Trapper400#1

We bought 'Kontiki', a Trapper 400 in the autumn of 1989 and sailed her until the spring of 1995. She is pictured here sailing off the Gourock shore. We bought her with the intention of cruising and immmediately started racing her - with no previous experience of yacht racing.

She was (is) a terrific boat and for us fulfilled completely the predictions of Des Sleighthome in his highly perceptive Yachting Monthly review. With 2 tiny children we set off in 1990 for our first cruising holiday in our own yacht setting a pattern that was to continue to the present day. As we built up a wardrobe of decent sails and gained experience the racing results started to come in.

Our first Scottish series was 1992 and although winning nothing we did not disgrace ourselves. Our most momentous season was our last year - 1994 - when we won (by just a few seconds) Royal Gourock Yacht Club's most prized trophy , the King George V Cup and also the equally prized one-off RGYC Centenary Regatta. After that there was no place left to go so we sold her on and she is now owned by a member of the Arran Yacht Club and I think she is currently (Jan2001)for sale again.

Most Trapper 28/400s were home finished and Kontiki was one of those. I think she was completed around 1978. The standard engine fit on the Trapper 28 was the RCA Dolphin petrol engine but Kontiki has a Volvo MD5A diesel with a saildrive unit. The engine was out twice in my ownership. Eventually, (with new piston rings) we made a reasonably reliable unit out of it. Trapper 28/400s had various sizes of rigs. Kontiki had the tall rig and it is due to her success that the CYCA handicap system lists the Trapper 400 at 20.50 min/hour while the Trapper 28 remains at 21.00min/hour.

When we bought her she had a Harken roller headstay fitted with a No2 genoa.. We did not want to dispense with this for cruising purposes and Saturn Sails of Largs came up with a full hoist No.1 genoa with two tacks - one on the deck and the other on top of the roller drum. Obviously this could not be rolled for cruising but it made for a very effective racing sail. We acquired a good dacron mainsail from Doyle Sails in South Africa (don't ask) and a general purpose spinnaker from Williams-Lankester. Initially the genoa sheeting was to snatch blocks on the slotted toerail but a useful reduction in sheeting angle was obtained by the fitting of inboard genoa tracks. The addition of a lever type backstay adjuster also proved worthwhile.

One of the principal differences between the Trapper 28 and the 400 is that on the 400 the main bulkhead has been brought aft making room for a heads/ hanging locker between the main saloon and the forepeak. This is certainly much better than the original heads position in the V of the forward berths. The saloon berths retain length by employing trotter boxes under the galley to starboard and the sink/chart table to port. The saloon door still removes to form a remarkably effective put-up table. The downside of all this is that the mast step is no longer supported directly by the goalpost beams forming the doorway in the bulkhead and the balsa cored deck is consequently prone to fracturing at that site.

Nevertheless the Trapper 28 / 400 is a terrific starter boat, quick, responsive and seaworthy and good looking. It only lacks interior space but it is that which makes them undervalued and consequently excellent value.