Farr 3.7 Test Sail

Jonathan Chetland sailing the Farr 3.7 © Daryl Wilkinson

Having sailed more regular boats in my life such as Toppers, Lasers, 420s and Fireballs, I didn’t really know what to expect from the Farr 3.7, being a single handed trapeze boat that is unlike anything else I have ever had the opportunity to sail before. The concept of trapezing and helming at the same time was new to me and was more difficult to get to grips with than I had first anticipated, not helped by the tiller extension being as long as I am tall! This resulted in me going for more than a few swims throughout the afternoon but I began to get more used to it towards the end and with a few more sails I’d be confident of being able to sail it competitively.

I think it has a lot of potential to be the perfect transitional boat between more conventional boats and skiffs, which would avoid the difficulty of trying to go straight into a skiff and spending most of your time upside down. Not only that, but it would be a good competitive racing fleet if it would be possible to get a few of them going at the club. Obviously this would be difficult because of currently having to ship them over from New Zealand but I think it would be more than worthwhile if there were enough people up for it. (The Farr 3.7 is currently being put into production by Butler Boats and is also available to build from plan with pre-laser cut parts available as a delivered pack from Robbins Timber Bristol with the cost of a self build hull being around £650)

Despite capsizing I didn’t have any trouble keeping the boat flat and if I got more used to the controls of the boat I’d be confident going out in stronger winds. (Test sail wind 10-15 knots, gusts shown around 18 knots)

Overall, I think the Farr 3.7 is a great boat and it was a thoroughly enjoyable sail. I would definitely want to sail one again and would probably already own one by now if they were easier to get a hold of! If they become more easily available or if I can persuade my parents to splash out on shipping costs then I will definitely be one of the first to consider getting one at the club! If you’re looking to move into a skiff or just looking for something new and different then I would definitely recommend looking into investing in a Farr 3.7.