The American sharpie has been around for a century and a half doing what it does best: carrying freight or recreational sailors across water as thin as the proverbial wet lawn. Rodger Martin has long favored the form and, when asked by Union River Boat Company of Bucksport, Maine, was more than happy to design one. The Presto 30 bears all the hallmarks of the type: narrow hull, flat bottom for beaching, kick-up centerboard, a split rig with a low center of effort, and a remarkable turn of speed. It also has basic but comfortable accommodations and a generous sleep-in cockpit in an arrangement that has “Florida Bay,” or any other shoal-water gunkhole, written all over it. Weighing in at 3,950 pounds and sporting sans-permit trailerable beam, you can take it there, and diverse other cruising grounds, the quick way. Union River offers several options: a choice of rigs, propulsion systems, galley, and head arrangements, and a Sky Top that raises to provide 6-foot-5-inch headroom over the cabin’s aft end. There are also several storage cubbies and room for four to sleep down below. On deck, the 10-foot-long cockpit has room for a crowd. and the self-tending sails couldn’t be any easier to use.
Specs
LOA 30′ 0″
LWL 28′ 9″
Beam 8′ 5″
Draft 1′ 1″/5′ 9″
Sail Area 320 sq. ft.
Weight 3,950 lb.
Water Optional
Fuel NA
Engine 9.9-hp. outboard
(optional)
Designer Rodger Martin
Price $85,000
Union River Boat Company
(207) 469-9099
www.unionriverboat.com
