LALUZ. A flush decked Frances that has sailed more than halfway around the world.
FELICITY, owned by Robin White. She was built by Victoria Yachts in Warsash, UK, then sailed transatlantic. She lives now in Owl’s Head, Maine. This is I believe the best of all the sailplans devised for the Frances… the cutter rig with short bowsprit, with a large lapper for light airs and a small staysail for a breeze, both on roller furlers.
A British built cutter rigged FRANCES. photo credit Charlie Whiteman
I have received many comments over the past few years about my first design, the FRANCES 26. The majority of them have come from members of the Facebook Group, The Chuck Paine Yacht Design Fan Club. A couple were handwritten letters, which are transcribed. I include them here verbatim, with any errors unfixed. Wouldn’t want anyone to accuse them of being “fake news”. The writer’s name is highlighted in blue text.
We had our Frances for 26 years!
What a great ship she was. Should have kept her.
I ALSO spent many a happy hour there,
I used to own a 1984 Victoria built Frances. She was an awesome boat. The finish work was very good. I now own a 1981 Morris Annie. The finish work is even better. I don’t think you can go wrong buying a Victoria built boat or a Morris built boat designed by Chuck Paine.
I’ve read all of your posts herein with great interest. You’re an accomplished, talented and lucky man. My now-departed friend had a Morris Francis. I loved sailing her around my home waters of the Cape and Islands. Look forward to a vicarious build of your…. Magnum opus?
The very best boat. We have loved our Frances “KATY” for almost 40 years!! She has been very good to us!!
Steve and Judy Higgins
— Thank you for designing such a stout and honest little boat. It was all I could fit into the garage space I had for a shop, and enough to take me anywhere I dared to go. Sorry I ever sold it, but financial necessity intervened…
I hope your new project brings you the same joy and satisfaction I got from building and sailing mine. (OWNED Morris-built Tolerance)
Tom Parmelee. Boise, Idaho
I am one of many who have experienced the brilliance of this design. Our Frances (Cielo) was built by Tom Morris in ‘79 for a good friend of ours in Seattle, Washington. My wife and I bought her from our friend in the summer of ‘83, then cruised locally and lived aboard in Seattle for a couple years. Quitting our jobs (young and adventurous) we spent the next two and a half years sailing. Down the west coast, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and so forth. We transited the canal, visited the San Blas Islands, then sailed strait to Key West. Boy, we had a lot of steam in those days! From Key West, we continued on to the Chesapeake Bay via the intercoastal waterway. We wintered over in Hampton Va.and shipped Cielo back to Seattle in the fall of that year.
We maintained Cielo superbly . She was outfitted simply with the best gear. Cutter rigged with the full headroom cabin. We pushed her hard at times (150 miles was the best 24 hr run, with a bit of help from the current) yet regardless of the conditions—or our foolishness—Cielo’s design and solid construction kept us from worry. That boat was way tougher than we were. I won’t go into all our adventures but there were many. Suffice to say your design was the vehicle for one of the best times of my life, and I simply would not be the guy I am today without the experience.
Thank you Chuck!
Tom Parmelee. Boise, Idaho
I owned Morris built Frances Hull #19 for many years (Weetamoe). She was a beautifully finished small yacht, which I sailed extensively on the New England coast, mostly Cape Cod and Islands. Sold her in 2000. Hope she is still giving someone the same pleasure she gave me.
Tom Morrow
(transcribed from handwritten letter)
April 11 , 1983
Dear Tom, (Morris)
Enclosed is the data card for my Fracncis (sic), “Danska”. I keep her moored in the Five Mile River at Rowayton, Conn during the summer and would be more than happy to show her to any of your prospective buyers in this area.
She’s as close to the perfect boat as I can imagine, well built pretty and a great sailer. Last summer I was on my way home from Block Island and went from the Connecticut River to Rowayton on one tack without having to touch the tiller even once.
Thanks for building
A fantastic boat,
Tom Morrow
Doug Bell
From Doug Bell, lived aboard La Lux for five years cruising the Pacific
Chuck Paine,
I read on a cursing blog that you were trying to reach me. I did not
see a date, so it could very well be ancient news. I had to sell
LaLuz in NZ in 2013. My wife said “too small.” We are now in
Madagascar in a Joubert designed French box that is a whopping 10mtrs.
