Jon Goff, avid Bristol sea sprite sailor, racer, and inveterate creative tinkerer, is in the process of rebuilding Raven, an SS23 daysailer. His work is a remarkable story spanning several years and many hours that he has now documented on a newly created and exquisitely detailed blog. Here is the link to Raven Rebuilding. And below is his home page. He looks forward to your comments, advice, and thoughts.
SEA SPRITE 23
RAVEN
Rejuvination of a Classic
During the summer of 2009 my father and I began to discuss the purchase of a boat that was larger than our Herreshoff 12 ½ but smaller than the C&C 35 that my wife and I previously owned.
The boats that we were principally looking at were the Pisces 21, Herreshoff Fish and Alerion 26. That summer I sailed in a number of races on Elf a Sea Sprite 23. I found Elf to be a pleasure to sail, well balanced and possessing an attractive shear. The Sea Sprite 23 was added to the list of boats. In particular the DaySailer model with a larger cockpit and more protected seating for sailing with small kids. The price point was also very attractive being less than 10% the cost of any the other boats in consideration. At the end of the summer the Sea Sprite 23 fleet sailed in the Herreshoff Regatta amongst all of the classics. Seeing the Sea Sprites sailing alongside more traditional classics gave me an idea and at that moment this project was born.
Taking the classic hull and shear profile of the Sea Sprite 23 daysailer and couple it with a traditional Herreshoff Cabin Top; something similar to that found on a Herreshoff Fish Class, or Alerion.
The GOAL became to rebuild a Sea Sprite 23 DaySailor to be more aesthetically pleasing, easier to sail and to create an ideal family boat for all ages that will last generations.