Cornish Crabber 24
The Cornish Crabber 24 is a series of British trailerable sailboats, designed by Roger Dongray as cruisers and first built in 1974.
Production
The design has been built by Cornish Crabbers in Wadebridge, Cornwall, United Kingdom since 1974. It has passed through five marks with the Mark V remaining in production.Design
The Cornish Crabber 24 series are all recreational sailboats, originally built from wood, they are now predominantly of glassfibre, with wooden trim. The boats are gaff rigged topsail cutters, with plumb stems, angled transoms, bowsprits and keel-hung rudders controlled by a tiller.The Mark I was originally fitted with a British Sole inboard engine, but later models use a Japanese Yanmar diesel engine of or an outboard motor for docking and manoeuvring.
The Mark I has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee quarter berths in the main cabin. The galley is located on the starboard side just aft of the bow cabin. The galley is equipped with a stove and a sink. The head is located centred in the bow cabin, under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is.
Variants
;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark I;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark II
;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark III
;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark IV
;Cornish Crabber 24 Mark V
Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club, the Cornish Crabbers Club.In a 2010 review of the Mark I and II Steve Henkel wrote, "The Cornish Crabber can be ordered in a variety of permutations. One choice is the rig: either a gaff-headed mainsail with a standard topsail flying over it, which permits quick sail reduction when the wind pipes up, just by striking the topsail; or the 'Mark II,' a rig with a larger main and a higher peaked gaff, which is more efficient to windward and in light air. The Mk II has 600 Ibs. more displacement and a couple of inches difference in some dimensions. Outboard power or a 10 hp Yanmar diesel are also choices. Best features: As a character boat, the Cornish Crabber is hard to beat. But you have to like 'pulling a lot of strings,' that is, halyards, sheets, reef lines, and so on. Worst features: In light air the boat's weight is a bit too much for her sail area, with either rig. Not to put too fine an edge on it, in light air she’s slow. "
In a 2017 review Jack Hornor wrote, "the Cornish Crabber 24 is a handsome little yacht, which will get attention wherever she sails, and its fair to assume that owners and admirers of this classic take considerable pride in their boats."