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The man behind the name 'Trailer Sailers', and
in particular the legendry 'TS16', was Richard Hartley. Born
in England in Tresco on the Isles of Scilly, he was brought to
New Zealand by his family at an early age. He spent much of his
life building and designing small craft for the New Zealand home-build
market. The phrase 'Build Your Own Boat', is synonymous with
Hartley's. Up until the 1950's most N.Z. small sailing cruisers
were converted ex fishing boats (known as Mullet boats). Their
rigs were cut down, and small cabins added or converted for better
accommodation. Unfortunately with their heavier construction
and often necessary heavy ballast, they were not ideal to trailer
home for out of season storage. In the 1950's Richard designed
a boat which was a combination of centreboard dinghy and half-cabin
yacht based on the lines of these famous 'Mullet boats', and
marketed plans for the home builder for it under the name 'Chuckles',
(to this day the Chuckles is still being built in small numbers).
Below is a picture of a Hartley 'Chuckles', a trailable small
sailboat and forerunner of the first 'Trailer Sailer's'. |
