The Shearwater III is a type of two crew racing catamaran, produced originally by G. Prout & Sons of Canvey Island, Essex, and was first sold in kit form.
[3] According to the UK's National Maritime Museum, The Shearwater III was the world’s first production catamaran.
[1] Brothers Francis and Roland Prout were canoeists who took part in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
They worked in the family firm G. Prout & Sons Ltd, with their father, making folding canoes and dinghies.
Initially, they experimentally lashed together two K1 kayaks and added a bamboo platform and a mast and sail, and after the success of this went on to build the Shearwater I, in which they participated in local regattas.