Eel Canoe Yawl
Description
The Eel Canoe Yawl is an 18'6" classic pocket cruiser designed by legendary naval architect William Garden in the 1960s, inspired by George Holmes' original 1895 Eel—a pioneering canoe yawl from England's Humber Yawl Club era. Garden's version refines the concept into a lighter, more trailerable form while retaining the double-ended hull, shoal draft, and minimalist ethos of early canoe yawls: engineless coastal cruising via sail and oars, emphasizing self-reliance and exploration of estuaries and beaches. It's a rugged day-sailor or overnight micro-cruiser for 2–4, with a tiny cuddy cabin for shelter. Over 50 have been built, mostly by amateurs, earning praise for its elegant lines, responsive handling, and romantic appeal—often called a "floating teacup" that punches above its weight in seaworthiness.
Construction Details
| Designer | William Garden |
|---|---|
| Length | 19.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.500 ft |
| LWL | 14.830 ft |
| Beam | 6.000 ft |
| Displacement | 1350 lb |
| Max Draft | 1.250 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.420 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 13.50 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8 ft |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | 11.08 ft |
| e2 | 4.33 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.50 ft | 8 ft | - | - | 11.08 ft | 4.33 ft | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Eel Canoe Yawl - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.83 ft - (2691 mm) |
| Leech | 11.83 ft - (3606 mm) |
| Area | * 51.94 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Eel Canoe Yawl - MIZZEN
| Luff | * 11.08 ft - (3377 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 4.33 ft - (1320 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | 10.83 ft - (3301 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 75.38 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | * 10.83 ft - (3301 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 2.5 in - (64 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 24.114 ft² |
| Comments | mizzen |
| Edit in Calculator |
Eel Canoe Yawl - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 5.75 ft - (1753 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 11.5 ft - (3505 mm) |
| Leech | 22.75 ft - (6934 mm) |
| Head | 15.83 ft - (4825 mm) |
| Diagonal | 12.25 ft - (3734 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 83.4 ° |
| Area | 125.29 ft² |
| Comments | High peaked gunter main |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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