Chula

Description

The Chula is a small, elegant sailing dinghy designed by Eric W. Sponberg (a naval architect known for various yacht and small craft designs) as a custom tender for a client building a 50-foot motorsailer in Ventura, California; the name "Chula" comes from Spanish for "beautiful," reflecting its intended charm and aesthetics. It was a one-off or very limited design (Sponberg built a personal example himself in his basement), with no widespread production—likely just a handful of boats constructed from plans or custom builds since its creation around the late 20th century (exact dates not widely published, but featured in his portfolio from 2017 retrospectives). Special features include a sprit rig originally (chosen so all spars could stow inside the boat's length for compact tender use), later modified by Sponberg to a cat rig (unstayed single sail) for improved sailing performance, lightweight wood construction (suitable for home building), graceful lines for beauty as a yacht tender, good sailing ability in light-to-moderate conditions, shallow draft for beaching/launching, and versatility as a daysailer or tender—praised for handling well after the rig change and being a fun, pretty little boat.