Drascombe Lugger vs Montgomery 15
A Round 1 Mini-Cruiser Madness Match-up
We’ll get some hate mail for pairing these two fan favorites, but match-ups were intentionally random. Few small boats have the celebrated history of the rugged Drascombe Lugger, but the Jerry Montgomery-designed M-15 is arguably the best boat of its specific type and exceptionally popular with our readers.
As for our opinion of the M-15, we haven’t been shy. We wrote: Is the Montgomery 15 the perfect microcruiser? No boat can be. But, if like Jerry Montgomery, your idea of perfection is a speedy, capable 15-footer with just enough cabin to do some comfortable cruising—this boat comes awfully close.
On her seaworthiness: We were able to uncover only a few reports of knockdowns, and in each case the 15 righted herself promptly. Owners were unanimously positive about the 15’s relative seaworthiness. That skipper Mike Mann sailed a mostly stock M-15 from California to Hawaii lends some additional credence to claims that the 15 is seaworthy for her size.
We even went so far as to rank her slightly above her bigger sibling, the Montgomery 17: …we think pound-for-pound the 15 is superior—offering similar capability, performance and comfort at roughly half the total weight and required effort.
The Drascombe Lugger, designed by John L. Watkinson and first built in 1968, is known for its shallow creek crawling prowess but also its seaworthiness. Maybe the strongest endorsement is how many famous adventurers have picked this design for their passages.
Webb Chiles sailed his undecked Chidiock Tichborne more than 20,000 miles and called the Lugger “A truly great little boat.” When we asked him about heavy-weather (Issue #122) he wrote:
I think a yawl rig has great safety advantages on small, open boats. You can lower the main completely and sail under jib and mizzen. Also she hove-to better than any of my other boats which were sloops and one cutter. Furl her jib. Lower the main. Put the centerboard three-fourths down. Tie the tiller amidships. Flatten the mizzen and it weathercocked the bow right into the wind. Generally in heavy weather, assuming sea room, which I usually had, I would head off down wind in extreme conditions under bare poles letting the wind vane self-steering device on those of my boats that had one steer as long as it could. When waves began to overwhelm it, I simply lay ahull.
We also interviewed David Pyle(issue #126), who voyaged from England to France then down the Tigris to the Middle East and finally to Australia on his Drascombe Lugger Hermes. We asked him why he chose that boat for such an ambitious trip:
I was going to design and build my own 18-foot boat for the voyage to Australia and would have closely copied (hull-wise) the Yorkshire Coble which had survived as a tough, seaworthy fishing vessel for well over 100 years, but during 1968 I went to the London Boat Show and saw for the first time the Drascombe Lugger and immediately fell in love with it. The hull shape was almost exactly what I had sketched in my mind so I ordered one, but only the hull was standard and the rest—foredeck, aft deck, side decks—I asked to be altered. The aft deck had waterproof hatches, the foredeck was raised, and I had side seats boxed in for extra stowage.
Two good designs for sure. Now it’s your turn to vote! •SCA•
A few readers have complained about “apples and oranges” matchups…but I hope they realize it’s impossible to organize this kind of elimination contest with nothing but similar designs. The Lugger vs. Monty 15 matchup is classic in that they both have huge followings and they’re in the same general size range, but they’re light years apart in other respects…suggesting we’ll continue to see at least different kinds of apples as we approach the final showdown. Anyhow, Lugger vs. Monty 15 is a really tough call: I have enormous respect for both designs, but I’ve got to go with the Montgomery 15, since I’ve owned one, know how well they sail in various conditions, appreciate their sleep-aboard advantages, and just love their overall design.
Well, this is like comparing the person you are happily married to someone you dreamed off back in high school. The Monty gets my vote- how could I betray her as she sits in my garage? About the best 15 ft cruiser there is- the cabin has no pretense of holding anything but a berth, but what a big and surprisingly comfortable berth it is (as I was once told, think of it as a supremely comfortable backpacking tent- I can't imagine another 15 footer that my wife would gladly chose over her bed at home), and she sails so well- leaving one cutting through waves, hiking stick in hand, laughing at all the tubbier boats hobby horsing in the chop. And if you have a question on the email group, Jerry- who build your boat in 1985- may ask for your number so he can call to talk through a repair you asked for advice on- and share some crazy stories too. And great build quality- I always enjoy getting to tell people who ask if she is new that no, she's older than you probably are... Oh, and pulling in and having her on the trailer and ready to take home in 30 min, and then offering your help to the friend still de-rigging a Catalina 22 who started an hour before you got there, there's a certain satisfaction in that too. True, you can nose her up to a beach, but don't want to ground her out at low tide, and yes, she's a two person boat- the cockpit looks like it has more room, but really, even three are a crowd and mess with sailing ability, and, no, she's not the boat to take around Vancouver Island- but dang she better win this whole dang thing. But yes, there is still the Dracombe, and I will admit- please don't tell my Monty- that sometimes I do still dream of her.