All About Drascombes

The word Drascombe is a trademark that was first registered by John Watkinson who applied it to a series of sailing boats which he designed and built in the period 1965-79 and sold in the United Kingdom (UK). They comprised the Coaster, Cruiser Longboat, Dabber, Drifter, Driver, Gig, Launch, etc..

The first Drascombe Lugger was an immediate success and its obvious commercial potential prompted John to initiate production of the boats in GRP. Other models followed, but all following the original philosophy of safety, robustness, and fun.

Plans of Drascombe boats for amateur builders have not been available since the death of John Watkinson, the designer, in 1997.

Here we give a brief specification of various types of Drascombe. This does not claim to be a complete list.

Although most models are or were available in GRP, some types of boat were only ever build in wood.

Also included (where available) are pictures of members' boats (click on the thumbnail to see a larger version), and links to comments on the boats from actual owners. In time, we hope to have one of these for each type of boat.