Titmouse

Introduction

The Titmouse is a small sailing dinghy belonging to Tom Dudgeon. 

Description

Ransome only provides details about Titmouse in passing. From these it is clear that she is a small wooden dinghy with a single lugsail. As such she is essentially similar to Amazon and Scarab, but probably a bit smaller. In Coot Club she is initially decribed as "hardly bigger" than the dinghies towed by most yachts, but later as being "rather large" when she becomes a yacht dinghy herself.

Most such dinghies tend to be 8' to 10' in length. Titmouse was almost certainly a bit bigger than this, as Tom was able to fit her with lockers at both ends and also have room to sleep on either side of her centre-board case. He had her rigged with an awning so that he could camp aboard.   

Ownership

Titmouse belongs to Tom Dudgeon, the Doctor's son in Horning, Norfolk.

Titmouse appears in

Coot Club, The Big Six.

Factual Inspiration

There is no known direct inspiration for Titmouse. As Tom himself says, dinghies like her were not all that common on the Broads.   

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