Cherry 16
Description
The Cherry 16 is a lightweight, trailerable sailboat designed by New Zealand naval architect Frank Pelin in the 1970s as an accessible family cruiser and racer. It's a compact monohull trailer sailor, emphasizing simplicity, ease of construction, and affordability for amateur builders. The hull is assembled using the stitch-and-glue method with plywood panels, making it ideal for home builds without a jig or advanced tools. First introduced around 1975, the design originated in New Zealand for safe sailing in strong winds but gained popularity in Australia, where modifications for racing were common. Plans remain available from Pelin Plans in New Zealand, and an estimated 60–100 were built in Australia alone (with around 700 worldwide per some records), though exact totals are unclear due to amateur construction.
Construction Details
| Designer | Frank Pelin |
|---|---|
| Length | 16.000 ft |
| LOA | 16.000 ft |
| Beam | 7.170 ft |
| Displacement | 485 lb |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 16.17 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 6.07 ft |
| p | 16.24 ft |
| e | 7.71 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.17 ft | 6.07 ft | 16.24 ft | 7.71 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 16.24 ft - (4950 mm) |
| Foot | * 7.71 ft - (2350 mm) |
| Leech | * 17.56 ft - (5352 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 17.73 ft - (5404 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 3.5 in - (89 mm) |
| Area | * 64.66 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 16.42 ft - (5005 mm) |
| Foot | 7.67 ft - (2338 mm) |
| Leech | 14.75 ft - (4496 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 113.53 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 6.89 ft - (2100 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 5.55 ° |
| Area | * 56.54 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 16.41 ft - (5002 mm) |
| Foot | * 10.01 ft - (3051 mm) |
| Leech | * 15.25 ft - (4648 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 149.94 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.1 ft - (2774 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.06 ° |
| Area | * 74.66 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 16.41 ft - (5002 mm) |
| Foot | * 10.01 ft - (3051 mm) |
| Leech | * 15.1 ft - (4602 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 123 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | 15.748 ft - (4800 mm) |
| MidGirth | 12.303 ft - (3750 mm) |
| Foot | 12.303 ft - (3750 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 165 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.