The Winklebrig Forum

Hi Kev,
You will have a fascinating time with David who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Winkle Brigs and owns a particularly fine example. I have no doubt that he will cover all the relevant topics, but it is worth mentioning a couple of points.
Firstly the WB is an ideal size for trailering and with a suitable swing cradle trailer can be launched and retrieved easily. Any heavier and you need hefty towing vehicles and everything is that much more difficult. Secondly the cabin space is large for the size of boat, the twin drop plates meaning there is no central intrusion . The later boats with an extra 2 inch of headroom makes it more comfortable for tall people. Also the well for the outboard is a good arrangement, it is out of sight and not vulnerable. An electric outboard adds silence, ease of use and a fume free cockpit.
There are numerous other features that make the WB so endearing and I am sure David will tell you all about them. If you do decide to buy one I am sure you will be delighted. Good luck.
John

I decided today to revert back to the normal system. The 2 to 1 was good in strong winds, but the extra friction was a nuisance in light winds. Keep it simple!

Before getting our Torqeedo we used to tow with a 4HP Tohatsu mounted on the boat with no problems. It saved having a smelly heavy engine in the van and once in place it stayed there for the season. I like your latest YouTube video!

When sailing in a fresh breeze sufficient to reef the mainsail, my wife can find it difficult to sheet in the jib adequately. As an experiment I decided to rig up a 2:1 jib sheet arrangement and it certainly seems to work well. Two blocks, one for each side, are attached to the jib clew by a snapshackle. One end of each jib sheet is tied off to a redundant fairlead, led up to and through the block on the jib and returned to the cockpit as normal, in much the same arrangement seen in some racing dinghies. The double block on the jib clew passes across our second forestay easily enough when tacking, the only downside is in light winds the windward sheet might need active easing because of the increased drag. Although experimental initially, it works very well and I think we will keep this set up.

A very neat solution!

The Torqeedo CS 1103 is an excellent motor and has the advantage of a removable tiller. This frees up space in the cockpit when used with the optional remote control which has the same readout and GPS system as on the tiller. Two WBs on Coniston Water have Torqeedos,  I have nothing but praise for ours as it is nearly silent, there are no fumes and it is light to carry. If I was on a tidal estuary I might be a little concerned about power and range compared with a petrol outboard, I think Gerards idea of a second battery is very sensible.

Before I went electric and purchased a Torqeedo, I had a 4HP Tohatsu outboard which just fitted in the well. Apparently the 6HP Tohatsu was the same engine but with a different carburettor and I believe this is the case with other makes. I think you would have to trial fit an outboard rather than relying on dimensions otherwise it could be a costly mistake. Good luck!

There are a few dates in the owners section, but none around 18. Apparently production started in 1983.
I enjoyed watching the videos you have made in Sea Jade, did you see WB 93 and 107 when you were on Coniston?

I see on YouTube there is a video about WB 18, Sea Jade, in Cornwall 2021 and the description mentions it is equipped with an Epropulsion motor.

This evening I checked YouTube to see if there were any new videos about Winkle Brigs. To my surprise our WB 93 is the star of a 1993 video about how to rig a WB, posted about a year ago by John Bergqvist. At least the sail number is 93 and the video was made in 1993 which is the year I understand ours was built so I presume it is our boat. Strangely though the hull is white above the waterline with what seems to be green on the lower part, which was the colour scheme present when we purchased 93 a few years ago. It also has white sails as ours does and a high peak gaff. However there are photos on the gallery showing our boat some years ago looking rather forlorn with a green hull above the waterline but with definite features that identify it as ours. It seems strange that when new it had a green hull over painted white which was later taken back to green. An alternative explanation might be that the filmed boat was not 93 but was using sails with 93 on them, I see 95 is a white hull so was this the boat that was filmed? An interesting video anyway showing almost certainly Eric Bergqvist rigging a WB.

Sorry, no idea if an Epropulsion fits, but a Torqeedo 1103 short shaft definitely fits, although only just and with the mounting bracket raised up about 110mm. There are detailed drawings and dimensions of the 1103 on the Torqeedo website, so you may be able to compare with the Epropulsion and see if it is compatible.

I know the stern ones on mine are hollow, they have eye bolts through the top and the nut can be accessed from underneath. The two screws either side fastening the bulwarks onto the moulding were loose and I glassed in some wood for better purchase. Other screws further forward have sometimes been loose and I have had to insert small matchstick sized wood covered in epoxy to give something fir the screws to bite on. I got the impression that these mouldings probably had wood inside but the screws had just worked loose over time. I am sure someone will be able to give a more definite answer, it is such an informative forum. Hope you enjoy your second WB.

I use East Coast Fibreglass Supplies. They are very competitive price wise and dispatch very quickly. I have always been very satisfied with the quality of their products, hope this helps.

Good luck Roger, I hope it goes well. If your plates cannot be saved and you decide to copy the later plywood plates with the iron shoe at the end, then you will end up with plates significantly lighter than the earlier ones like you have. I copied David Bone?s method of routing out recesses in the board to accommodate an extra 8 kg of lead, I think David added a little more than that. I then glassed over the whole structure. This transforms plates that actually have positive buoyancy ( when one of mine came adrift it floated to the surface ) to heavier ones that make the boat much more stable. I looked longingly at Gerold?s beautifully crafted aluminium plates until I realised the cost involved!
Keep us all posted with your progress, I hope it goes well.

Great photos Gerold and interesting to notice small differences in rigging and fittings between different Winkle Brigs.