Pathfinder Yawl Rig
Description
TheJohn Welsford's Pathfinder is a 17 ft (5.18 m) plywood-epoxy, lug-rigged sailing dinghy designed in 2003 by New Zealand naval architect John Welsford for amateur builders seeking a versatile, trailerable coastal cruiser capable of day sailing, overnight adventures, and short offshore passages with family or solo. Featuring a shallow-draft centerboard hull built from 6 mm marine plywood over stringers using stitch-and-glue construction, it weighs approximately 350–400 lbs. (159–181 kg), carries 100–150 kg of water ballast for stability, and offers a spacious cockpit for four adults plus watertight flotation and a boom tent for sleeping two. The standard balanced lug yawl rig (105 ft² / 9.8 m² total sail area) on unstayed aluminum masts enables easy rigging, reefing, and self-tacking, while efficient rowing with 8–9 ft oars and a hull speed of 6–7 knots under sail make it ideal for sheltered waters; hundreds have been built worldwide from detailed plans sold via jwboatdesigns.co.nz, Duckworks, and WoodenBoat Store,
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
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| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
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Documents
Sails
Pathfinder Yawl Rig - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 12.6 ft - (3840 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 6.56 ft - (1999 mm) |
| Leech | 11 ft - (3353 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.81 ° |
| Area | * 36.06 ft² |
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Pathfinder Yawl Rig - MIZZEN
| Luff | 10.072 ft - (3070 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 5.085 ft - (1550 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | 10.47 ft - (3191 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 80.42 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 10.5 ft - (3200 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 2 in - (51 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 26.11 ft² |
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Pathfinder Yawl Rig - GAFF MAIN
| Luff | 9.678 ft - (2950 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.789 ft - (2679 mm) |
| Leech | 14.36 ft - (4377 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 84.28 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 12.408 ft - (3782 mm) |
| Head | 6.89 ft - (2100 mm) |
| Area | * 85.05 ft² |
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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.