September 2025  Pod

By Jake Kavanagh

I bought my Corribee Mk 2 from the film set of ‘London’s Burning’ back in 1991. The 21ft fin-keeled junk-rigged sloop represented a bad debt to South Dock Marina at the time and was due to go up in flames as part of the drama. I watched the filming of the action sequence (series 4, episode 6) and realised the wind had changed. As a result, the boat survived its scripted destruction, although two others (including a mock-up cabin cruiser) were engulfed. Clearly this sweet little boat, designed by Robert Tucker, had a charmed life. I bought her (slightly sooty) from London Weekend Television (LWT) and then sailed her from the capital to my mooring at Littlehampton in West Sussex.

The intention was to convert her back to a Bermudan rig, but having enjoyed an exciting sail down the Thames Estuary and along the South Coast, the simplicity of the sail plan meant I was hooked.

Over the years, she took me on many solo (and occasionally crewed) cross-Channel jaunts to France and the Channel Islands, with engine power coming from an outboard on a swing-down bracket. The first motor was an Evinrude 6hp two-stroke, the second a  Honda 9.9 four-stroke, and the current motor is a Tohatsu 5hp ‘saildrive’ model. The latter returns about 15nm/gallon at 5 knots.

I also began a ‘rolling refit.’ Anyone who owns a boat is constantly making little tweaks here and there, but with Pod (as in ‘escape pod’) I was trying to get her to perform better under sail.

From the outset, I noticed she was a bit twitchy. She rolled more than expected when I very first stepped on board, so the ballast ratio was clearly a bit low. I eventually made a lead-filled ballast bulb from four shaped sections of GRP filled with lead, epoxied to the base of the fin keel, and this has made her much stiffer. I had earlier added a tall gantry at the stern, which probably hadn’t helped. However, the ‘Zimmer frame’ design is great as a raised hand purchase (at sea and for acting as a supporting arch for the cockpit tent.)

Hauling the yard up and down met with some resistance, so I had a masthead fitting made from mild steel that took the blocks clear of the tapered aluminium spar. That made a big difference. Now it’s easy up, and even easier down. I also added lazyjacks to catch the collapsing sail.

Another improvement involved fitting a proper genoa car track on the pushpit so I could fit larger swivel blocks for the miles of mainsheet. This allowed them to be moved from side to side – and then locked in position - for a better angle depending on the tack. (The original design simply had a metal tab welded to the rail).

I also made a receptor for a small ‘drop in’ foremast for a ‘ghosting pilmer’ but have yet to make and fit the canvas.

After many miles under sail, I felt the original design has the mast sited too far aft. It drops through the forehatch, and I noticed that Pod would stall when going through a tack. A countermeasure is to keep a bit of helm in reserve, and when she stops nose into the wind, especially in a seaway, you give it that last bit of rudder to push the nose across to the other tack. I have read about another Corribee where the owner has moved the mast forward, so it drops through the foredeck instead, about 18 inches ahead of the usual location. He says this has greatly improved sailing performance.

My interim solution has been to increase the size of the skeg-hung rudder and make it semi-balancing. This has virtually eliminated stalls and now the steering is generally much more response, especially when on a tiller-pilot.

Unfortunately, Pod has been laid up ashore for many years now as I work on a junk rig conversion of a 39ft ferro cement Hartley, but I have plans to get her operational for the Baltimore (Southern Ireland) Jester Challenge next year. This 250-mile trip departs from Plymouth (with a simultaneous start from Phwelli in Wales) and is timed to arrive at this scenic harbour to co-incide with the annual Baltimore Pirate Festival. I have sourced a Navik windvane for Pod and hope to get that fitted, with the boat put back together and ready to go by next July.

If I was going to keep the boat beyond that, then I would probably move the mast forwards, but then Roger Taylor sailed his engineless bilge-keeled version deep into the Arctic with the mast in its factory position, so maybe it isn’t so critical. In short, the junk rigged Corribee Mk 2 is a great, seaworthy little boat with nice lines, easy to sail, and shallow enough to get in almost anywhere. It even has enough living space for two people (who really like each other) to make an overseas trip in! Highly recommended.

Further information on Pod, and her refit, may be found in JRA Magazines #97 and #98  (March and July 2025)

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