BOB ALLEN	-	SIZE IS NOT IMPORTANT
It used to be that TS Royalist at 93 feet overall was at the smaller end of the international tall ships' 
fleet; indeed with her painted gun ports she was often referred to as 'baby Kruzenshtern'. Well not 
any more.

The Sea Cadets are now owners of a brand new 30 foot brig (yes, 30 foot. 42 foot sparred, that is 
from bowsprit to transom) currently working from their sailing school in Weymouth. She is called 
Bob Allen, named for the bequest that funded her, and is intended to introduce younger cadets to 
square rig.

She may not actually be the smallest tall ship – there is a smaller barque called Federalist in the 
United States but she is probably unique in terms of sail training. Or will be until her sister ship is 
completed. 

And if you wonder where this little brig came from then it is a slightly convoluted story. The man 
for whom she is named – Bob Allen – was a great fan of the Sea Cadets and left a bequest to build a 
'small tall ship' for them. Specifically, since you have to be 13½ to go aboard the Sea Cadets' brig 
TS Royalist he wanted a vessel to train younger cadets 'under square rig'. He actually wanted a 60 
foot brigantine (steel, with bilge keels) but unfortunately there wasn't enough money to fund this. 
Cunningly he had chosen the designer of Royalist – Colin Mudie – to design this little brigantine. 
And Colin Mudie is one of those designers who is rarely idle. He designed the Hardy range of GRP 
motor and sailing boats. One of the range is/was an 18 foot motor sailer (with bilge keels). In a 
spare moment Colin rejigged the design for this into a little 20 foot GRP brig (open cockpit, masts 
in tabernacles, yards on tracks) and very much a gentleman's small tall ship. In another spare 
moment he even ran off a couple of models at 1:12 scale and they sit amongst all the other models 
in his office. Which is where I, executor for Bob Allen's will and desperate for a way to resolve his 
intention saw them. The budget available excluded a production run in GRP and anyway steel is so 
much more forgiving. The bilge keels stayed, the large cockpit and the masts in tabernacles too. 
This brig, like the brigantine before her, is not meant to be a square-rigged yacht, nor a 'baby' 
version of any other tall ship. And given her purpose as a training vessel it is important that she 
work like the rest of the fleet. The only real novelty is having the yards descend to deck level on a 
track on the front of the masts. To be honest on a vessel this small it would not really be practical to 
send cadets aloft to harbour stow square sails. And since at deck level you have to lean over the 
yards to roll and pack the sails before tying on a gasket, the difference between this brig and a 
bigger one is not much. Instead of swaying on a footrope you are nice and solid on a steel deck. 
And since this vessel is about learning and instilling confidence this is not a bad thing. She has helm 
steering rather than a tiller – important for sailing 'evolutions'; a 30 hp engine; full navigation lights 
and safety gear; down below there is minimal fitout – she is lined with vinyl faced foam which 
softens any crew/steel interaction; seats rather than bunks; no galley; a foc'sle with chemical toilet 
(and watertight door).

She sails well and easily in light airs. This is a vessel that comes in at about 8 tonnes and about 600 
square feet of sail and 10 knots of wind will push her along at 2-3 knots and at that speed she can 
tack. And that is another benefit of such a small vessel. Not only does she carry almost the same 
number of bits of rope that bigger versions do, and also in the variety that you would expect – 
sheets, tacks, braces, halliards, buntlines, etc. - but since it is all so small and all within easy reach 
every sail evolution is easily understood. There is the option of operating everything from the 
cockpit with all lines from the foremast running aft, some to jammers on the cabin roof but most to 
nice little belaying pins. A big ship means you rarely see what is happening or even what the bit of 
rope you are handling is doing. On Bob Allen when it comes to 'haul spanker to windward' you can 
slack one sheet with one hand and haul the other. All this while watching the spanker boom move 
(and ducking if you're too tall) and then watching the rest of the tacking manoeuvre. It has been 
said that if you wanted to teach someone the basics of square rig and how it works you could do it 
in a morning. 

Square rig sailing is great fun – but we know that; what TS Bob Allen does is make it very 
accessible.


852 words

© MAX August 2003

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