A couple of months ago we accidentally bought a Munroe Egret. We had no intention of buying another boat right now but Egret is one of my favorite designs and one just happened to pop up on Craig's list not too far from our house. I've been interested in sharpies for a while and a couple of years ago Kristi got me The Commodore's Story by Commodore Ralph Munroe, designer of Egret. She also bought me plans for the Goat. I'm starting to see a pattern developing. The book is a fascinating account of the early settlers of Biscayne Bay (mid to late 1880s) and of the sharpies which Munroe adapted for the shallow and sometimes treacherous waters of Southeast Florida. Munroe designed Egret in 1886.
I've admired Dennis Bradley's beautiful Egret many times but never considered getting one as I thought all of the Egret replicas were built of wood. Now don't get me wrong, I love wooden boats but I don't think I'm up for taking care of a largish traditionally built one that stays out in the weather. So when the Craig's list ad said "fiberglass Egret" we had to go look ..... and buy. Someone built a handful of these in the 1990s. I know of one other that is being rebuilt at Cortez. I'm assuming it's from the same shop as it's hard to imagine there was more than one fiberglass Egret builder.
At DeSoto
Yep, she floats where the birds walk.
The boat is basically functional with all of the sailing related systems working well enough to get out sailing. She needs some freshening up and a good coat of paint inside and out. Our first outing was with the WCTSS to Cayo Costa. Dennis Bradley was there with his Egret so we got to do a bit of sailing together. How cool is it to sail with another Egret the first time out!
Denis Bradley's Egret passing us. Picture from the WCTSS trip album
Our boat needs a lot of hydrodynamic work to sail to her potential. We are dragging a giant, open outboard well, and the "foils" are very un-foily consisting of small, flat, triangular bilge boards with oyster encrusted leading edges. Needless to say Dennis was much faster and pointed a lot higher than us. A fair bit of that is skill as he's one with the Egret, having spent years fine tuning her to his liking. But it's good to see that there is potential for a decent turn of speed once all the important bits are up to snuff, skipper included.
On the beach at Punta Blanca, Cayo Costa
Kristi says she's a keeper.
Click below for more pics of our Cayo Costa trip.
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WHAT IS THIS!?
ReplyDeleteHUUUUGELY JEALOUS. This is unreal. I can't believe it. I am stunned. This is a joke. It's gotta be a joke. I'm coming to visit you now, even though we only know each other through interwebs. I must see this boat. WTF, O. Who are you and where did you come from? Blown away.
Ha! You have, in your inimitably hilarious way, summed up our reaction when we stumbled upon this boat. Come on down! Would love to meet in person, go sailing and generally make some trouble. Just got back from 3 days sailing in the Everglades, 80's during the day 60s at night :-) We can put you up, mean it.
DeleteInterior shots! C'mon! Interior! Another post is in order, STAT.
ReplyDeleteInterior is wide open due to the two bilge boards. Much more useable than the single centerboard design. It's not much to look at right now, just an empty white fiberglass shell with peeling paint. Imagine a Seaward Fox interior just stretched to 10 feet or so.
DeleteWhat are you going to do/did you do with the Fox? What is the name of this Egret? How much does she weigh? Lots of questions!
ReplyDeleteThe Fox "Proton" will be for sale. Hate to do it as she is a wonderful little boat and in primo condition but we just have too many boats. Egret does not have a name yet. It takes our boats forever to tell us their name. Have no idea that the Egret weighs. She's not a lightweight. We tow with an old Dodge 3500 work van with factory 9800lb tow rating so no problems towing but I can definitely tell the engine is working much harder than towing Proton which is a breeze at, I'm guessing, about 2200lb.
DeleteAaah, how lovely. Have built a 20' Egret version here in Australia, and just getting used to her too. Would love to get in touch...and keep up with your adventures. Email is johnhockings@hotmail.com and pics of mine are here. http://s1094.beta.photobucket.com/user/johnhockings/library/Little%20Egret
ReplyDeletecheers
John
Hi John, It's a small Egret world. I became aware of your awesome Egret from the Woodenboat forum when I was madly reseraching Egrets the night before we bought ours :-) Definitely let's stay in touch. I sent an email so you have my contact info.
DeleteTake Care,
Simon
Wow beautiful boat! I'd love to see her in person. I sail a Wharram Tiki 21 lots of fun but I imagine I'd be jealous of your cabin space. I think this is easily my favorite sharpie design. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteBrandon
Thanks Brandon, I'm a big fan of the Tiki range. To me, they are the prettiest of the Wharrams. Egret's cabin is big compared to the Tiki 21 but the Tiki 30 is palacial compared to Egret.
DeleteWould you be interested in selling her?
ReplyDeleteNot anytime soon. Love your Aventura in the Bahamas videos. One of my favorite planes in one of my favorite places.
DeleteWho makes this boat? I'd love to poke around online and find one too!
ReplyDeleteThere is no manufacturer. These are all amateur or custom built.
DeleteHowdy from the Yukon. I have a wooden Egret that I am converting from Bermudian triangular sprit-and-snotter to a gaff sail rigged like Munroe and Bradley's. I am looking for details on how to seize (or somehow attach) the sprit (with jaws) to the sail. Is it firmly seized or loosely slung. I corresponded with Dennis Bradley a decade ago and I'd like to ask him some questions about his rig .... but I lost his contact. If anyone could help with the sprit question or the contact Dennis Bradley question, I'd be grateful! thanks
ReplyDeleteDave Loeks loeks@northwestel.net
Hi, on our Egret the sail is attached to the sprit boom with an outhaul line that goes aft from the clew through a cheek block on the boom and then forward to a cleat on the boom. This is pretty much identical to a simple Bermudian setup. I sent Dennis bradley's contact to your email.
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