Peter Duck

Peter Duck is a character in one of Arthur Ransomes famous children’s novels, in later life he commissioned Jack Laurence Giles to design a comfortable cruising ketch which was named after the character. The design was commissioned just after the war in 1945, built by Kings of Pin Mill in Suffolk she was completed in 1947



Ransome is alleged to have requested “a sort of marine bath-chair, a minimum of work to sail and yet provide the maximum comfort for two.” Whether Laurence Giles succeeded is not clear, but for whatever reason Ransome didn’t take to Peter Duck and sold her after only 3 years in 1950.



Although not a production boat, over 40 of these ketches were built. LOA is 28 feet 3inches long with a draught of 3 feet 6 inches and a beam of 9 feet. The original boat was fitted with a Stuart Turner engine. The detailed fit out of each is varied, but the overall design is recognised for its passage making ability even in heavy weather. The easily handled ketch rig made the boat popular with single hander sailors.

The original Peter Duck still survives, indeed flourishes under family ownership who have been custodians for much of the past 50 years.

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Rhodes 33 Madness

In 1938 the South Coast boatyard in Newport Beach, California introduced the Rhodes 33, one of several narrow racing boats with deep cockpits designed by Phillip Rhodes. Features included a drop in outboard well, a two burner stove and head. Twenty Rhodes 33’s were sold before WWII and while domestic production was superseded by military during the war, twenty two more were launched immediately after.

The Rhodes racing class faced off in numerous organized challenges over the years off the coast of southern California, USA.











"This photo of the Rhodes 33 fleet off the jetty in Newport CA was taken and developed by my father in the 1950s. He had his own lab in our home. It was probably taken with his Leica with black and white film."
Byron Grams




In recent years there has been an effort to revitalize the Rhodes 33 class of racing yachts in southern California, led by Ralph Rodheim who owns the beautifully restored Madness.



Who could blame Ralph for submitting Madness as his favorite boat?

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