Sallee Rover

Daysailers Sallee Rover

Sam Crocker’s design work was highly regarded by his peers, and by those who built, brokered, maintained, or cruised his yachts. The yawl Sallee Rover, drawn in 1953, shows why this is so.

Crocker has recombined a remarkable assemblage of elements here into one small boat, but the result is so superbly proportioned that no one item overpowers the overall design. Joel White, who built the sloop version of this boat, aptly describes the hull, with its shallow draft and broad beam, as a cross between a catboat and a Muscongus Bay sloop. 

She has a very strong sheer, extended at the ends by her steeved bowsprit and boomkin; a big outboard rudder; a clipper bow; and a round-fronted cabin trunk which combines with a high coaming carried well aft. But for all the traditional detailing, the sail plan is a modern Marconi rig of manageable size, in both the yawl and sloop versions. Here, too, it is a credit to Crocker’s skill that he could set those sails on this hull and still keep it all in character

Sallee Rover’s scantlings are substantial for so small a vessel. Her keel, for example, is 7 x 9″ oak; other structural members are sized accordingly. 

Crocker used the hull itself (particularly the heavy backbone) to ballast this boat, and thereby simplified construction by eliminating a ballast keel. 

Her down-low weight and wide body, plus some inside ballast and the sensible sail plan, make this a stiff boat in strong winds.

Her cockpit is self-bailing and the footwell is jogged, thus adding space and making good use of the coaming, cabin, and afterdeck for assorted seating under sail or at anchor. 

There are no below-deck accommodations shown, other than two transom berths with lockers under, and a platform for stowage forward of the mast—but the little cabin provides an airy and adequate shelter for camp-cruising. 

The recommended inboard auxiliary power is less than 10 hp and accessible through a large hatch in the cockpit

sole.

Heavy scantlings, inside ballast, and firm bilges give Sallee Rover the stability she needs.

She’s special, Sallee Rover—a small wonder. She’s the craft chosen to demonstrate, and celebrate, the anatomy of a wooden boat in a series of perspective drawings by Sam Manning for the 10th anniversary issue of WoodenBoat magazine (WoodenBoat No. 60).