Yeoman and Kinsman Keelboat

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The Yeoman and Kinsman keelboats are 20ft (6.15 m) two to three person racing keelboats. The main difference between the two boats being that the Yeoman has a fixed keel and rudder whereas the Kinsman has a lifting keel and rudder for ease of trailing.

[edit] History of the Yeoman and Kinsman

During conversations with Leslie Landamore after we bought No. 18 (Cameo) from him in late autumn 1972, I understood that it all started when a friend of his named Yeomans, asked Leslie to design a keel boat, about the size of a "White Boat" (Pare & Bure one design) but in fibreglass, for low maintenance costs, which he could sail single-handed if need be, do a bit of racing with Allcomers A, and perhaps camping in it, if he felt inclined In other words a general purpose sailing craft.

Number 1, Zircon, was built in wood and from this the original moulds were produced. I believe they still exist. I first saw Yeomans racing on Wroxham Broad during the summer 1972, and when my friend Bertie Wooster said he could not find a White Boat in decent condition at a price he could afford, I said, (off the cuff as it were) how about sharing a Yeoman with me. No, he said. I do not like plastic boats. So that was that. However, a week or so later he phoned me to say my suggestion was not a bad idea and we should investigate.

At that stage Leslie had two for sale. No.4 Topaz (His original idea was to have them all named after gem stones) and No. 18 Cameo which he had used as a demonstration boat in several parts of the country. He gave us new floor boards and fitted a forward buoyancy tank at cost.

For the next few years we had great fun learning to race our new toy at both Homing and on Wroxham Broad. At Wroxham our competitors were mostly husband and wife teams and if the wind was on the stiff side the Chief Yeoman or Class Captain would order small jibs to be flown. (no member had a spinnaker in those days)

Then we were brave enough to enter for the Three Rivers Race. organised by the Homing Sailing Club. and it was during one of these contests that I first saw a Yeoman (from another club) flying a spinnaker. By that time Yeoman fleets were racing at Queen Mary Sailing Club near London Airport; on the Exe estuary in Devon; at Rutland Water and in Scotland

At Queen Mary Sailing Club much of their racing takes place during the winter months and the enthusiasts there drove their boats so hard that frequent gear failures occurred. I remember Leslie saying that if had he been asked to design a racing boat for those weather conditions it would have been different in many respects from the Yeomans we were using on Wroxham Broad.

However, modifications were made, running gear strengthened where necessary, and the Class remained in good heap. I cannot remember the exact date, but about this time two further changes were made.

The high aspect Genoa, unchanged area, made tacking much easier and the second, a centre winch designed and fitted by John Murphy in Quest 2 in about 1984. This had two great advantages: the crew could sit to windward but a more important feature - it stiffened the boat so that the lee shrouds did not sag.

Following the sad demise of Plain Sailing and the difficulties David Moore had, the moulds went back to Landamores, and since then Betts Mouldings at Rackheath have become the official builders (under licence from Landamores) and many modifications have been introduced, such as spinnaker chutes, and all inboard wood being replaced by fibreglass.