A Hartley 16. This craft, designed by Richard Hartley in 1963, inspired the term ‘trailer-sailer’.

Photographer unknown, reproduced courtesy of Myllys Hartley / Portrait: Photograph by Lynette Hartley, reproduced courtesy of Myllys Hartley

Murare II, a Hartley RORC 39, a ferro-cement fast ocean cruiser.

Photographer unknown, reproduced courtesy of Myllys Hartley

Solong II, a Hartley South Seas, is a 37.75-foot (11.51m) ferro-cement ocean cruising motor sailer.

Photographer unknown, reproduced courtesy of Myllys Hartley

RICHARD HARTLEY

(1920–1995)

Richard Hartley designed New Zealand’s first trailerable racer–cruiser, the famous Hartley 16 – ideal for the do-it-yourself family sailor.

Beginnings

Richard Hartley was born in Auckland but lived in Britain’s Scilly Isles for eight years as a boy. Back in New Zealand, he took on a boatbuilding apprenticeship. During that time he studied the basics of yacht design under Jack Brooke at the Auckland Technical Institute night school.

He worked at Shipbuilders Ltd and later at the Devonport naval base during World War II, then moved to Whangarei where he had his own boatbuilding yard for seven years. He returned to Takapuna in 1959.

Hartley 16 – do-it-yourself dream

In this pre-fibreglass era, sailors built boats themselves or paid someone else to do so. Hartley aimed at the do-it-yourself market. He saw a need for a small centreboard racer–cruiser that families could build cheaply and tow behind the family car.

The result was the plywood Hartley 16 (1963), New Zealand’s first ‘trailer sailer’. This 16-footer (4.88m) became one of New Zealand’s most popular trailer yachts, with more than 6,000 being built over the next 40 years.

RICHARD HARTLEY

Secrets of success

The Hartley 16’s design was family-friendly. The boat featured a broad beam for stability but was surprisingly light and easy to launch. It had a simple rig and could be used with a motor.

Marketing also contributed to the success of this and other Hartley boats. Hartley advertised heavily, and he provided options for building from kitset or full-sized plans.

His ‘Guide to Boatbuilding’ books also enabled amateur builders to build boats to a professional standard.

RICHARD HARTLEY

Variations on the theme

Hartley later designed 18- and 21-foot (5.49/6.4m) variations on the Hartley 16 theme. But they were heavier, harder to launch and less thrilling to sail.

The Hartley 16 remains the most admired of all Hartley’s pleasure craft. Thousands have been constructed, and still sail, in Australia as well as New Zealand.