BoatsMidshipman (Tucker)

Midshipman (Tucker)

Gunter · Twin keels · First built 1960

A Robert Tucker design featuring a unique tubular steel skeg and twin bilge plates for effortless drying out

Designed by Robert Tucker, built by Hurley Marine Ltd.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Twin Keel

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 1.83 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 295 kg of hull, so roughly 900 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 295 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.36 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a beamy beam gives 8 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 8
CoastalBluewater

At 2.77 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.77
LightHeavy

209 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 209
EasygoingPowered-up

22.4 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 22.4
TenderStiff

31% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 31%

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Draws less than ~98% of boats her size on file
  • Narrower than ~84% of boats her size on file

Compared with 44 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
30.9%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Gunter
Ratios
SA / displacement
22.4
Displacement / length
209.3
Comfort ratio
7.7
Capsize screening
2.77
Hull speed
4.5 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
239
Hull
Hull type
Twin Keel
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1960
Designer
Robert Tucker
Builder
Hurley Marine Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Birdyfish S4.20 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 4.2-metre foiling monohull with a 100kg displacement and a high-performance Marconi cat rig
Can a Normal Sailor Actually Buy a Foiling Dinghy Now?2:23from Practical Sailor

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Tideway DinghyA mahogany-on-oak 12-foot Gunter-rigged dinghy designed by L. H. Walker that remains in production for racing and day sailingMatilda 20A 1971 Robert Tucker design featuring a lifting keel and a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited light-air sailing

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Midshipman (Tucker)

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