Launching SWIFTY, a Caledonia Yawl

Geoff Kerr, of Two Daughters Boatworks in Westford, Vermont, has been building Caledonia Yawls for 23 years. He's taught at WoodenBoat School for about half that long. In 2014, he led a class of 7 students in the construction of Caledonia Yawl that would become part of the school's fleet. The school named the boat SWIFTY, after Gordon Swift, who also taught at the school for many years.
The design is by Iain Oughtred. Plans are available from The WoodenBoat Store. The link to download study plans is: www.woodenboats....
Students at the WoodenBoat School have the opportunity to sail SWIFTY and more than 20 other boats during their stay at the school,
www.thewoodenboatschool.com.

[@philmoredennie526]

Wonderfully crafted ..nice job, thank you for sharing.

[@JustaPilot1]

Absolutely beautiful Geoff. You are an artist.

[@toddjeffries1909]

Gorgeous!! Nice work Big Bro!!

[@nickbenfell7109]

I have not seen a Caledonia Yawl in the flesh so as to speak and from afar I am admirer of the aesthetics of the design and surely it is a work of art. But.... that leeward gunwale while sailing in light winds was perilously close to the water and any sort of wave would have slopped over it. I would be very nervous sailing that boat when wind and waves got up. Does it have a false floor? Secondly forward sloping rudders aesthetic value maybe efficient no. Any comments? I have sailed for over 50 years in many different yachts from dinghies to keelers.

[@wesleybrooks3490]

Hi Nick, There are floorboards in the boat, but not a double-bottom or self-draining cockpit. It's an open boat and has to be sailed carefully. However, the Caledonia Yawl develops a ton of righting moment as it heels, so there is absolutely no danger with the sailing in this video. As the top plank gets pushed to the water, the boats waterline length increases dramatically (a feature of double-ended boats), and the enormous volume of the midsections becomes flotation that resists any further heel. It's a fantastic design.