“She ain’t much to look at, but she gets the job done” might be one
way to put it.
La Luz was a wonderful boat and I will never forget her. She stood up
to a blow and moved in light air and never gave me even a second of
doubt. And, she was always the most beautiful boat in the anchorage.
What more can a person ask for? The only problem was comfort at
anchor: bucket toilets and one burner primes stoves have their appeal,
but after 5 years it was time to flush!
Cheers, Doug
I would not trade my Frances for any reason.
Hi Jason, I sailed my Francis 26 across the Atlantic. You’ve got a wonderful boat. I wish I still had ‘Beguine‘.
(Referring to Heartbreaker, Morris hull #1).
That boat was originally known as Opus Two of Quahog Bay and Marblehead. She was a hull kit from Morris and Alan Boyes finished her and launched her in 1994 ish.
She is cutter rigged with a seldon tapered mast. She originally carried tan bark sails.
I had the pleasure of owning her for 10 years. A fantastic boat. I sailed her in the Gulf Of Maine.
Now owned by a nice guy from NYC. He gave her a total restoration about 6 years ago. She is now known as Heartbreaker. The new owner made a voyage to the Bahamas and back to Connecticut.
Chuck I am fortunate to have a Francis 26 from Tom Morris with an extended house. The original Musseta which Tom took back in 2002 and did an extensive restoration. I am surprised that this modification is not more popular. The additional head room is great and sleeplng forward very comfortable. She is now Loon and sails out of Castine. A superb sailing boat for our waters and two older sailors
Cutter rig saw us safely over thousands of miles over may years
Your friendship with Tom Morris sounds like it was one for the ages. You were both blessed that your paths crossed and intertwined. I am a big fan of yours and of Tom’s and feel blessed that I owned a Morris Frances (Hull #19) for many years.
My husband and I have sailed our Frances “KATY” since 1985. Tho small by cruising standards, KATY gave us some great times!! Thank you Chuck Paine
I’m aboard my Victoria Frances, Invictus, reading this. This boat has kept me safe in a few precarious situations due to my own decisions because I just had to go out and sail regardless of current or forecasted conditions. Thank you, Chuck! Your design has made me look like a much, much better sailor than I really am.
I’ve taken to the habit of talking to my boat. Each time I return to dock I thank her for protecting me.
I loved my Frances 26 ‘Jill‘ so much! Regret we have parted…
I had a Victoria 26 from the hamble bought hull & deck fitted out what a great sailing yacht , I love to get another one
Frances26,lived on board one for 7 years,goog little sailor.
Mithril was the most beautiful boat I ever owned.\
had one for seven years….absolute darling…
Jeremey never sailed a Frances! I did for 10 years. Best little boat in the world. If you dont believe me ask Ferenc Máté!
It is true a tiller will wear you out on a fin keel/spade rudder boat. But on the Frances, with the sails nicely balanced, you can sail in a straight line without touching the tiller while you eat your lunch. It’s that nice long keel giving you directional stability! The tiller allows me to feel what the boat is doing, definitely my preference.
You’ve definitely covered the lobster pot issue, and think about what could happen should one encounter a rock outcropping! There are challenges here on the jagged coast of Maine, and our Frances handles it all with grace. She is a stable, comfortable, fun-to-sail boat even when the wind comes up.
There’s always that quest for performance and pointing higher. I’ve found that if you don’t pinch it, let it get some momentum, and come up a little gently, it’s possible to outperform boats that might do better if better handled.
My wife and I have been able to sail Penobscot Bay and further North into our 80’s precisely because our Francis Loon is a stable easily handled boat. Her minimum draft allows us to get into some of the most beautiful cruising spots on this planet. Tom Morris did a major renovation on Loon in 2002 he loved these boats and we have been sailing her in 20 kts and a reef happily ever since. She has an extended house and I am curious why we don’t see that more of this modification. Much more room in the fore peak. Thank you Chuck. She does exactly what you designed her to do. BTW Tom moved the main sheet aft to a push pit arrangement. It gets the sheet out of the way and allows a much more aggressive sheeting angle to windward.
