One of the boats that Hiscock mentions in
Voyaging Under Sail is
Speedwell of Hong Kong.
The boat is a Vertue class designed by Laurent Giles and built in 1952. At 25 ft LOA,
Speedwell is a true SailFar boat with MULTIPLE ocean crossings under belt.
She's still out there and still cruising.
As of 1998,
Speedwell is owned by Shirley Carter (http://www.speedwelladventures.com/), that rare female solo full time cruiser.
Since owning the boat, Shirley has given her fiberglass cladding over her wooden hull and converted her to a junk rig.
Shirley also has this to say:
Quote
After having seen many dreams to go cruising founder due to too much concern over achieving the ultimate in equipment and gadgetry, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. Even so I spend a lot of time maintaining and repairing the equipment that I do have.
...
I have no refrigeration on board which has not really been a problem. It certainly heightens my appreciation of a really cold beer when I do manage to get one.
Sailfar boat with a TON of history and a true sailfar sailor....
John, That is a great quote.
A friend of mine in Eastport, his wife and daughter cruised and lived aboard their Vertue for years, and had nothing but praise for the boat. They definitely had a similarly KISS philosophy. Less stuff, less to go wrong.
Although modest in length, they are heavy and have a very high comfort ratio. I was looking at these photos (http://www.capegeorgecutters.com/brokerage/vertue.html) of one and noticing how full the bilges are. 27 feet LOA and 11,000 pounds displacement seems like it should be adequate. ;)
Also found this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRswc1Aheww) of one.