The P Class was designed in Whangarei by Harry Highet, an engineer, ex-soldier, and a leading bridge builder for the Ministry of Works. As a boy, he made a name for himself in Wellington as a great yachtsman.
Before the P Class Highet had designed several 14-footers, but the cost of building his house forced him to economise and scale down his 14-footer design by half. The P Class ended up being 7ft long (2.134m), with a 2-foot 10-inch (0.6121m) beam, a gunter-rigged mast of 10 feet (3m) and a boom of 7 feet 10 inches (2.4m). The flat triangular bow and the quarter-inch white pine construction made the boat unique.
WHANGAREI TO TAURANGA
The P Class debuted at the Whangarei New Year’s Day Regatta in 1920. It was the first boat in Newsix feet tall (1.83m) and 13 stone (82kg), capsized the boat, but quickly righted it and sailed on, catching the attention of a number of sailors.
