LEILU, the first boat completed to François Vivier’s Jewell design, promises both excellent daysailing and the possibility for adventures, all in a cruising sailboat under 20’ long.
Striking a balance between seaworthiness and ease of use in a small craft can be challenging. A too-small cabin can be claustrophobic, but a hull designed around a comfortable interior can be ungainly. Too large a boat can overpower a vehicle’s towing capability; too small, its usefulness may be limited. Too tall, a rig is hard to set up; too short, the boat’s performance may be a continual frustration. With Jewell, however, French naval architect François Vivier seems to have struck an impeccable balance.Vivier worked up the design in consultation with Clint Chase, a boatbuilder of Portland, Maine, who relayed what people were telling him they were looking for in a boat. The U.S. kits are CNC-cut by Hewes & Company of Blue Hill, Maine. As of this writing, a single hull had been completed to the new design, and another was close to launching in Switzerland.
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Steve Traficonte
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