Hirondelle

Hirondelle (French for Swallow) may refer to:

See also

Hirondelle (catamaran)

The Hirondelle is a fibreglass cruising catamaran, 23 feet (7.0 m) in length, with a beam of 10 feet (3.0 m), and in its standard configuration has 4 or 5 berths. Based on Chris Hammond's 20 ft (6.1 m) 'Meon' cold-moulded/sheet-plywood catamaran of 1967-8, the original design was bought by Brian Carvill in 1969, modified, renamed Hirondelle, and manufactured in fibreglass by Robert Ives Boatbuilders in Christchurch, England.

The boat was marketed as a family weekender with full length sleeping berths for five adults, cooking facilities and a small but useful separate heads (toilet). Hirondelles have an outboard motor as auxiliary power, mounted in a well in the centre of the cockpit. The sailing performance of the Hirondelle was excellent in its day, and is still good for a boat of its size, particularly in Mk I form. Over 300 Hirondelles were sold.

There are four types:

Hirondelle Mk I - In general the Mk I's had a tall rig, with a mast in excess of 30 feet (9.1 m), and a high percentage of the boats were home completed. The interior layout usually comprises two generous single quarter berths, a large convertible double (cum table) on the bridgedeck and a single berth forward on the starboard side. To port in the bow is the heads - most boats were fitted with sea toilets and a small stowaway wash basin. The Mk I boat has twin daggerboards and lifting rudders, and the sail area was 250 sq ft (23 m²) or 330sq ft with the widely used 150% genoa.