Spook

This should be a post for 1001 Boats, but I only managed to get one photo. Spook is a 30 foot ocean cruiser, designed in the mid 1980's by Andrew Simpson,s a very practical and cleverly though out boat.

Spook was up for sale a few years ago at Hamble Point Marina, I'd previously read about her in the yachting press and it was great to have a chance to really look her over. It was tempting, but in the end we didn't buy her, we had just sold Angelina our Endurance 35 and in part we weren't really decided on what we wanted from a new boat. 

As I recall Spook was foam cored GRP, and one of the things that put me off was the strip teak laid in the cockpit, the thought of all those screws working loose and letting water into the foam. Maybe I'm over cautious but I maintain that the best thing to do with a teak deck is put it on the barbecue!

That aside Spook is a great boat, roomy and spacious down below, the flush deck is very practical. The industry trend is for ever bigger and more sophisticated boats, but sailing a 30 footer is easier, everything is lighter, requires less physical strength on the part of the crew, a lot to be said for it.