Best of luck with her. Looks like exciting times ahead. I’m looking at one this w/e that’s 500 miles from me. We’ll see.
fyi I’ve previously owned one before for 26 years. It’s an awesome little ship!
JILL was my very loved Frances 26 in Singapore from 2011-2015. Miss her a lot but I know she is in good hands now with Bill Robinson.
Erich Seiser No Erich, I am based in Langkawi, Malaysia. I bought the 2 Navik units, and an Optimus paraffin stove, before I found a Francis in Singapore. I bought the boat sight unseen, during the Covid lockdown, “managed” to get it out of Singapore, and single handed it 450nm to Langkawi. Lots of stuff done, last job is the artificial teak on the cabin sole. I am absolutely delighted with this little gem.
I once crossed the Gulfstream in my self-designed and built 28-foot cutter from Bimini to Ft. Lauderdale. The night turned into an up-to-48-knot Northeaster. My friends on Gypsy Eagle, a homebuilt Frances left at the same time. They beat me into Ft. Lauderdale by three hours. Frances was a much better heavy-weather boat.
We’ve had our V800 since she was built in 1996 and wouldn’t change a thing. A great layout, not too dissimilar to your new proposal. We used to keep an Eastport nesting pram on deck too, but now we just tow it everywhere. Thanks for a great design!
It is a real live photo. The boat has been fully refit: Mr Paine was kind enough to answer a few key questions along the way. I am sketching a new project now and am open to finding a very good home for Truant. Easy for me to say….but she’s a beauty and is great fun to sail
Mr Paine:
The late Bob Hathaway, who was a Victoria owner and later served Victoria Yachts Ltd as its Technical Director took off from the UK in his Francis 26 shortly after the firm went out of business and ended up arriving and settling in the Caribbean. I remember him telling me about his amazing 3-4 week sail across the Atlantic and how well his, by then old, Francis26 took on the high seas.
Our F26 Mithril was home completed by her original owner and sailed across in the 1986 ARC and then back the following year. If you search this forum you will find his responses to my initial post and some pictures from the trip. There are pictures and logs from other F26’s which made the 1 way trip to the states and remain there both in waterlines (The Victoria Shadow Association Journal) and on the Chuck Paine and Frances 26 facebook pages. There are also references to others sailing to Australia
The second owner of my F26 Beguine took her from Spain to the Chesapeake and back. I just potter around the East Coast UK.
A properly set up Frances 26, is easily capable of ocean crossings, and many have done exactly that. I would have no hesitation in crossing an ocean on Inyoni, my Victoria Frances 26 as she is now. Navik wind vane, auto pilot, cutter rigged , 3 reef mainsail, paraffin stove and heater, lee cloths, AIS, EPIRB, Beta 16 etc.
Top Contributor
More than one Sadler 26 has circumnavigated the world. I’d prefer a Frances 26. Or better still Air New Zealand
Mike Bees When I sailed my Frances to windward like that in a decent breeze you could literally leave the tiller to take care of itself, the rudder just
followed the boat These designs are so sweetly balanced
A fabulous boat and highly prized.
Peter and Pam Hayes
We sailed our wonderful Lissome many thousands of miles between Puget Sound and Alaska and 18 mos. in the Pacific to New Zealand. Western Pacific and Australia. She was built by Morris Yachts in late ‘70s.
Very steady and handy for a boat of that size. We sailed everywhere because we could, and hardly used the engine. Used 12 gallons of fuel to get to NZ. Explored Vanuatu, Solomons, and Australia engineless (raw water-cooled Volvo didn’t like the tropical water!).
Given the group’s current exploration of Franceses that have significant miles under their keels, here is another one – with a NZ connection to boot. “Lissome” was built in the Morris yard and sailed by first owner from Maine to New Orleans. She served our family well for 18 years and over 14,000 miles, up and down the NW coast and Seattle – NZ – Solomons – New Guinea – Australia. Sailing shot from the Bay of Islands in ’86. Wonderful boat. Thanks Chuck – and Tom M.!
Stuart Elgar (British Frances RUSH)
she was a lovely yacht to sail. My wife never forgave me for selling her
