Feature: Classic dinghies

Gull still flying

Released in the mid seventies and discontinued in 1990, the Fairlite Gull was based on a 1957 clinker rowing dinghy design and measured 12 feet six inches by five feet in Imperial measurement with the standard 2.5:1 length-to-beam ratio for dinghies of its length at the time.

Built in the same Fairlite Plastics Gosford, NSW, factory as the 9.1m Clansman 30 yacht, the Gull was unique at the time of release because it offered buyers a choice or rowing, sailing or outboarding in one boat, whereas most Australian sailing dinghies were designed for racing only. Its roundbilge hull had a combination of concave entry and convex flare forward to cut through a low chop and provide excellent buoyancy in rougher water, while the hull rocker aft ensured the transom was slightly out of the water when unladen. The bilges were firm to provide excellent reserve stability when the hull was heeled under sail.

The true displacement hullform of the Gull ensured that it was very easy to push under oars or sail and because of the hull speed (the square root of the waterline length in feet multiplied by 1.5) of around 9.3kmh, any more than 4hp would be a waste of power.

The sailing version of the Gull had box thwarts fore and aft with side boxes aft to sit on under sail. These were attached to the midships seat which formed a stiffening point for the pivoting galvanised steel centreboard, raised by pulling on a 1:1 tackle system with a camcleat under the midships seat for locking the board up when beaching or trailering.

Two captive rowlock blocks for plastic rowlocks were fitted in each moulded sidedeck with additional sockets fore and aft for cradling the mast while trailering the boat. A cast mast step was mounted on the forward thwart with an attachment point for the 3:1 boom vang and a locking pin provided for raising the mast using the forestay. Beneath the foredeck with its chromed mooring cleat, rubber-backed fairleads and forestay and jib halyard chainplate was a storage area for ground tackle and PFDs atop an additional buoyancy tank.

Aft of the mast step and set into the sidedecks were chainplates for attaching the stays and aft of this, tracks for the jib sheets. A 1:1 pulley block for the mainsheet was attached to the cockpit floor, just ahead of a glassed-in tube that directed any rainwater beneath the aft thwart to the screw-in plastic transom drain plug. The long, deep skeg also had a separate screw-in drain plug, in essence providing an additional buoyancy compartment to those within the box thwarts. In addition to the aft rowlock block the transom crown had a socket for the detachable pivoting rudder and a plywood mounting board for an outboard. A chromed cleat was fitted to each transom quarter and plastic lifting handles to the transom.

All fittings were attached to raised mouldings incorporating encapsulated plywood backing pads, while the encapsulated outboard mounting pad was very strongly made. Overall, the mouldings were nicely finished with no rough edges under the deck mouldings and the flowcoated interior was easy to clean. Sensibly, the only brightwork on the Gull was the varnished plywood rudder and detachable tiller, both of which had locking pins to hold them in place should the boat capsize (heaven forbid in a cruising boat!).

Newcastle-based Felk Trailers supplied a custom tilt trailer for the Gull having four keel rollers, a set of wobble rollers either side of the aft roller, eight-inch wheels and a 1:1 winch. The model-84A trailer had a GVM of 340kg so even with full safety gear in the hull the Gull was well within the trailer's load limits.

Complete with rigging, sails and safety gear the towing weight is 230kg and is easily handled by my 1975 manual 1.2lt Toyota Corolla. The rig tows well and with reasonably low-wind resistance to 70kmh, which is about as fast I would want to tow a trailer having eight-inch wheels!

When launching or retrieving the Gull, immersing the axle and springs is not necessary and on retrieval, once the forefoot is on the aft roller, the hull self-aligns up to the winch post due to the wobble rollers cradling the long moulded bilge keel either side of the main keel.

The secret to powering any displacement dinghy is to down-prop the outboard so it can reach the manufacturer's recommended Wide Open Throttle rev range. The 1993 Johnson 4 supplied with our Gull is more than adequate power and swapping for the optional 6.5in pitch high-thrust alloy prop was the right choice for this hull.

Pushing a total of 310kg, including two adults and fishing tackle, the Johno averaged 9.3kmh and 4000rpm at half throttle, and 11.2kmh and 5200rpm at WOT. Across a “loop” of cruising and 10 per cent WOT operation averaging 7.5kmh, the Johno used 1.0lt/h and with its smooth-running twin-cylinder crossflow powerhead scarcely any vibration was transmitted through the hull structure.

Not so the single-cylinder four-stroke 2006 Suzuki DF2.5 also tested on this hull, which made the sidedecks visibly vibrate at certain revs. Spinning an optional 4.5in alloy weedless prop and pushing the same total load, at half throttle the averages were 9.7kmh and 4600rpm, and at WOT 11.2kmh and 5800rpm. Across the 7.5kmh loop with 10 per cent WOT operation the Suzy averaged a mere 0.42lt/h, so for greenies it's the way to go!

Into a chop to 30cm the Gull could be run at nine to 10kmh without taking any spray aboard and downwind tracked well, but like all roundbilge hulls it rolled heavily in a beam sea.

UNDER OARS AND SAIL
The two sets of rowing positions ensure the Gull rows well with two or three people aboard. One-up and using the midships thwart, the transom just touches the water and the hull gains way quickly with minimal effort using two-metre long oars. A dab of Vaseline in the rowlock blocks reduces friction to a minimum.

The high aspect-ratio three-quarter Bermudan rig of jib and battened main is entirely adequate in light to moderate breezes, although raising the constant-section aluminium mast is not an easy task for oldies like me. All the standing rigging is stainless steel. Because the mast is mounted well forward and overlapping jib is approximately half the area of the main, under jib alone and with two adults aboard (total 300kg) the Gull will point about 70 degrees off the wind upwind. In breezes up to 15kmh the Gull slips along at five to 6kmh and bit faster when reaching.

With the main up, also in the same breeze upwind, the Gull points at about 50 degrees off the wind, averaging eight to 9kmh, but not much faster when reaching or running due to the relatively low hull speed.

Although tests showed that full sail can be used in breezes to 25kmh with the jib maintaining way through gusts and the main let out, there's little point in keeping the main up in breezes of this strength. With the main furled, the main halyard can be used as a topping lift and a tarp slung over the boom for camping aboard. With the boom removed, there's plenty of space for two adults to fish from the Gull while leaving the mast and rigging erected and the jib furled.

A RARE BREED
Fishing versions of the Gull have three flowcoated plywood thwarts and underfloor buoyancy, but with its side box thwarts, the sailing version actually makes a better fishing boat. The narrow centreboard housing creates minimal intrusion on cockpit space and if swamped, the sailing version will float upright. If you see a sailing Gull in reasonable condition, don't hesitate in buying it as nowadays the fishing version outnumbers these by about three times and is nowhere near as versatile!

When buying a Gull check for stress fractures around the chainplates and transom (which can indicate overpowering) and the gunwale area for separation of the hull and deck mouldings. Also check the sails and rigging are in sound condition, and that all the rigging components are supplied as, although they are available, they're certainly not cheap.

For example, the Gull we acquired didn't have a boom vang, but we found Ronstan Australia had the correct stainless steel camcleat blocks in stock, while Anchor Marine in Sandringham, Vic, supplied the stainless steel Holt-Allen swivelling "key" for attaching the vang to the boom.

Prices vary greatly according to hull and rigging condition and not age, as during its production period the boat changed very little. When I first tested a Gull for the Newcastle Star newspaper in May 1988 it retailed for $3900 with Felk trailer, so even if you pay $2000 to $3000 nowadays, it's still excellent value for this versatile dinghy.