BLUEMOMENT

Can anyone help me?
i have just purchased a Caprice yacht and want to find out more info about this class, but have drawn a blank. Can anyone have any deatils or know of nay associatione etc,

Mnay thanks

There doesn't seem to be an owners' association.

The Caprice is capable of more than you might expect - Caprice Mkl, Sail Number C159 sailed around the world. The book is 'Shrimpy: A Record Around the World Voyage in an 18 Foot Yacht' by Shane Acton. Shrimpy was published in 1981 by Patrick Stephens Ltd., Bar Hill, Cambridge, UK. The book is out-of-print and hard to get, but copies turn up on the web - I got mine by advertising on YBW's 'wanted' forum. When available the copies are usually pricy! A second book Shrimpy Sails Again was also published and is also out-of-print.

Enjoy your boat,

Nick

It was Shane Acton's 'Shrimpy' that first inspired me to take up sailing. A fantastic read although I wouldn't recommend a round the world voyage in a Caprice. I have a dying Caprice Mk 2 at the bottom of the garden which is sadly beyond economical repair, and is really only good as a source of fittings, mast etc. They are generally sturdy little boats though. IIRC there was a GRP version (Mk 3?) which no doubt are still going strong.

Alex, it was a Robert Tucker design, I only know because my last boat was also by him and the Caprice featured in the catalogue they sent me. Lost all details now but 'Robert Tucker Designs' has a website and an address somewhere in Hertfordshire I think, they might give you some info. Can't give you the link, can't work this typewriter thingy properly

I suspect Alex may not be back to see it but the link is Tucker designs FWIW.

Never one to be put off by elderly threads...

My first cruise was in a Caprice. There were three of us on board, which made it decidedly cosy and meant that you had to move in turn - a bit like one of those puzzles where you move the space. Fortunately the weather was mostly good. After launching from the beach at Strontian (not recommended) we circumnavigated most of Mull, and visited Eigg, Coll, the Treshnish and Erraid before hauling out at Oban. A highlight was losing the ship's fork overboard - and retrieving it using a fishing line.

I did admit to being a pillock and not reading the date and threw myself on the mercy of the court...couldn't even get that right...lost the post!!

Interested in the info about the Robert Tucker Caprice. I have recently acquired a Caprice Mk iv which is a 20 foot grp yacht. Hull is in excellent condition, still with its original gel coat finish. The woodwork, quite extensive, is varnished but the cabin interior is decidedly sad. It has never been lined and shows the raw grp. The rest of the boat needs tidied and overhauled but is basically very sound. Hatch covers are missing or inadequate. I wouldn't mind knowing what other owners have done to cover the fore and stern hatches. Mainsheet and any means of anchoring it are absent - a bit weird. Looking forward to getting it out on the Tay in the next month or so.

Hey everybody I know its an old thread but quick heads up iv just put my Caprice MKIV GRP 19Ft up on ebay, she needs a little work but will make a lovely boat once all put back together again. GRP in excellent condition. item no: 260406476982

SHRIMPY available online in PDF format

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In the light of Shrimpy's rtw trip it is a trifle ironical to see this one described on Ebay as a 'river cruiser'

(although perhaps it is wholly appropriate as the first log entry on Shrimpy's trip round the world reads:
“Sat 19th August 1100 hours – left moorings at Cambridge. Course: down river”. )

HI again, I dont know that much about boats im afraid I kinda bought this Caprice on a whim last year, looking around at other pictures of caprice 19's though they all look a bit different, mine dosnt have any of the "fins?" on the bottom of the hull, bilge keels are they?? (excuse my ignorance) Im not sure what they are called but anyway mine simply has a rudder on the underneath and is then a smooth hull all over, would this mean it is more suited to rivers etc than the sea? It looks like it should hold masting, would it have at some point? I know im selling her but if anyone can give me anymore info id really appreciate it, wish I hadnt stripped the insides out really!
I cant seem to find any pictures online of the exact same model as mine which makes me wonder what its original intention was for and what she has been used as over the years, any help would be great, thanks guys.
Started reading that "shrimpy" Pdf, brilliant story thanks for posting that link BT

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The skeg - the bit the rudder is attached to - is non-standard and very oversized, almost like a short fin keel positioned right aft. I can;t believe she woujld be very balanced on the helm with that underwater profile, or in deed very stable as there would not seem to be any ballast.

You say her construction i s GRP, yet one of the pictures would seem to clearly indicate that she is of wooden construction. Has the wood been GRP sheathed?

All in all a bit of a 'one-off' it would seem.

tobermoryphil of YBW reported HERE in October that he had bought a MkIV Caprice, whick is fibreglass, but hard chine like the earlier ply boats. Why not give him a PM either on that forum or on YBW and see if he can shed somemore light on your boat?

(I thought Phil was a BlueMoment member, but apparently not - was it something I said??)

soz for the slow reply. Yep thats why I thought it was probably more a river boat possibly because no bilge keels?
Excuse me for being thick but what does ballast do, they start lights as far as I know?
It is grp hull and top but it does have a very good wood shell underneath this and the grp is untreated inside, I just assumed this is how they were made but I guess the later ones used actual moulds? Surely its a bit stronger having the wooden frame and easier to deck out inside? I so wish I hadnt ripped her insides out she looked so pretty before just worn!
So it would have definately had a mast and sails in the past at somepoint then?
Do you think my starting price is about right? Iv lots of watchers but no bids as yet
I certainly cant seem to find any pictures of the exact same boat so yes it would seem rather a one off wouldnt it!
Thanks for your replies all info on her is nice to hear

capricemkIV wrote:soz for the slow reply. Yep thats why I thought it was probably more a river boat possibly because no bilge keels?
Excuse me for being thick but what does ballast do, they start lights as far as I know?
It is grp hull and top but it does have a very good wood shell underneath this and the grp is untreated inside, I just assumed this is how they were made but I guess the later ones used actual moulds? Surely its a bit stronger having the wooden frame and easier to deck out inside? I so wish I hadnt ripped her insides out she looked so pretty before just worn!
So it would have definately had a mast and sails in the past at somepoint then?
Do you think my starting price is about right? Iv lots of watchers but no bids as yet
I certainly cant seem to find any pictures of the exact same boat so yes it would seem rather a one off wouldnt it!
Thanks for your replies all info on her is nice to hear

If you're paying someone £200 to take it away it looks about right.