Laurent Giles Vertue

Full specification

Wooden ships comments on this Laurent Giles Vertue

The Vertue was designed by Jack Laurent Giles before the war and has become probably the most celebrated small cruiser ever, largely due to the amazing voyages made in these tough little ships.

It was Humphrey Barton who made the design’s reputation in his blue water voyages in Vertue XXXV and Hiscock spoke highly of the design. He engaged Laurent Giles to design his Wanderer 2 and 3 both designs owing much to the Vertue.

15 boats were built in teak by Cheoy Lee of Hong Kong and Speedwell of Hong Kong further confirmed the Vertue reputation by sailing home to England from Hong Kong and again sailing to the Caribbean, down to Cape Town and back home.

Since these first extended voyages in the 1960’s proving that a well-designed and built small yacht could sail safely off-shore, many Vertues have made similar and longer voyages and a Trans-Atlantic voyage in a Vertue is nowadays regarded as totally normal though still just as challenging.

The early boats had very short coach-roofs with sitting head-room below. After the war, the topsides were raised by a plank and a much bigger coach-roof added extending forward of the mast and raised to a dog-house aft so that Vertues are often identified as “long” or “short” dog-house models, there being a few inches difference but seen as a one window or two dog-house. In a little boat, a few inches can make a significant difference.

This one is the long dog-house model with twin windows. The extra few inches length in the dog-house make a noticeable difference to the space below.

Built by Cheoy Lee, Hong Kong  in 1963.

 

Planked in 1 1/8” teak, the seams caulked and payed.

The frames are steam-bent ipol, 1 ¼” x 2” at approx 6 ½” centres.

Fastenings are all copper nails and roves.

Hood ends and garboards bronze screw fastened.

Galvanised steel strap floors on every second frame with several straight grained, deep throated     yacal floors in way of the mast for additional strength in this high stress area.

 

Long external iron ballast keel of 4500lbs

Galvanised m/s keel bolts. 2 bolts drawn Feb 03, one with nominal erosion replaced, one renewed.

 

Deck in glass/resin-sheathed ply with 4” wide varnished teak coverboards inside a 4” varnished teak toe rail with capping to give a clear, low-maintenance and water-tight deck.

Large bronze mushroom vent on the after deck and on the fore deck to give important ventilation into the ends.

Oak Sampson post on the fore deck with bronze chain spurling pipe.

Stainless steel stemhead fitting with twin chain rollers.

Twin teak bar and chromed pedestal cleats on the aft deck to take the stern lines.

Bronze fairleads fore and aft.

Bronze X cleat each side midships

 

Self-draining cock-pit. Deep varnished teak coamings all round with a capping rail, nicely radiussed after corners. Scrubbed teak laid locker seat each side. Cock-pit well drains out through the transom

Bridge deck to the cabin entrance.

 

Varnished teak cabin coamings. The dog-house is about the same length as the coach-roof.

Sheathed and painted ply roofs with a good camber to give extra head-room below.

Varnished grab rails each side on both dog-house and coach-roof.

2 fixed windows each side in the dog-house, one small fixed light each side in the coach-roof and 2 in the fwd face of the dog-house.

Fore hatch on the fwd end of the coach-roof.

Bronze vent on a Dorade box in the middle abaft the mast.

 

These Cheoy Lee Vertues have some very nice little features like the rounded corner posts of the coach-roof and the teak beading round the edges of the roof.

 

The Vertue rig is often called a slutter – an optional sloop or cutter.

Round section varnished spruce mast stepped in a bronze shoe on the coach-roof.

Twin spreaders.

Stainless steel standing rigging, 14 years old, with swaged terminals and distinctive bronze rigging screws to internal bronze chain plates.

Single standing back stay to an oak V bumpkin over the transom.

Running back-stays on Highfield levers.

Outer fore stay frm masthead to stemhead.

Lazy inner fore stay from upper spreaders to a Laurent Giles designed over-centre, quick release lever on the stemhead fitting which when set up makes the rig into a cutter.

Twin lowers to the lower spreaders.

Intermediate shrouds frm upper spreaders

Cap shrouds from the masthead.

 

Varnished round section boom on SL chromed bronze roller reefing mechanism.

Recessed sail track.

Sheeted to a bronze horse on the transom. Double-tailed sheet on tufnol blocks.

Bronze tracks on the rail and mobile lead block for the headsail sheets.

Mainsail	SW Sails	209sq’	14 years
Genoa	Ratseys	255sq’
No1 Staysail	SW Sails	160sq’	14 years
No.2 Staysail	Ratsey
Storm jib	Ratsey

Pair of halyard winches on the mast.

