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Erm? They're Clive and Les aren't they?

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Quintet

Read more about Quintet, the boat that will carry our adventurers on their journey.

New: See the boys in action sailing Quintet outside Poole

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Quintet

Quintet is a traditional cutter, built in 1953 to a design from the drawing board of Reg Freeman of Hordle near Lymington.

She was built by E. W. Sutton of Great Wakering, Essex. She is carvel construction, mahogany planks on oak frames.

Lloyds Registration 186524 now British Reg. Part 1. Sail number 835.

Principle dimensions are:

She has a full length keel supplemented by an oak centreboard to provide pointing ability and helm balance.

She carries a Bermudan rig on wooden spars with a single set of spreaders and fixed backstay. The inner forestay opposes running backstays tensioned by Hi-field levers. The outer forestay is led to a short bowsprit.

Plain sails are tan. Foresails are hanked on. The Mainsail is roller reefed using a bronze cast ratchet turned by a built in lever arm. Spinnakers are carried.

Auxiliary power is provided by a Perkins 4.107 diesel engine driving a 3 blade propellor.

Below decks she has two berths in a forepeak which also contains chain locker and kedge anchor and warp as well as spare and downwind sails.

Just forward of the mast is a head with a splendid fold down washbasin in a mahogany cabinet and a sea toilet. Opposite is a hanging locker with stowage over.

The saloon is cosily upholsterered with bright red cushions. Deck head and cabin sides are painted white. There is a settee berth on the starboard side with stowage behind the back cushion. On the port side a one and a half which berth is at sitting level with a single berth above.

The galley has been refitted with a two burner spirit stove and sink set in an ‘L’ shaped worktop with pots and pans and garbage disposal bin stowed beneath. Crocks are stowed in hanging racks, and a small cutlery drawer slides underneath. There are racks for condiments and small regularly used items. But the main food stowage is in the coolbox and cupboard stowage on the other side of the centerboard case.

The chart table is installed in the doghouse, added to the boat when it was converted from ketch to Bermudan rig. This allows one to work on navigational tasks in close communication with the helmsman. Tools are stowed under the nav seat.

The cockpit is small and cosy and hardly suited to large parties but it gives a feeling of security and allows all sail trimming adjustments from its safety. Sail changes all require work at the mast.

The surveyor wrote: ‘The origin and early history of “Quintet” are well documented in the entries of Lloyds Register of Yachts. It appears that she has excellent provenance. She is also remarkably free of clumsy DIY modifications that often plague older boats and eventually lead to their loss of character and watertight integrity. In her 51 years afloat “Quintet” has been fortunate to have had few different owners……. maintenance work over the years has been far-reaching and extensive…….. Past projects have included such major items as dropping the keel and replacing the bolts, burning off all the paint and building up again from scratch, re-decking with plywood over the tongue and groove layer, re-engining, replacing the rudder and numerous smaller projects. This has all been enormously effective in keeping her at an excellent standard for her age.

Clive may no longer agree completely with the ‘remarkably free of clumsy DIY modifications’ after his major refitting this last winter. But Quintet is certainly in good condition for her years and has even been improved by the professional maintenance activities of this last winter.