Nancy's China

Nancy's China is probably the most popular design in the Devlin Catalog. The name is a tongue-in-cheek observation that the finished boat should cost about as much as one new place setting of the then-new White House China.

The original design had a stay less sprit sail sloop sail plan and a dagger board type hull. The result was an easy to handle, easy to set up from trailer and enjoyable boat that was an instant success for Devlin Designing Boatbuilders. Recently, Sam dusted off the old drawings and reviewed the design, to add a couple of different sailing rigs for her. She can handle comfortably a couple for sailing and in a pinch, more of a crowd. Her tiller control is fingertip and she is very stable and comfortable to sail. A large slide out hatch gives access to the cabin and if cushions (or a backpackers sleeping pad) are fitted, she will sleep two in remarkable space and comfort. You can also stand in the hatchway and raise and lower the sails making her very easy to live with. I chose a Daggerboard for her to keep her simple, clean and hydrodynamically efficient and I still think that is a fine conclusion -- still credible. At 6ft.-2inches of beam and 300 lbs. of ballast, she is a stable and comfortable sailor. In fact, sailors often sit on the lee side sailing her with their ear close to the water and her so very light helm being almost sports car like in touch and feel. At a total trailering weight including her ballast of 850lbs., virtually any car can tow her and she sits like a small duck on a good galvanized powerboat type trailer. She sits so low on her trailer (about 70inches tall) that she will fit in virtually any standard garage opening and with set up for sailing in the under 20 minute range, there is lots of reason to just trailer sail her, but she can sit on a mooring in front of your house just as handily.

The kit is assembled inverted over a computer-cut construction frame that indexes the bulkheads at the proper spacing, paralllel, axially-aligned and level. The hull panels are joined end-to-end with our engineered puzzle splices, avoiding the need for fiddly and difficult-to-align scarphing. From this sturdy foundation, you can be sure that you can build an accurate boat.

The basic kit is enough to build the bare hull, ready for rollover.

The Nancy's China basic hull kit includes 8 sheets of BS1088 marine ply, the construction jig, plans and assembly instructions. It is shipped on a 4' x 8' x 12" pallet weighing 775#.

This basic hull kit does not include dimensional lumber or plywood for soles or cabin tops, as those are best fit on-site. It also does not include cloth or epoxy, we can provide pricing on request.

Nancy's China Specifications