BoatsStuart Knockabout

Stuart Knockabout

Fractional Sloop · Keel/centreboard · First built 1932

A long-lived L. Francis Herreshoff design, this slender fractional sloop pairs a deep keel with a centerboard for performance

Designed by L. Francis Herreshoff & Bill Harding, built by E&D.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 2.11 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 1,814 kg of hull, so roughly 2,400 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draftDraws 0.84 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a narrow beam gives 19 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 19
CoastalBluewater

1.75 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.75
LightHeavy

150 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 150
EasygoingPowered-up

18.5 — plenty of sail for her weight; lively and quick to respond.

Sail area / displacement 18.5
TenderStiff

60% of her weight is ballast — very stiff, carrying full sail in a blow.

Ballast 60%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Narrower than ~96% of boats her size on file

Compared with 562 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
60.0%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
18.5
Displacement / length
150.1
Comfort ratio
19.3
Capsize screening
1.75
Hull speed
6.4 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
564
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Wood
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 1932
Units built
81
Designer
L. Francis Herreshoff, Bill Harding
Builder
E&D, Ballentines's Boat Shop

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.

Macgregor 26X7.87 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA water-ballasted sail-power hybrid designed for versatile coastal cruising and easy trailering
Cal Boats 247.43 mSame hull family1.1 m shorterThe inaugural Jensen Marine Cal model, this fractional keel-centerboard sloop was built for shoal-water versatility
O'day 23-1 (Lift Top)7.01 mSame hull family1.5 m shorterA popular C. Raymond Hunt-designed masthead sloop featuring a unique lift-top coach roof for added cabin headroom
O'day 23-26.93 mSame hull family1.6 m shorterA masthead keel-centerboard sloop produced in Brazil and the U.S. for over a decade as a popular coastal cruiser
Chrysler Marine 226.71 mSame hull family1.8 m shorterA 6.7-metre masthead sloop produced as the C-22 and T-22 Sandpiper, featuring a swing keel for shallow-water access

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.

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

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

The newsletter

New boats, new stories, from everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analyzed. No noise.

Report an issue