Header Photo: Shelley Moth - Side View

The previous header photo is the side-view that John Shelley, ex-pat Kiwi dinghy designer working in England, drew of one of his Moth designs (he had three variations) for a patent he was awarded for tortured ply construction. (There is no indication he ever exercised the patent.) In one of those what-if's, I've always wondered what would have happened if it had been the Shelley Moth that had exploded in Europe, instead of the Europa design, and it was the Shelley Moth that became the Womens Olympic Singlehander. The Shelley is a good example of the 1960's Australian/New Zealand plywood, single-chine dinghy and I've always felt that this design had a little more upside in heavy air performance compared to the Europe Dinghy.

Blog on a home build Shelley Moth over here.