they were still not exactly huge. One of them (Longshot) won a JOG nationals and I sailed it a bit in its dotage.
Modified YW Diamond for offshore.......
www.yachtingworld.com/extraordinary-boats/extraordinary-boats-the-yachting-world-diamond-from-design-to-deck-150892
www.sail-world.com/Australia/Saltash-II-freak-and-most-famous-Diamond-ever/-42527?source=google
In 1969 I used to race a Bosuns Dinghy on the Swan River in a club that had mixed fleet racing. There were 4 or 5 Diamonds there with small open cuddy cabins. The breeze was nearly always fresh and I was jealous of the comforts the Diamonds had.
Although it's adding a lot of weight, I just love the stern extension and cockpit they did to this Etchells to make it a bit more traditional looking! 
afloat.ie/sail/sailing-classes/etchells/item/35869-etchells-22-super-de-luxe-heads-for-crosshaven
Select to expand quoteJethrow said..
Although it's adding a lot of weight, I just love the stern extension and cockpit they did to this Etchells to make it a bit more traditional looking!
afloat.ie/sail/sailing-classes/etchells/item/35869-etchells-22-super-de-luxe-heads-for-crosshaven
Wow that results in a boat with the rudder a long way forward. Also a fairly large yacht to have no motor unless one was added.
Heres another one. I renovated this Gentlemans Etchells from bow to stern for the owner. It has a cuddy cabin without ports and also an outboard well in the cockpit - you can see the top of an aluminium frame used to lower the motor through the hull. Both were professionally fitted. The owner uses an electric outboard that regenerates power back to its battery when in neutral. The pedestal was removed, and lines run to cabintop or cockpit.
Azure,
That looks amazing. Don't think I would bother with this cabin 'et'
open the cockpit, add seats, add a thick gunnel to keep splash out but thick enough ( 2 inches) so when racing with weight up it was vaguely comfortable/ tolerable.
Both the ones I've been on were electric which seems a nice idea. ( possibly advancing tech will lower the entry price)
It feels like unchecked a good hill at a giveaway price, that can perform as a beer can and Wednesday afternoon bash around the pins in the bay.
Select to expand quoteJethrow said..
Although it's adding a lot of weight, I just love the stern extension and cockpit they did to this Etchells to make it a bit more traditional looking!
afloat.ie/sail/sailing-classes/etchells/item/35869-etchells-22-super-de-luxe-heads-for-crosshaven
I've seen this, but the weight and the build cost, probably not useful around the cans. Very nice rendition of a Gentleman's yatch.
I've been offered a Swanson Dart at almost no money. I will go and have a look but this looks like almost what I'm after without any modifications.
open cockpit, a couple of seats, simple sail plan. But I cannot find much about them.
I've had a Swanson 36 and loved it, but did Ron draw these just as well?
I could never understand why more people don't sail Swanson Darts! Most of us would just be better off if we sailed Darts. Ideal boats for Sydney Harbour, Jervis Bay and Lake Illawarra etc.
boatgen.com.au/Ron%20Swanson
