Between 1957 and 1970 Cheoy Lee produced approximatley 133 folkboats originaly sold as the the Offshore 25, better known as the Frisco Flyer.

There were three versions of this small blue-water boat. 91 in all wood and 42 in Fiberglass with wood. There were 55 Type I's and II's and 78 of the Type III's. The Type I (aka the Pacific Clipper) was an all wood boat, had a mast that was stepped through the deck, a traditional folkboat fractional rig and a smaller cabin. The Type II's had a larger teak trunk cabin and a masthead rig. The Type III's had a larger teak dog-house cabin, some "standing" headroom and a masthead rig stepped on deck. The earlier Type III's were solid teak built onto a fiberglass hull and the later Type III’s (1966-1970) were made entirely out of fiberglass with teak paneling.

This boat, Yard # 1507 is one of approximatley only 30 Type III's left. It was out of the water for the previous 16 years when I got it and then about another 5 more while I rebuilt it. It was an empty, cracked hull when given to me and needed a complete restoration/refit. It took about five years of long nights and weekends of working outside under a tarp, in the garage or in the boat during cold winter nights, wet rainy afternoons and everything in between. The occasionally eager assistant on the project was my four (now ten) year old daughter who can have this boat as soon as I convince her mother to get another one. This blog is the record of all the work that "we" have done to the boat as well as some other somewhat related events with friends and family. Eventually, this will be put together in a book which will stay with the boat.

She still has plenty more to go but for now, Jackaroe has been in the water for a couple years now and thats all that matters...

To see past projects, use the links below.



Questions and comments to Matthewearlgarthwait@gmail.com





Sunday, February 25, 2007

Article on Folkboats

The Frisco Flyer, like the Contessa 26 and the Invicta 26 are just a modern Folkboats. While some newer varieties have stretched and skewed the basic design to fit their individual needs, the Cheoy Lee Flyers remained truer to the original model in length, beam, displacement etc than most. Jack-A-Roe and the Folkboats mentioned here in this article share almost identical dimensions and design. LOA: 25 feet I inch, LWL: 19 feet 8 inches, Beam: 7 feet 2 inches, Draft: 3 1 feet 11 inches, Displacement: 4,322 pounds, Sail area: 258 square feet, Ballast: Cast iron, 2,315 pounds, Spars: Wood/aluminum. One of the smaller differences being that the Folkboats and international Folkboat class carry a traditional fractional rig as a part of the racing class requirements. Cheoy Lee was still offering fractional rigs for the Flyers at the buyers request in 65.

Short excerpt from an article on http://www.folkboatatlantic.com/


"So , what is the secret behind the success of the Folkboat?

To start with, she is a very good sailor. In light winds she is does well and while she may be not the fastest around, she is responsive enough to be very enjoyable to sail. When the going gets tough, she was and still is unrivalled. No matter what, the pressure on the tiller will hardly increase and she can be trimmed in such a way that any over dose of wind can be dealt with easily. The Folkboat is not only fun to race, but also safe to cruise. She is plain beautiful!


The Folkboat is everything a boat should be. She is still as simple as she's always been. This simplicity is what makes her special and she does not require any 'extras' to make her better.
The seaworthiness of the Folkboat made her a source of inspiration for many sailors. In the late nineteen fifties the first long distance voyages using Folkboats were undertaken. Some of these voyages included a trip in 1962 by Adrian Hayter, who sailed his Valkyr westwards from England to New Zealand. Then between 1975 and 1977 Australian Ann Gash circum navigated the Globe single-handedly in another Folkboat, Ilimo. But perhaps the best known long distance Folkboat is Jester, which was sailed by "Blondie" Hasler who single- handedly crossed the Trans Atlantic in 1960."



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