The craft in the Character Boats range feature a shallow long keel that allows them to sail well in shoal draught waters and eliminates the need for a centreboard and its attendant centre case, leaving a spacious and uncluttered cockpit. The keel and bilges are fitted with sturdy metal keel bands, which allows the craft to be safely beached and easily handled ashore. Built to a substantial specification in keeping with their traditional background, the craft will provide a lifetime of use.

STABILITY
Encapsulated ballast within the keel ensures that the craft are more stable than comparable sized centreboard craft. These are craft that you sit in rather than sit upon and do not require the crew to sit out in order to balance the craft when sailing.

SAILING PERFORMANCE
Derived from working craft that had to go to sea on a daily basis in a wide variety of sea conditions, they are well able to tolerate poor conditions and have a well deserved reputation for good sailing performance and excellent seaworthiness. These commercial considerations have left a legacy of safety and sailing efficiency. This has been retained in the latest generation of craft, allowing the family skipper to accommodate varying skill levels within his crew. The easily driven hulls make for easy rowing and all models within the range include a 'well' within the cockpit to accommodate an outboard engine of 2hp - 5hp where it is both safe and convenient to operate.

RIGGING
The entire range have traditional rigs with a quality suit of distinctive tan sails. Mainsails are equipped for slab reefing as standard, which makes reducing sail easy and convenient when afloat should the needs arise. Foresails can have furling and roller reefing spars if required. Standing rigging is stainless steel wire with lanyards. Running rigging is traditional looking polyester for durability. Spars are wooden with stayed masts. The mainmast is of a similar length as the boat, which makes stowage easy for towing.

MAINTENENCE
Fibreglass hulls, micro-porous wood stains and polyester ropes reduce the amount of maintenance to the absolute minimum leaving more time for sailing. Each craft is issued with a comprehensive Owners Manual relevant to that model.

TRAILING
Each of our trailers is purpose built and designed for a specific model in our range and incorporates guide rollers which ensures that boats are self aligned as they are winched on. Launching can easily be achieved by one person and all craft can be towed by an average sized family saloon. All trailers are of sturdy construction and feature a galvanized chassis with independent suspension units. They are equipped with a powerful winch, a wide tyred jockey wheel and come complete with a ratchet boat securing strap. The combination of trailer features ensures ease of launching and retrieval in all conditions. A choice of braked or un-braked trailers is offered with larger craft.

SAFETY
Craft are well engineered and are built to a sturdy specification, they have full built in buoyancy. All new craft are CE plated to European standards.