Fulmar By Ian Oughtred
Description
The Fulmar is a 16 ft 8 in (5.1 m) lapstrake (clinker-built) plywood sailing dinghy designed by renowned Scottish naval architect Iain Oughtred as part of his family of performance dayboats, including the smaller Sheerwater and Gannet. Introduced in the 1990s and cataloged as Plan 43, it features elegant lines, a generous beam (5 ft 10 in / 1.78 m), wide flat stern for planning capability in strong winds, and a shallow draft of about 4 in (0.1 m) with the centerboard up, making it ideal for family day sailing, racing, picnics, or short cruises with a crew of 2–4. The balanced lug yawl rig offers 153 sq ft (14.2 m²) of sail area for responsive handling and seaworthiness, though it's noted as tender and exciting—best for experienced sailors—while lightweight Technora sails can reduce heeling. Built primarily by amateurs from detailed plans (available for about $200 from sources like woodenboatstore.com or oughtredboats.com), it emphasizes glued-lapstrake construction for strength and beauty,
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 14.5 ft - (4420 mm) |
| Foot | 6.33 ft - (1929 mm) |
| Leech | 12.5 ft - (3810 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | 5.44 ft - (1658 mm) |
| Area | * 39.41 ft² |
| Sail Type | GAFF MAIN |
|---|---|
| Luff | 10.75 ft - (3277 mm) |
| Foot | 10.33 ft - (3149 mm) |
| Leech | 19.75 ft - (6020 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 85.04 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 14.25 ft - (4343 mm) |
| Head | 11 ft - (3353 mm) |
| Area | * 131.94 ft² |
| Sail Type | LEG-O-MUTTON |
|---|---|
| Luff | 9.75 ft - (2972 mm) |
| Foot | 5 ft - (1524 mm) |
| Leech | * 9.4 ft - (2865 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 72.2 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Head (Inches) | 2 |
| Area | * 23.84 ft² |
| Sail Type | LUGSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 10.75 ft - (3277 mm) |
| Foot | 10.33 ft - (3149 mm) |
| Leech | 19.75 ft - (6020 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 85.04 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 14.25 ft - (4343 mm) |
| Head | 11 ft - (3353 mm) |
| Area | * 131.94 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.