beachcomber 19 sailboat

Boat Profile

The Beachcomber-Alpha Dory

A classic racer from Marblehead, Massachusetts

From Issue Small Boats Annual 2010

Originally intended for spirited racing, the Beachcomber-Alpha dory can be an exciting handful to manage. With three crew, one handles the jibsheet, another the mainsheet, and the third steers by means of a continuous loop of line made off to a yoke over the rudderhead.

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Comments (4)

I am embarrassed to write this but how does the rudder turn? It appears in the above picture that the line goes thru a pully to the mainsail but I see no attachment to the rudder? If it’s a silly question just skip on by. Thanks Bob

It’s a fair question. There are some parts that are hard to see. The rudder has a yoke at its top and each end of the yoke has a pulley attached to it. Neither pulley is clearly visible, but you can see the shadow of the pulley (and the two shadows of the line led through it) on the tail end of the port sheer plank. The steering line led to the starboard end of the yoke is in two parts, indicating the presence of a pulley there. The fixed ends of both steering lines are made fast inside the hull. The other ends led forward and may pass through a turning block. The man seated in the middle in the short-sleeved shirt has the port steering line in his hand. That line is taut and the yoke is pulled in as if to force a turn to port, but it is only countering the weather helm of the sailing rig. He doesn’t need to use the starboard steering line to make a turn to starboard/windward. He can let the port line slip and the weather helm force the bow to windward. The main sheet turns through a block secured to the inside face of the transom. It’s not connected to the rudder. —Ed.

Thank you, Christopher, for your detailed description of how it works. Bob

Hi, I’m looking to track down Dan Noyes but all the info on the web for him is out of date. In particular, I’d love to find out more about his design for the Ipswich Bay 18′ sailing dory. Does anyone have contact info for Dan?

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