Corribee
| Corribee | ||
| L.O.A. | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) | |
| L.W.L. | 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m) | |
| Maximum beam | 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) | |
| Draft (fin keel) | 3 ft 0 in (0.91 m) | |
| Draft (bilge keel) | 2 ft 2 in (0.66 m) | |
| Displacement (laden) | 2,000 lb (910 kg) | |
| Cabin Headroom | 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) | |
| Engine (Outboard) | up to 7.5 hp | |
| Engine (Inboard) | up to 12 hp | |
The Corribee is a model of sailing yacht with good sea keeping ability. It was in a Corribee that Ellen MacArthur sailed around Britain.
The boat has also made longer voyages across the Atlantic Ocean.
The first Corribee was designed by Robert Tucker in 1964. Around 10 wooden Corribees were clinker built before production moved to the fibreglass Mk 1. The early Corribees have a centreboard which gives them a minimum draft of 1 ft 11 in (0.58 m), shallow even compared to the bilge-keeled later models which are themselves favoured for their shallow draft. With the centreboard lowered, the Mk 1 clinker Corribee draws 3 ft 3 in (1.0 m). Raised and lowered by means of a winch in the cockpit, the centreboard is housed in a small fin which protrudes from the hull of the boat, as such it does not intrude on the cabin floor.
In 1963 a Dragon-class enthusiast wanted a smaller boat with the feel of a Dragon, but with "a cruising ability all her own" and commissioned a design from Robert Tucker.
Robert Tucker’s 1963 drawings bear the working name of "Sea Nymph"; the inspiration for her name came from fishing on the banks of Loch Corrib in Galway, Ireland.
Corribee was clinker-built in mahogany on oak at Tommy Mallon's yard by Loch Corrib in 1964 / 65. Corribee, sail number 1, eventually lent her name to the entire class of "Corribees".
Some 10 or so wooden clinker "Corribees" were built at Tommy Mallon's Yard before construction moved to Heron Marine at Herne Bay, who built a lighter plywood-planked version. Newbridge Boats in Dorset started to produce a GRP version called the "Corribee 21", later to be known as the "Mark I" Corribee, followed by several variants of the Mark II, then the Mark III.
In winter 1965 Corribee left Eire to be launched on the Medway - an undated surviving photograph (possibly from this time) shows her with a blue hull and white topsides.
Corribee’s 21st Birthday was celebrated at Gravesend Sailing Club, presumably in 1986, photographs show her transom bearing the name "Corribee 1" and "GSC" (presumably "Gravesend Sailing Club") and she is then sporting an emerald green hull with cream topsides.
At some time in the 1990’s, Corribee hit an underwater obstruction sailing on the Thames and sank. She was raised and put into storage in a shed on the Isle of Dogs.
She was due to be repaired, but had to be rescued from over-zealous restoration (including stripping all her paint, and stripping out of some of her decks and interior…) and she was moved to another storage shed.
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Wikipedia