Pair of sheet winches on the cock-pit coamings.

 

Nanni Diesel 14hp 2-cylinder diesel engine, installed new 2003 with new fuel lines and fliters.

New 1999 single lever controls to conventional centre-line shaft drive and 3-blade prop.

Max 5knts

8 gall tinned copper fuel tank in the stbd cock-pit locker.

2 x 12v batteries. One battery forward under the fore peak sole, the second engine start battery alongside the engine. 12v belt driven alternator on the engine.

 

The engine is serviced every year on lift-out.

Fuse box and main battery wiring replaced by Deben Marine in 2004

Blue Sea 8-point contact breaker and voltmeter fitted with main fuse.

4-position battery switch fitted 2000

 

4 berths.

V-berths in the fore peak. Head-room under the fore hatch above.

Battery box on the floor with varnished lid acts as a step-up to the fore hatch.

Stowage under the berths.

Chain hawse pipe from deck to a chain locker below in the V of the berths.

Double varnished teak doors in the forward bulkhead + double teak doors in the saloon cabin bulkhead for a lobby in way of the stbd heads compartment and port lockers.

New 08 Jabsco sea toilet.

With both pairs of doors closed, a reasonable ablutions compartment is enclosed making the heads useable in private from either cabin.

 

The twin bulkheads form the compression members under the deck-stepped mast and add to the strength of the hull.

 

Saloon cabin with staggered port and stbd settee berths.

The port berth has a forward trotter box, the after end at the galley.

The stbd berth runs aft in a trotter box under the chart desk.

Water-proof  vinyl-covered bunk cushions

Teak table.

Galley in the after port corner with rectangular, deep stainless steel sink, drains overboard. New vertical action brass hand pump alongside.  Cupboards under.

2-burner and grill gas cooker in a lined recess. New regulator and pipes May 1998. Gas cylinder in overboard vented locker in the lazarette.

Plate stowage behind under the side deck.

Chart desk to stbd. Teak electrical switch box on the bulkhead hinges open to reveal wiring conections etc.

VHF radio under the side deck. Chart stowage under the desk.

Engine box steps between.

 

All varnished teak joinery. White painted deck-heads. Teak cabin sole boards. Varnished teak coamings with full length grab rail all along the lower edge.

2 oil lamps. 7 x 12v cabin lights.

Clock and barometer

 

2 x 5 gallon monel metal tanks under the settee berths. Hand pump to the galley sink.

 

2 fire extinguishers.

Fire blanket

 

The original owner kept her on the Solent.

Next owned  by one family- grandfather, father and son – for 30 years based on the Helford River. Present ownership since 1997, berthed in Suffolk from where she has cruised to the Ijslemeer, Ostend, Normandy, all  the East coast rivers and down to Cornwall.

 

In present ownership she has been kept up to date with the following work over the years:

Annual paint and varnish.

Iron keel shot blasted and bitumen coated.

New 14hp Nanni diesel fitted

Second battery with associated switches and wiring, Blue Sea fuse box and mast wiring.

New Jabsco sea toilet.

New gas pipes and regulator.

New Henderson manual bilge pump.

New brass galley pump.

Greaser fitted to the stern gland and gland repacked.

New stainless steel running backstays fitted.

New boat cover and  mainsail cover

2 new fire extinguishers.

New Garmin 76 GPS

New echo sounder.

New May 2011 cock-pit drain DZR sea-cocks.

 

This is a very nice example of the teak Cheoy Lee Vertue presented in smart condition, afloat and  ready to sail.

 

 

Inventory

 

Navigation.

Sestral steering compass.

Hand bearing compass.

Echo Pilot sounder

Trailing log

Standard Horizon VHF radio

Autohelm 1000

Garmin 76  hand held GPS

6fthm lead line

Masthead tricolour

Stern light and low level lights

 

Ground tackle

35lb Danforth anchor

35lb fisherman anchor

180’ 5/16” chain

180’ nylon warp

 

Safety gear.

2 x Crewsaver life jackets

Horse-shoe life buoy with light

Flares

2 x fire extinguishers.

Fiore blanket

Henderson manual bilge pump

 

Deck gear

8’ grp dinghy with oars

Honda 2.3hp outboard engine

Beaching legs.

Sprayhood on galv frame

Winter boat cover, mast to transom

Named dodgers

6 mooring warps

6 fenders

Main boom guy with boomend shackles

Boathook

Anchor ball

M/S cone

Bosun’s chair

Boarding ladder

Port and stbd jack-stays

Ensign

Spare tiller

Boom gallows

Spreader lights

Radar reflector