Morris Frances 26

SV Lilyana Blue is an excellently maintained example of the classic Morris Frances 26.
Sized economically for comfortable cruising around the Sea of Cortez or World.

More details and specs coming soon on this recently listed beauty.

COMMENTS BY HER DESIGNER:

Chuck-Paine designed Morris built Frances 26 Cutters. Chuck Paine built her for his personal use. Here are his comments: 
"I designed FRANCES during the winter of 1975 for my own use. She was to embody everything I know about the design of efficient cruising vessels of fiberglass construction, to be capable of yearly cruises to and among the Caribbean Islands, to be small enough to fit my limited budget yet large enough to safely survive a gale at sea.  Yet she is small enough for me to handle the little maintenance required with fiberglass construction, capable of being laid up alongside a local lobsterman's wharf on an outgoing tide for periodic attention to the bottom,or even towed behind a good Maine Peapod if the engine and wind should choose to crap out .simultaneously. Then there's always the ultimate dream of a circumnavigation, and well, some year I might just find the time and have saved up the Panama Canal fee and a few cans of ravioli.

Many an ocean passage has been made in smaller boats. The coastal cruiser or sailor dreaming of• more distant places, will find a reassuring capacity in his Frances. She's a double ender. Not as fast as a transom or counter stem, but not much slower, either, and the sea-keeping qualities are so well known as not to require repeating here. Many hours were devoted to developing the hull shape, including the carving and gradual perfection of a half model. The entry is modeled quite sharp (the fastest racing yacht I ever designed of comparable size had an entry half angle of 22 degrees). The keel extension is carried right up to the 'canoe body' of the hull with a very tight fairing radius. This allows the entire keel to act like a vertical wing and thus prevent leeway. The rig is tall and narrow, increasing the leading edge of the sails. These three factors make FRANCES a weatherly boat. She has quite a high freeboard. This is used fore and aft to provide 4 inch high bulwarks around the forward and after deck. Now bulwarks have gone out of fashion on the racing boats, but once you sail with decent bulwarks as well as lifelines betwixt yourself and the hereafter, you won't go to sea again on a boat that is not so equipped. Amidships the high freeboard combined with a flush deck are responsible for all that lovely room below decks. I wanted to end up with a boat which could carry her sail well (an essential conflict between cruising and racing yachts, the stability being penalized in the latter for rating purposes.) On the other hand, I wanted the desirable wave performance of a tender boat. That is, one which is an easy roller. There is only one solution to this seeming conflict. I get the sail carrying ability from the moderately heavy displacement (directly proportional to the righting moment). I achieve an easy motion by shaping the hull sections with a high angle of deadrise and very easy bilges, or more technically, designing a shape with a low metacenter. The result is a hull which is easily-driven and has relatively less wetted surface for her length than many yachts in her size range."