We were formed in the UK, and although our 'office' address and banking remains in the UK we are run by an increasingly international Committee via the Internet. A number of posts become vacant every year, at the AGM, so if you choose to join you could also put your name forward to help run the 'club'. It doesn't run itself. Our membership is now more than 50% outside the UK. Click the chart for detail.

May 2020  - 14 foot Peep Hen Serenity

by Shemaya Laurel

The JR conversion for Serenity was completed just in time for the 2019 New England Junket, an annual event that takes place in Maine, USA, and provided good inspiration for finishing the project. Serenity is a Peep Hen fibreglass microcruiser, designed by Reuben Trane. No longer in production, it has a devoted following in shallow waters of the USA, both coastal and inland. At 14'2" long it fits in a car garage for storage, trailers easily, and sleeps one large person below deck, with room for sitting upright in the cabin, and enough length in the cockpit to lie down there, too. The boat is a little snug for travel, but has worked well for me for trips as long as a month, along the New England coast.

Peep Hens were manufactured with a freestanding mast and a cat Gunter rig – a variation on gaff rig. Reefing that sail can be unpleasant, especially in a boisterous chop, as the boat is so small and can be bouncy; the reefing issue was the biggest inspiration for Serenity’s JR conversion. The work of two other people made this process particularly easy:

JRA member, Glen Maxwell, had already converted his Peep Hen, Hedwig, quite successfully, with a Hasler/McLeod sail. His boat balances well with the mast in its original position, and sails quite nicely. Videos can be seen here.  Glen’s drawings can be found here (you might have to join the Hensnest group to see the files).

As the conversion for Serenity was being pondered, I heard that a sail that had been almost completed by JRA member, Phil Brown, was sitting in his barn (right here in Maine) just waiting for a new home. Built using the Arne method, it was sized for 9 foot battens – a perfect fit! The sail needed a very small amount of further sewing, which was easily done with a machine at home. Dyneema webbing loops took care of the masthead fitting, and because the sail already had pockets, 1" aluminium tubing was used for battens. 2" aluminium tubing was lashed on for the yard, and with the assorted rigging the boat was ready to go.

Sailing this boat is vastly improved by the new rig. This part of coastal Maine can have substantial changes in wind, and being able to reef and unreef so easily has made all the difference, leading to the boat being sailed a lot more often than it had been. Interestingly, The boat is being day sailed more, now that she is junk rigged. A favourite pastime has become sailing the 6 miles down the bay with the outbound tide, to a sweet protected spot just inside a small island that faces the open ocean, and anchoring for a nap. Then when the tide starts back in, it's a nice trip back home. It's even more fun with a friend.  

Peep Hen info: http://peephens.org/

Shemaya and the various boats: www.sailingauklet.com