Laurent Giles Vertue

Full specification

Wooden ships comments on this Laurent Giles Vertue

Designed before the war and has become probably the most celebrated small cruiser ever, largely due to the amazing voyages made in these tough little ships.

It was Humphrey Barton who made the design’s reputation in his blue water voyages in Vertue XXXV, also for sale from Wooden Ships, and Hiscock spoke highly of the design. He engaged Laurent Giles to design his Wanderer 2 and 3 both designs owing much to the Vertue.

Since these first extended voyages in the 1950’s and 60’s proving that a well-designed and built small yacht could sail safely off-shore, many Vertues have made similar and longer voyages and a Trans-Atlantic voyage in a Vertue is nowadays regarded as totally normal though still just as challenging.

The early boats had very short coach-roofs with sitting head-room below. After the war, the topsides were raised by a plank and a much bigger coach-roof added extending forward of the mast and raised to a dog-house aft so that Vertues are often identified as “long” or “short” dog-house models, there being only a few inches difference but seen as a one window or two dog-house. This one is the short dog-house model with a single window.

Built in 1947 by Elkins of Christchurch.

 Planked in Brazilian mahogany above the waterline, Burmese teak below fastened to oak timbers with bronze screws.

Oak backbone with lead keel and bronze keel bolts.

Metal strap floors.

Tongue and groove pitch pine deck sheathed in GRP and finished in cream non-slip deck paint and varnished king plank.

Teak coachroof coachroof coamings with bronze portholes and windows.  Painted plywood coachroof.Varnished hand rails on dog house roof and coachroof with hinged forehatch.

High upstanding toe rail all round.  Bronze stem head fittings with twin chain rollers.  Sampson post on the foredeck with manual windlass just aft.  Stainless steel pulpit with s/s stanchions and guard wires.

Clear side decks with small aft deck.  Varnished teak wishbone bumpkin bolted to the deck.  S/S pushpit.

Varnished teak cockpit with bench thwarts either side.  Sliding hatch and wash boards into the cabin.

Accommodation  2 berths.

Typical Vertue layout of the interior with 2 berths in the saloon and heads and storage forward.  Some of the boats have pipecots in the forepeak to provide extra berths, but they tend to be small and not very useful.  It is also not uncommon to see a quarter berth on the starboard side going into the cockpit locker with a removable chart desk over the top

Steps down through the hatch into the saloon.  Aft of the steps are hinged doors giving access to the engine space.

Galley to port with 2 burner paraffin stove and galley sink draining overboard.  Storage lockers behind and below the galley giving suitable space.

Chart desk to starboard with suitable working space and lockers under.  Switch board on the bulkhead above the chart desk.

Port and starboard settee berths with blue vinyl covered cushions and lee cloths.  Starboard berth has a trotter box at the forward end and one at the aft end on the port side, giving full length berths without compromising the work area in the galley and chart area.

Varnished teak cabin sole boards.

Door through to forepeak with varnished pine sole boards.  Baby Blake sea toilet on the centre line facing aft, hidden beneath varnished teak joinery.  Chain locker forward of the heads with plebty of space for storage of sails, fenders and warps.

Rig

Typical Vertue rig, known as a Bermudan ‘slutter’.  This is where the inner forestay is on a Highfield lever and therefore removable, so she can be sailed as a sloop or a cutter.

Original varnished spruce twin spreader mast, deck stepped in a galvanised tabernacle on the coachroof.  Varnished spruce slab reefing boom.  Reefing lines all led aft to the cockpit.  Varnished bumpkin.

Stainless steel standing rigging renewed in 2007.

Twin lower shrouds and single cap shroud to stainless steel rigging screws onto internal bronze chainplates.

Single standing backstay to bumpkin with twin running backstays on highfield levers.

Forestay with Plastimo roller furler and inner forestay on highfield lever.

Pair of self tailing winches on the cockpit coamings.

Good sail wardrobe that has been updated and replaced when necessary.

Mainsail                       2009                James Lawrence                      V. Good

No.1 Genoa                 2009                Mussett                                        V. Good

No.1 Jib                       2007                                                                       V. Good

Storm jib                      Original                                                                 Servicable

Machinery

Beta 2cyl 13Hp marine diesel installed new in 2000.  Only 400 engine hours.

Beta gearbox with single lever controls to stainless steel shaft and 3 blade bronze propeller gives 4.5kt cruising speed at 1/3 gallon/hour.

Engine serviced regularly and in good condition.

Single 90aH 12volt battery charged from the engine alternator with provision for a second battery.

5 gallon stainless steel fuel tank under the bridge deck.

Inventory

Sestrel Morse compass

Garmin GPS

Yeoman chartplotter

Navman 7100 DSC VHF

Raymarine echosounder

Trailing log

2 fire extinguishers

Electric and manual bilge pumps

Bruce 7.5kg anchor

25m chain + warp

Kedge anchor

Warps and fenders

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.