ABOVE—With her shoal keel, sailing upright improves performance to weather.
a porta-potty. An even better option might be a PETT compact dry toilet (or similar) that folds up, allowing the rest of the space to be used another way. With all of these big-boat amenities
the lack of a forward hatch was a surpris- ing omission. Ventilation is adequate, however, because at least two of the four (or sometimes five) PYHI brand 10” ports open with screens.
QUALITY: “This is an area of strength—seems to have been well-built and relatively high- end rather than cheap. Tis was one area where (my) Catalina 27 seemed like a downgrade.” Bill McCoy, former owner QT 1981
We were mostly impressed with the con- struction and quality on the two nearly 30-year-old boats we were aboard. The solid fiberglass hull and deck appeared overbuilt. If we pushed hard enough we could make some sections of the topsides flex, but the bottom of the boat was brick wall solid. Decks flexed only very slightly under foot. A few components or construction
methods seemed only adequate. Te out- ward-turned flange hull-and-deck joint is held together with adhesive and rivets.
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Te six-inch Holt-Allen composite fore- deck cleats seemed slightly undersized and weren’t backed up by large washers or plates. They wouldn’t inspire much confidence in the event the boat needed a tow. There was also no bow roller or anchor rode chocks. On all Sparrow 16s the compression
post (which was made of various mate- rials including aluminum) runs from the overhead to the V-berth liner. Some but not all models appear to have been fin- ished with a another support block below the liner running down to the actual keel. Te Sparrow’s weakest link appears to
be the fiberglass covering her keel. Both boats we surveyed showed some crack- ing, delamination or other deterioration at spots along the shoal keel. Used boat buyers should inspect this area carefully. Overall we thought the boat plenty
solid and a worthy candidate for resto- ration.
COMPROMISES: Fixed shoal keels don’t go to weather as well as most deeper fin keels or keel/cen- terboard combos, but the Sparrow’s isn’t terribly shallow and performs reasonably well.
MODIFICATIONS:
Few unusual modifications were men- tioned. Tere were the usual references to jib downhauls, boom vangs, and leading lines aft. On Bruce Solly’s 1981 model a previous owner replaced the cockpit drain hoses with hard PVC piping. He also built a protective wooden support frame around the length of pipe that passes through the lazarette.
VALUE: “She was a great value for the price. Easy to trailer, felt like a much bigger boat, flexible, forgiving and could keep up with her bigger counterparts.” David Goldsmith former owner 1981 Sparrow
Selling from $1200 to $6500, depending on condition of boat, trailer and out- board, we think the Sparrow (or Guppy) 16 can be a steal on the used market. With the most comfortable cruising
accommodations we’ve seen on any pro- duction boat near its size, a long list of seaworthy attributes, good build quality, and pleasing sailing characteristics, we think this boat should be better known. •SCA•
Resources: More Sparrow history online at
billmccoy.wordpress.com/2006/01/16/ potters-and-guppys-and-sparrows-oh-my
SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR
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