Hartley 16 boat handling and navigation

If it gets too windy sail needs to be reduced on yachts. However, sail reduction ability on "Jakarri" was basic. The mainsail couldn't be reefed down to reduce sail area, no reef points or roller boom reefing. The jib had a great roller-furler, a highly recommended feature. If it got too windy the main had to come down and the jib could be rolled up to reduce sail area. Alternatively, all sail can come down and the motor used to reach port, especially if its upwind. The mainsail luff had a bolt rope attachment to the mast as is common with most off the beach dinghies. This means that when the mains dropped the the sails luff must detaches itself from the mast just above the boom, which allows more chance of the main blowing over the side before its tied up on the boom. Luff track sliders are preferable when off shore, they keep the mains luff always attached to the mast.

Navigation

I carried nautical charts, hand-bearing compass, dividers and parallel rulers for navigating. (and a coastal navigation book) The washboard laid on a bunk doubled as a chart table. (No affordable GPS in the 90's). Landmarks and navigation beacons were reference points to take a hand bearing and get a position on the chart. The steering compass helped stay on course or when to change tack if a wind shift was unfavorable. It was very useful at night with its 12v red light lit compass card.

For night sailing, Jakkari had  port-starboard lights and a stern light. These had 10 amp filament bulbs powered an old 12v car battery.  Sunsets were a nice time of day to still be out there so often returned to the ramp after dark.  A single 10 w cabin light and a few torches ("maglights", "Dolphin" floating torch with square 6v battery, head torch) provided night lighting. 

The anchor light was a car's dash-board bulb on the end of a double 12v wire. Used when anchored with sails stowed, the anchor light could be hooked under the boom, it gave some cockpit lighting and also a 360 degree warning to other boats.

Jakkari's cabin layout

 The cabin has 2 bunks one each side of the centerboard-case and mast support post. There is about 2 foot of floor space aft of the bunks and the bunks are only about 4" above the floor. Stowed gear goes on top of the bunks (Ice box "esky"), so it need to be pulled out in the cockpit each night to use the bunks, similar to camping out. The cabin had sitting headroom, was a good shelter from the elements and kept all the camping gear dry. 

Cock-pit lockers under the seats had sizable stowage space. Tool box, food supplies, snorkel gear, mooring ropes, water and fuel were stowed here. A storage box/locker inside the main hatch was used for nav gear, torches, first aid etc. The area under the foredeck was good for sails, lifejackets and anchor.

Deck and cockpit layout

Hartley 16s are beamy, the hull form is descended from the NZ "mullety" a commercial fishing boat in the engine-less era. This gives the cabin and cockpit considerable useful space. I found the flat aft deck to starboard ideal for a diving seat/platform, freeboard aft is reasonable, but not too high to prevent climbing back aboard from the water. A self draining well for the outboard is in the port quarter.

I didn't try it, but the TS16 should be light enough to paddle in a calm harbor. It looks like oars could be fitted but would be difficult to stow unless they're two-part type like fatty knees oars.

The shallow minimum draft (23 cm = 9") and 360 kg hull weight made the boat very easy to launch and retrieve with a small winch. Also it was easy to navigate into shallow tidal areas. The kick-up galvanized steel center plate increased depth for sailing upwind and it also acted as a type of depth sounder in shallow waters, if it touched bottom it was time to turn, and the boat certainly did spin about quickly.

Jakkari was powered by a 6 horse-power Johnson short shaft outboard which was mostly used to clear port, or to go upwind in light airs. A 3-4 horse would likely easily move it too and certainly reduce weight and cost.

There is an active TS16 association in Australia the website has TS16 specifications and other info.

There is also allot of TS16 information in Duckworks website.