Cornish Crabbers, a British icon among Modern Classics.

For fans of more classic sailing, steeped in tradition and “vintage” savoir-faire, the name Cornish Crabbers will not sound new; unless you know it as Select Yachts, a name changed, however, in 2008. For those enthusiasts, however, who may be unaware of it, take notes, because few yards are as synonymous with Modern Classic as this small U.K. outfit. Founded in Cornwall in 1974 by Roger Dongray (yacht-designer), Peter Keeling and Ken Robertson, the yard is in fact involved in the construction of daysailers and weekenders faithful to British seafaring culture, small auric-rigged (gaff-rigged) hulls ranging in size from 12 to 30 feet (3-11 meters f.t.) that, in both quality and lines, are best able to offer a verisimilar leap into the past. That was, however, at least until earlier this year, when the shipyard, under “new” ownership (which took over in 2012), declared bankruptcy. .. Yet, do not despair, Cornish Crabbers is not dead and is not closed.

Cornish Crabbers

How to let such an important brand, so rich in history, disappear? How to allow it to fade into oblivion? These are the questions Ben Walker, leader of the Lagoon Marine team that, you might have guessed, acquired Cornish Crabbers, now Ltd. And, if the fear was of losing such a vital component of the shipbuilding industry across the Channel, it is precisely to avoid this eventuality that the new ownership is aiming. The shipyard’s entire line will not remain, but its beating heart will. This is how the brand survives and what boats it will continue to keep on the line.

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A new beginning

Two production lines will characterize the new life of the shipyard, the Shrimper, dedicated to smaller hulls, and the Crabber, dedicated to the yard’s larger and more marine hulls. Obviously, production that will kick off as soon as the pre-existing orders, which the new priority is committed to completing, are completed. Among the featherweights, then, we will see Shrimper 17 (5.18 m), Shrimper 19 (5.87 m), Shrimper 21 (7.57 m), designed in 1992, 1979 and 2015, respectively. Hulls with a Classical setting, to say the least, but contemporary and elegant in a timeless way. A pure Daysailer, the Shrimper 17 is the one that in this sense stands out the most from the rest of the production, instead more usable as weekender (all cabin cruisers), as well as, in the Crabber range, already as small cruisers.

In fact, if the Mystery line is suspended (very much out of step with the lines of the more classic ones), they will survive big time, however, the yard’s two great icons, the Cornish Crabber 24 (8.92 m), a flagship hull since ’74, and the Pilot 30 (11.88 m), a little classic inspired by the actual British pilot boats adopted in the waters of the Celtic Sea, revisited, however, in a 1985 key.

Small, compact and marine, but perfected and tried and tested by generations, these hulls are indeed small icons of boating, an exceptional testament to what once was. Today, however, with amenities not to complain about, ranging from bunks to galley, from shower to cozy dinette. Standing between the two, however, is a young sister, not in spirit or style, but in registry. It is, in fact, also in the line-up, the Crabber 26, in an improved version of her from the 2010 design. Another gem like few.

• DO YOU HAVE A CLASSIC BOAT OR A MODERN CLASSIC? IN THE CLASSIC BOAT ARCHIVE YOU CAN CELEBRATE THEM, IT’S SO EASY: CLICK HERE AND ENTER THE BOAT.