Boat History
The Wanderer is a 14ft (4.3m) fiberglass dinghy. It was designed by Ian Proctor in August 1978. Ian’s principal objective was to introduce a robust, safe and versatile dinghy which was relatively easy for two people to launch and recover. The Wanderer has main and jib sails and can also be fitted with a spinnaker. Reefing of the main sail is by slab reefing; the jib can also be fitted with a roller furling system. The design allows for the fitting of an outboard engine of up to 3.3 hp. It quickly established itself as a popular racing and cruising class, thanks to the initiative and hard work of the Class Owners’ Association under the chairmanship of Andy Peter and the enthusiasm generated by the Wanderer magazine edited by Philip Meadowcroft.
The internal lay out of the Wanderer has been slightly modified over the years and here is a very quick resume of the versions and the builders:
Winton Boats – built sail nos 1 – 400 to the original design
Anglo Marine at Clacton-on-Sea started building in 1984 and sold sail nos. 401-1526. During this period two new versions of the Wanderer were introduced:
The Wanderer 90 which had a sealed stern locker. This modification was principally offered to sailing schools, to save on maintenance.
The Wanderer MD became the most popular version in this era. It had the aft buoyancy tanks cut out, so in the event of a capsize the boat lay lower on its side in the water and could more easily be righted.
Ian Porter Sales Ltd (as the company is now known) took over the licence to build in 2002 at sail no 1527. In Jan 2006 a new version, known as the Wanderer Esprit was introduced and manufactured alongside the classic Wanderer. Only a few Esprits were sold. Porter boats finished manufacturing Wanderers at sail no 1585.
Hartley Boats Ltd bought the rights to the design in November 2006 and commissioned Phil Morrison to re-design the interior. The Hartley Wanderer was launched to the public in 2008 and continues to be built and sold from their factory in Derby. Hartley boats start from sail no 1586.
