"La Petite Louise"

As a member of the Hollyburn Sailing Club I decided my next workshop project would be to build a sailboat. The plans that I used for this build is the Morbic 12, a Francois Vivier design. The Morbic is a versatile sailboat with generous breadth giving it stability for both sail and motor and it can also be rowed as well. I also chose to build it with the two mast positions which would allow it to be rigged as a Balanced Lug for single handling or with a jib as a Lug Sloop. In regards to the weight of the dinghy, I would estimate at least 100 kg or slightly more, which is about the maximum I would want to manage for launching and retrieving from our club ramp.

The dinghy "La Petite Louise" has been named for my late grandmother Louise Clement (née Brazeau). For the trim I am using the black walnut that my grandfather Remi and then my dad had stored since the 1920's. The mast and spars were cut and planed from a 16' 6X6" beam of white spruce fresh from the mill and dried over the winter suspended in the workshop furnace room.

The Morbic 12 was an excellent choice as it is very comfortable to sail and easy to rig for both mast positions. I have made a few alterations to the original build requirements, mostly the centreboard case and the rigging. Below is a selection of images of the finished sailboat and below that is more images of the various stages of the build, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I hope you enjoy the story of "La Petite Louise" as much as I have enjoyed building and sailing it.