Frank Pedersen is a man of enthusiasms. Before setting out on a new boat project in 2002, he had owned a variety of modest-sized boats in his days, and he had also built a Wayfarer dinghy for himself. Over the years, he had gained enough experience to know what he liked and wanted in a boat. He studied hull forms, especially those of planing hulls, and when he felt ready he set out on a quest to design one for himself.

WINDSPRITEPhoto by Andrew SIms/Wavelength Studios

WINDSPRITE has had good showings in such races as the 2005 Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, during which this photograph was taken.

He wanted a hull that would be fast, that would plane when the wind conditions were just right, something that would give him the thrill of surfing down the front of a following sea. At the same time, simplicity and low cost remained constant priorities for him. “I read everything I could find,” he said, and began working up some preliminary sketches.

Read this article now for Free!

Enter your email address to finish reading this article now.

— OR —

Subscribe now for $29.99 a year! You'll have access to our new issues as they are published, and access to our entire archive of back issues, starting with our inaugural issue in September 2014. Subscribers can also post unlimited classified ads. This is an extraordinary value!