Flashgirl: The Perfect Boat

by Joe Cooper, WindCheck Magazine
Much rum has been spilled, I suggest, over discussions pertaining to “The Perfect Boat.” Most likely The Perfect Boat is the one that suits your purposes, closely followed by the one you have…The boats for folks who like racing, gunkholing, entertaining their mates or ocean voyaging are all vastly different, yet each owner might argue theirs is the perfect boat. Few of us are in a position to create a craft we view as the perfect boat. A custom 40-foot cruiser is not much change from a million bucks these days.

Nonetheless, one such Perfect Boat is owned by a dear friend and great shipmate of mine, one Warwick “Commodore” Tompkins (Google him). Years ago, Commodore purchased the hull and deck from Westerly Marine in Santa Ana, CA, who had built a number of these boats for the West Coast racer/cruiser market. Constructed to a design from Tom Wylie, these production boats (hull and deck) were all a bit different, an OK way to get a (semi) custom boat for less than a custom job. – Full report