Text of Trapper 28 design review by JD Sleightholme, Yachting Monthly 1971 :

The emphasis in Trapper 28 is certainly towards performance. She cannot be compared to the average family cruiser in terms of comfortable accomodation but her performance compensates generously those owners who are looking for cruiser/racer points trophies and fast passages at sea.

We were unable to carry out any of our usual handling tests because the boat had been entered for a local race at Lymington Yacht Club and while this event was more of a mid week jolly than a serious race I have yet to see any race that wasn't fairly boot faced once the gun had gone. We were under something of a handicap in having an untuned boat and a weak crew first timing in her but (and in spite of a bad start) we managed to haul right up to third position astern of far larger craft and to finish first by dint of carrying the spinnaker right up to the club steps so to speak. The fleet of about eight yachts was comprised of modern craft, none of them pot-bellied accomodation boats and all sailing well. I will not quote them for to do so would land me with a tray of mail that I can well do without. The conclusion to be drawn is that Trapper 28 is a boat that would respond well to careful sailing and win prizes in local handicap races.

The RCA Dolphin gave her auxiliary power enough to ensure fast passages through calms and more than adequate handling ability for marina work; she has a Stuart Turner feathering propeller which does little to detract from her sailing qualities. The cockpit is large by dint of being carried well abaft the rudder post but of course the number of people that might be acceptable for a Sunday afternoon sail would hardly be fair on the boat while racing. She has broad side decks and she carries her headsails well inside the rail on the wind. The small forehatch is described as 100 per cent watertight and I am disposed to believe it since it tightens down hard on a soft rubber seal.

The accomodation would be disappointing by out-and-out family cruiser standards but in Trapper the concessions made are concessions to speed. She has in fact everything she should have in terms of four large berths, good galley, folding chart table, heads forward, hanging space and so forth but she lacks headroom and the heads shares the forecabin with two sleepers. Most of the locker space is under the settee cushions and the saloon table is formed by unhinging the forecabin door and mounting it on a special bracket - which when erected blocks off all access to the forecabin and makes the heads unusable.

Against these criticisms we must ask 'what do we want in the way of accomodation?' The settees make spacious berths and very comfortable lounging space; the interior is clean and simple, well appointed and attractive looking. Any attempt to incorporate a clever-dick layout with lots of little compartments would create a living atmosphere of constant irritation. In a fast sailing hull the designer has provided the best accomodation possible without spoiling the performance and those who rate life below higher than performance on deck will seek a different sort of boat.

In general her handling behaviour was all you would hope for. The helm was light and well balanced and she handled easily under mainsail. Pressed and on the wind she showed no tendency to gripe save once when we had to bear off on to a reach to avoid being set into a large buoy by a fast flood; the mainsheet jamming block refused to release the sheet and with everything hard in she was hard to hold but a couple of inches of sheet, when free, brought her back under full control.

From a cruising aspect I was less happy about her keel and rudder arrangement which precludes drying out alongside and could be vulnerable (the rudder) in the hands of adventurous though inexpert navigators who hit things. I visualise Trapper 28 as a club racer which can take large picnic parties when required or the owner, wife and two friends on the annual holiday cruise. In the right hands she could be sailed out of most trouble, for she is very powerful and her draught is not excessive either. - JDS

Chas's footnote: I would like to add that we found that the saloon table formed by unhingeing the door was extremely useful and practical in the limited space available.

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