Wayfarer Versions and Age Synopsis
Over the decades since its design the Wayfarer has undergone a number of changes, so that whilst the basic shape remains the same there are several distinct marks of Wayfarer (Mk1, Mk2 etc), and even variations within each of these.
To help to explain these variants UKWA has published a leaflet showing the principal differences, linked via the adjacent thumbnail image.
The leaflet also gives a summary of sail numbers and the years in which they were issued. (A more detailed table of these is shown below).
Wayfarer Age Synopsis:
Wayfarer sail numbers now exceed 11,000, and happily there are many early-numbered boats still sailing. It can be interesting to discover the age of a boat, although bear in mind that occasionally the sail number and hull don't match, for example, sailing schools sometimes give their boats sequential easy-to-remember sail numbers, (1, 2, 3 etc). With that caveat, here is a detailed age synopsis from 1958 to 2023:-
| Year | Sail Number | Year | Sail Number | Year | Sail Number |
| 1958 | 1-45 | 1978 | 6102-6528 | 1998 | 9871-10000 |
| 1959 | 46-139 | 1979 | 6529-7000 | 1999 | 10001-10100 |
| 1960 | 140-318 | 1980 | 7001-7300 | 2000 | 10101-10200 |
| 1961 | 319-509 | 1981 | 7301-7500 | 2001 | 10201-10250 |
| 1962 | 510-589 | 1982 | 7501-7700 | 2002 | 10251-10300 |
| 1963 | 590-810 | 1983 | 7701-7833 | 2003 | 10301-10360 |
| 1964 | 811-975 | 1984 | 7834-8039 | 2004 | 10361-10400 |
| 1965 | 976-1157 | 1985 | 8040-8155 | 2005 | 10401-10440 |
| 1966 | 1158-1342 | 1986 | 8156-8348 | 2006 | 10441-10500 |
| 1967 | 1343-1490 | 1987 | 8349-8500 | 2007 | 10501-10514 |
| 1968 | 1491-1777 | 1988 | 8501-8680 | 2008 | 10515-10598 |
| 1969 | 1778-2218 | 1989 | 8681-8828 | 2009 | 10592-10673 * |
| 1970 | 2219-2714 | 1990 | 8829-9018 | 2010 | 10671-10772 * |
| 1971 | 2715-2984 | 1991 | 9019-9162 | n/a | * this apparent error is due to the sail numbers being allocated out of sequence |
| 1972 | 2985-3360 | 1992 | 9163-9313 | 2011 | 10773-10850 |
| 1973 | 3361-3873 | 1993 | 9314-9433 | 2012-2014 | 10851-11054 |
| 1974 | 3874-4413 | 1994 | 9434-9563 | 2015 | 11055-11107 |
| 1975 | 4414-4852 | 1995 | 9564-9679 | 2016-2020 | 11108-11334 |
| 1976 | 4853-5431 | 1996 | 9680-9749 | 2021 | 11335-11378 |
| 1977 | 5432-6101 | 1997 | 9750-9870 | 2022 | 11379-11421 |
| 2023 | 11422-11448 |
Introduction of each Mark of Wayfarer:
Finally, here are the sail numbers of the earliest recorded examples of the various Marks:-
- First measured GRP Mk1 was 1077
- Latest measured GRP Mk1 was 4130
- Earliest Mk2 GRP was 3907
- Earliest Mk3 (N. America only) recorded was 7579
- Earliest SD recorded was 8011
- Earliest Mk1A recorded was 8498
- Earliest +S recorded was 9022
- Last recorded wooden boat was 9558
- First Wayfarer World was 9821
- First MkIV Wayfarer was 10506
- First registered Wayfarer Weekender W11438
At the Dinghy Show, February 2023, Hartley Boats were proud to announce the launch of their new Wayfarer Weekender.
The boom is higher, giving more headroom, controls lead back to centre, it reefs down in seconds with slab reefing on the main and Hartleys' furling reefable genoa system. With modern construction methods, weight has been taken out of the hull and a 60kg cast-iron centreboard fitted, making the boat virtually impossible to capsize. When forced over it will not invert and rights itself and, when on its side with water on its sails, just a little help with one hand on the centreboard and the boat rights. Sailing Dinghy | Wayfarer Weekender (hartleyboats.com)
Last updated 13:01 on 15 May 2024