The Shearwater III is a type of two crew racing catamaran, produced originally by G. Prout & Sons of Canvey Island, Essex, and was first sold in kit form. It is a "restricted development class".[3] According to the UK's National Maritime Museum, The Shearwater III was the world’s first production catamaran.[1]
Brothers Francis and Roland Prout were canoeists who took part in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. They worked in the family firm G. Prout & Sons Ltd, with their father, making folding canoes and dinghies. They developed their first catamaran, the Shearwater I in the early 1950s. Initially, they experimentally lashed together two K1 kayaks and added a bamboo platform and a mast and sail, and after the success of this went on to build the Shearwater I, in which they participated in local regattas. They then developed the Shearwater III.[4][5]
Shearwaters regularly field at least 15 entries at National Championships since 1998.[2]
External links
- Shearwater Catamaran - The home of the First Racing Catamaran Class Shearwater Class Association
- Moorwood, John (ed.). "The A.Y.R.S. and Multihulled Craft" (PDF). Catamarans. 1958 (22). A.Y.R.S Publications: 8 et seq.
References
- ^ a b Loveland, Graham (June 2016). "Shearwater catamaran "Yellow Bird" – BC16". National Maritime Museum. National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Shearwater". Yachts and Yachting. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "SHEARWATER III". SailboatData.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Prout Catamarans - a History". Katamarans. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ McCave, Fred. "The Prout Story". CanveyIsland.org. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
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