National Small Boat Collection

Possibly one of the earliest and simplest forms of waterborne travel, this type of boat, made from a single trunk of Goiticia, a rot-resistant hardwood, has been common on the…

This is the original Merlin Class Dinghy as built by Jack Holt in 1945 for the Ranelagh Sailing Club in West London; it is from this model that many of…

Rose of Portloe is a Cornish crabber. The term “crabber” covered all boats which fished with pots for crabs, lobsters and crayfish. They were small, well-built craft, with good load…

  This wooden clinker pulling boat was built by James Goss, a famous builder of small merchant sailing vessels and boats, and was the last boat he built before his…

The firm, G. Prout and Sons, was formed by Mr Geoffrey Prout and his sons, Roland and Francis, in 1935. The Company originally specialised in building canoes and folding dinghies…

Defiant’s long thin hull minimises drag allowing her to plane along at high speeds but, being narrow, it can easily tip over. The sliding seat allows the helmsman to sit…

On January 9th 1956 two Enterprise Dinghies crossed the Channel between Dover and Calais in the middle of the night.  This remarkable achievement rocked the sailing world and brought international…

Dinghy designers have often been driven to produce affordable practical designs which help to make sailing accessible to a wider audience. In 1935 the Yacht Racing Association – the forerunner…

In 1972 this boat saved the lives of the Robertson family as they drifted in the Pacific Ocean for 38 days. Lyn and Dougal Robertson had bought a 43ft, 1920s…