Quentin Verhaegen lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He describes it as “a Pacific island with a microclimate,” a place that is “more than beautiful most of the time.” He has lived there for 31 years with his wife and daughter (who’s currently working in London), but he was born in Belgium and his journey to Canada was far from linear. As Quentin puts it, his life has been “full of adventure.”When he finished school in Belgium Quentin was required to do national service, either military service or civic service in an underdeveloped country. He chose the latter and went to be a teacher in Morocco. While he was there, he built a boat, a 50-footer (37′ on deck) with “an enormous bowsprit, telephone poles for masts, and hand-built sails.” Then, in the middle of his tenure in Morocco, he went to Bermuda to take a course in marine biology. He met a young Swedish woman doing the same course and some time later invited her to visit him in Africa. “There was a group coming to Morocco for an expedition and I asked her to join. There were supposed to be six of us, but luckily the other four canceled. Ingrid came out, went home to finish her studies, and then came back and helped me to finish the boat.” The 24’ MacGregor sloop has a partial keel—visible here just to the right of the trailer fender—which makes it easy to launch at an ordinary boat ramp. The pivoting centerboard it housed wouldn’t be needed, so Quentin fixed the board in its raised position and ’glassed over the slot.
Photographs by Ingrid Holm
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This is a great idea and practical.
Love the boat; small, simple, and economical. I want a similar setup, a small powerboat with displacement-hull speeds and a small sailing dinghy on top.
Thank you, Quentin, Ingrid, and Jenny. Fantastic job, and great article that is really inspiring, especially for showing how to re-purpose a sound sailboat hull. I haven’t even finished my little 14-foot conversion, and now I want a bigger one — with big windows like yours!
Great job, Quentin. We are in the same camp – I repurposed Independent Shipwrights’ 21’ hull. Modeled the Pilothouse after my 30’ Willard Pilothouse.
Here’s a picture. Love your choice of hull color as well
Just love your generosity to your wife Quentin…Your own snoring parlor…
Excellent idea. Sailboats make great easily driven hulls and you can find inexpensive ones to convert.
I love your boat’s style and lines. Getting it to function well and look good is not easy.
I’m currently doing something similar. I recently rescued a 1976 Balboa 26′ SK, a boat I have always wanted. After a few months of considering what to do with it, I decided to build a motorsailer. The foredeck and part of the cabin top were delaminated from water intrusion to the core, so I’ve cut it all out internally by removing the interior ceiling. It was after this operation that I decided the boat needed more headroom. I’ve removed all the stainless and teak and am now planning my new cabin top/trunk structure. The aft end is getting a transom overhaul with a drop in motorwell, with a removable enclosure and a kick-up rudder mounted on center. The plan is to redo the interior layout with a galley to starboard and keep the original placement of the dinette but add some new woodwork and cushions. I’ve removed all the old bulkheads and knees that join the cabin top to the hull. It’s still going to have a functional sail rig but shorter and with less sail area. The original swing keel is getting removed altogether in lieu of two short bilge keels and I’m filling the old SK trunk in with a slurry mixture and glassing it over to keep about the same weight. The boat should float in less than two feet of water and launched and retrieved from a flat trailer. The boat is slated to be my Great Loop cruiser, as I bought a few acres of property on Kentucky Lake, which is on the Loop. I’m planning on spending my days exploring the estuaries and tributaries in that area for the next decade or so. When I’m finished, I really want to build a Mustelid—I’m in love with that boat—but found it just as I was getting the Balboa ready for it’s trip home…so many boats and so little time.
I’ve long contemplated the same sort of conversion, but want to be able to beach, so am leery of any protruding keel. Plan is on hold for now, as I’m acquiring a Bolger Micro this summer, so anticipate sailing for a bit more time. I’ve leaned towards MacGregors, Aquarius, or Catalina 22, but am open for suggestions. Maybe someday I’ll just have to convert the Micro in spite of the keel.
Great use of an older sail boat hull. I have been thinking of the same idea. Love the look of your boat, nice job.
Awesome Idea! I am working on an older West Wight Potter 19, turning its semi-displacement hull into a little trawler! I ordered a few sheets of fiberglass Coosa board, several gallons of epoxy and different weight cloth, and 6 RV 22″ x 15″ screened opening windows. I found out this week my Suzuki 25″ 9.9hp outboard finally arrived from Japan and should be in NJ in 10 days. I can’t wait till it warms up a little to get to working on my beachable trailered boat!