The Drascombe Association on the Web

The Drascombe Association is a group of of over 1000 enthusiasts dedicated to the traditional-style sailing boats designed by the late John Watkinson. Over 5000 Drascombes of all types have been built since the first Lugger was launched in 1966. They are all simple, rugged, and seakindly. (Scroll down this page for the Latest News, or click the photo to visit our Rally Galleries)

News:

Membership applications
All membership applications received by midday on 14th July have been processed. New applications will be processed as and when due to other summertime commitments like sailing!
Added by dave - 14/07/2026

DA Migration to SCM
The DA's migration to the Sailing Club Manager (SCM) is well advanced. There are a number of articles in the recent DAN157 for the background to the move and instructions for members to login to the system. If you have NOT yet received your login invitation, please email membership@drascombe-association.org.uk
Added by DS - 14/07/2026

DA Handbook 2nd edition
The DA handbook 2nd edition has been published. All new members receive a copy on joining. It will also be available for sale to existing DA members via the Shop. The new chapters will also be available as a PDF on the new DA website within the SCM DA Members-only portal.

The price is the cost of printing (£6) plus postage as follows:
United Kingdom £9 (£6 + £3 postage)
European Union £17 (£6 + £11 postage)
Rest of World £23(£6 + £17 postage)

Please email shop@drascombe-association.org.uk with the subject as DA Handbook 2nd edition to order your own copy. You will then be invoiced via Paypal.

The handbook is distributed by our printers on a regular basis so it could be a few weeks before it arrives in the post.
Added by DS - 01/07/2026

Photo Competition 2025
Thank you for voting and to Chris Mason our webmaster for organising. The results and photos were published in DAN157
Added by ds - 29/06/2026

DAN158
The deadline for submissions for the DAN is 1st August 2026. Please send your contributions to DANews@drascombe-association.org.uk
Added by DS - 01/05/2026

Forum Access
Unfortunately we have been having a problem with a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack on the forum.This was having a knock on impact on the rest of the website.
In order to reduce the impact of this we have, hopefully as a temporary measure, protected the forum with a username and password.
In order to access the forum you will need to enter the username "guest" and password "guest" when prompted by the pop up entitled "Sign In". This will give you non logged in access to the forum.
Following this, if you want to log in to the forum as yourself, for example to make a post, you will need to put your own personal username and password at the top of the forum page as usual.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
Added by CM - 03/09/2025

Gallery
Rally albums from 2015 are available to view under the Gallery tab.
The aim is to provide a selection of photos that give an impression of Drascombe Association Rallies to members and those considering joining.
Typically we try to limit photos to 10 per rally although this is not a hard limit.
If you have photos for either the website or the Drascombe Association News magazine please let us know.
Added by CM - 06/03/2023

Subscriptions
Membership of the DA runs for 12 months from the date of enrolment for new members who now join the association and the amount increased to £15 (UK) on 1st January 2012.
(Renewals are now automated for EU & World Applications and Renewals made after 7/12/13) and for those UK members who joined or renewed after 14/4/16 by Paypal or Go Cardless. Please check the membership secretary's reminder for more details.

Drascombe Association News

DAN is our quarterly hardcopy magazine, mailed out to members. It is written for and by the membership. Please see the guidelines for submitting articles and images for DAN.
(A Sample edited pdf Spring 2021 version is now available for non members; click the cover above to download.)

Website
Contributions (especially pictures or Owner's View items for the About Drascombes page) are always welcome and should be sent to Chris . Please see the guidelines for website submissions.

Books - Featured Book Practical Dinghy Cruiser Paul Constantine Dinghy Cruising is a popular, practical activity, pursued by hundreds if not thousands of sailors. Surprisingly, there is no recognized, single style of craft specifically for this sport. Each person taking it up must find their own boat and then modify it to make it suitable for their own chosen undertaking. This book is the key to unlocking that whole experience, on a tight budget.