HURLEY DOCUMENTS ARCHIVE

This page serves as a depository for all sorts of Hurley documents. You'll find details on design and construction, colourful brochures that, alas, have turned black and white under the photocopier, even some deep words of wisdom and an overview of Hurley production history. Most of these documents are jpeg images of scanned-in documents. They can be quite big so be sure to look at the file size before you open such links.

The archive has expanded quite a bit, and now holds information on most of the Hurley range. Click on one of the links below or just scroll through the entire archive
    The Hurley 18       The Hurley 20       The Hurley 22
    The Hurley 30/90  The Silhouette       The Felicity

Many documents are pictures - scans of old documents. Some of them are larger than screen size, and can best be seen saved on disk via a graphics package. Nevertheless, all of them are legible from the web as well.


Hurley 22 Design & Construction

The first plans for the 22 were drawn up in 1963, when Hurley Marine wanted to build a sturdy, seaworthy addition to their range of boats. Next to seaworthyness, performance was the core concern. That left little room for the third design element, a spacious interior. By drawing a narrow boat with a 60% ballast ratio, designer Ian Anderson made the Hurley 22 into what is no doubt the most seaworthy yacht in its size. Performance was pretty good for the time - a 22 actually won the Round the Island race in 1967, but that makes performance simply OK these days. Design element number four is looks. Ah, the looks! No boxy floating caravan, this one.

Before we enter into long stories, here's a drawing with the boat's and sails' exact measurements. This is a hand-drawn chart with very fine print, so it's a big (1.2 MB) jpeg file. If you have a graphics package on your PC, it is easy to zoom in and out on all the details. Save this file (like any other) by clickinging the right-hand mouse button, and selecting 'save as'. Not all Hurleys are identical when it comes to the sail plan - check your mast before ordering new sails....

Here, more information on the Hurley's design, hull shape, materials and production methods can be found. Many good articles can also be found in older magazine articles. If you can read Dutch, here is an ANWB (Dutch RYA) technical review.

John Simpson, back in 1994, wrote a long story in PBO about the Hurley 22 he used to cross the Atlantic (3 times, actually), and the changes he made to his 22 in preparation.


Professional Opinions on the Hurley 22

Many things have been written on the Hurley 22 over the years, pretty much all of them positive. The boat has a very outspoken character though, and for those of you considering to buy one, this should be recommended reading! If you are the proud owner of a 22 - enjoy!

- Yachting World Design Supplement, January 1966
- A recent test of the Hurley 22 by Practical Boat Owner
    - Background on the builders - Hurley Marine
- An old review of 1967, also from Practical Boat Owner
    - A word from the designer, Ian Anderson
- Motor Boat and Yachting, April 1969
- A Second Look by Yachting Monthly, 1992
- Hurley 22s Design & Review, Yachting Monthly, 1968
- Snippets from Yachting World, 1968-1985 on the various Hurley versions
 


Hurley 22 Brochures and Spec Sheets

In the 35 or so years that the Hurley has been around, the various builders and import agents have left a lot of marketing materials. Below, you'll find a selection, but keep in mind that most of these are scans of photocopies and not exactly crisp!

1988: This is the real thing: the specs of your newly-built Hurley 22 'club' which, as far as I know, is still made by Mike Langford. Consider this a shameless commercial plug. Note that the Hurley now has a separate heads compartment...

Older English Brochures:


Older Dutch Brochures:


Hurley 18

The three-berth Hurley 18 was designed by Ian Anderson with offshore performance in mind and, possibly, to be sailed by the ex-dinghy sailor who has graduated to a boat in which he can sail much farther afield without losing the lively 'feel' of a class dinghy. This modern design in glass fibre won a place in the 'Top Ten' at the Weymouth (England) 'One-of-a-Kind' Rally in 1966 and is built to Lloyd's specification with, of course, a Lloyd's Series Production Certificate and registered number. The deep keel and good ballast/weight ratio ensure that the '18' is a stiff and comfortable boat at sea, whilst her ability to work to windward is excellent.

Hurley 20

Being a bit larger than the 18 made a lot of difference in the H20's interior. Below decks, there is room for four (if you can adapt to early-'60s norms, that is) and many even found the room for a toilet under the fore-hatch. The 20 impressed many by its performance, and excellent qualities in heavy seas. Here, you can find a second-hand review. Other documents available:



Hurley 30/90

For now, all we have on the largest boat in the Hurley range is a brochure (page 1/52k, page 2/54k) from early 1974. It does hold the full price list, which neatly shows what 26 years of inflation means....


Silhouette

One of the most popular small cruisers of all time, Bob Tucker's diminutive mini cruiser arrived in 1959 and by 1967 had tempted over two thousand customers. Early (Mk I) boats were plywood (hence the chines); most Mk IIs were GRP while the Mk III was moulded by Hurley Marine to a radically revamped design. The central ballast stub was removed, draft increased by 5in and the ballast ratio improved from 26 to 37%. She also carried 43% more sail. A fin keel version was available but the vast majority had twin keels. Her two berth accommodation was still cramped (the Mk 4, built by Varne Marine, added two bunks) but her low cost, good looks and predictable handling have won her many friends. All we have on the boat at the moment it this picture. However, the Silhouette has her own Owners' Association, details of which are here.


Felicity

We only have a copy of a copy of the original sales brochure, which means that image quality leaves something to be desired. Nevertheless: