Innehållsförteckning för November 2017 från Classic Boat

Thousands stood along Newport harbour shores and watched on spectator boats as the J-Class returned to its spiritual home in August, for the first ever J-Class Worlds. The Js raced for the America’s Cup from Newport in the 1930s and history repeated itself in 2017 as the modern-day Js Lionheart and Hanuman battled for the top spot. Eighty years previously, the same two designs had gone head to head in the last America’s Cup raced in Js. Lionheart is a modern-day equivalent of one of the designs drawn for the all-conquering Ranger, which won at Newport in 1937, while Hanuman is a modern-day equivalent of Endeavour II. Lionheart, originally designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens, was optimised by Hoek Design and launched in 2011. Those watching in Newport were treated to a spectacle as good as any in the J-Class’…

Britain’s biggest boat show, which took place in September on the Southampton waterfront, was blessed with late-summer sun, and only a few showers. For lovers of beauty and tradition, the main attraction was the Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association (WBTA) stand, where annually boatbuilders of small hand-built craft congregate to show their wares – and it seemed this year that the stand, while more compact than in some previous years, was particularly busy with new boats. The WBTA stand is more than just a celebration of wood and craftsmanship though – it is a reminder of a di erent take on the whole business of sailing – a take that has a lot to do with relaxed, easy fun on the water. Among the seasoned builders at the show, a newcomer was…

Fairlie 55 After years of restoring some of the most famous yachts in the world – particularly the creations of William Fife III – a new Spirit of Tradition yacht from designer Paul Spooner and boatbuilder Duncan Walker of Fairlie Yachts, was always going to be a looker. The Fairlie 55 is among the loveliest of all SoT yachts and when we tested her back in 2012, she lived up to her looks. Uncluttered decks, a well-sorted rig, a fast, modern underbody and a low cabin trunk for good helming visibility (as well as those good looks), add up to the ideal compromise for a high-end SoT yacht in this size bracket. She’s as fast as a modern yacht; just much, much nicer to own. Price c£1m, fairlieyachts.com Shrimper 21…

Sir John Franklin’s Erebus and Terror Expedition: Lost and Found GILLIAN HUTCHINSON This book is an accompaniment to an utterly gripping exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, which runs until 5 January, 2018, on Franklin’s ill-fated expedition in 1845 to find the North West Passage. The story is wellknown: both Franklin’s ships, Erebus and Terror, disappeared in the ice with the loss of 129 men, but exactly what happened to them remained a mystery. The ships were only found in 2014 and 2016, revealing more about how the men may have met their deaths. This is an undemanding softback book that brings the story to life through paintings and photographs, as well as an accessible text. Both wrecks are in excellent condition, preserved by the cold water, Erebus only 11 metres below the surface…

If you met Tim Gilmore, you might think him typical of the boatbuilder breed: low-key, modest and thoughtful. In fact, Tim’s working life began as a technical buyer for Rolls Royce, so his switch to the low-tech, high-tolerance engineering needed in the restoration of wooden boats, at the tail end of the 80s, was a big change. After working at Coombes in Bosham (“it was like heaven - the first time I enjoyed going to work”), Tim set up on his own in 1996 at the idyllic Dolphin Quay nearby. Meanwhile, Coombes shut down in the never-ending war of the waterfront between boats and housing. In 2012, Tim departed from Dolphin Quay, which was redeveloped for new housing, and came to the very picturesque Birdham Pool Marina, owned by Castle…

“The vital papers were not there, but that simply meant we must look harder elsewhere” I had been looking for Hope for over a decade. She is listed No1 in the International 14 book, build date just before the First World War; I knew she had been designed by Linton Hope, and built by Jac M Iversen and his brother-in-law, my grandfather, for EG Martin. I had the family archives and newspaper clippings, but not the boat. Then a tip-off from Jane Shaddick, Morgan Giles family archivist, located Hope at Lowestoft, stored in a polytunnel, part of a big collection. Hurrah! After a positive response, I waited for a callback, as ecstasy turned to agony. The news was the collection was to be disbanded and probably auctioned, leaving Hope up…

The view from Thira, on the Greek island of Santorini, is one of the most photographed in the world. And no wonder. From 980ft up, you look out over the spectacular seven-mile-wide caldera, a ring of islands formed by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, which is said to have provided the inspiration for the Atlantis story. The sea here is up to 600ft deep and its rich blue contrasts spectacularly with the whitewashed houses tumbling down the hillside above. So timeless is the scene, it’s not hard to imagine the Minoan ships depicted in the island’s ancient frescoes paddling across the bay in a ceremonial procession. Yet, when I visited the island in July and looked south past the Akrotiri peninsula, I saw something quite different. There, silhouetted against…

The International Rule may be 110 years old, but in the Baltic the Metre boat scene is booming, with newly restored and newly built yachts joining the fleet regularly. The 8-Metre Worlds on the island of Hankø in the Oslo Fjord, in August, was a glowing testimonial to the Baltic movement and the durability of the Rule. The event was buoyed by the presence of King Harald of Norway, who celebrated his 80th birthday by competing in his Johan Anker-designed Sira. Showing the International 8-Metre Association’s honorary life president no respect on the water were crews from England, Scotland, Canada, Australia, Austria, Finland, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland and a strong contingent from Norway. An 8-Metre World Championship o. ers four cups to fight for: the First Rule Cup for yachts designed…

You own the 6-M Jill. What do you love about the 6s? I’ve come to realise I don’t actually like cruising. I much prefer racing. Big boat sailing is just not for me! And the 6-M is such an obvious onlymeant- to-race boat, related to the 12s and the 8s and just a little bit overpowered, and it’s also a boat on which Olin Stephens, who I knew, honed his skills. Mine is one of the few that he actually drew himself, pencil to paper. I showed him the drawing and he said: “Oh yes, that was me!” This summer I am campaigning an Atlantic, a glassfibre design by Starling Burgess. It’s not as powerful as the 6-M, so it’s more available to junior sailors and women. The only job…

Yachts that belong to the ‘spirit of tradition’ are simple to define, but nearly infinite in variety. They are yachts built today that combine, in varying proportions, new and old design ideas and build. Typically, this will mean a yacht that might be built in glass or cold-moulded, with traditional appearance above the waterline (or at least with a strong hint of tradition), while the underwater profile will be more modern. It is an attempt to combine the best of both worlds: a beautiful craft that will require little maintenance, will perhaps sail faster and be easier to handle. The variation comes not only from the build method, but from the balance of modernity with tradition. Some SoT yachts retain long keels and are built of wood (albeit to a…

Seeing a yacht in the flesh and sailing her in a wide variety of conditions is enough to tell an experienced mariner a lot about her character. When the only information available is a photo and a lines plan, things can be very different. The image gives a general impression, but it’s the plan that really dishes the dirt. These days, the classic lines plan has fallen into disuse for most amateurs. The reason is simple. In contrast to the average craft designed before World War II, the hull shapes of today’s production cruising yachts are unsophisticated, delivering good performance in fair weather by virtue of a relatively low wetted area, a clean run, a deep fin keel and a spade rudder. The lines plan of such a boat is…

WENDY MAY Hard-weather packet Maurice Gri_ths is these days best known for his excellent ‘plywood box’ yacht, the Eventide, plans for which sold to homebuilders in countless numbers during the post-war British sailing boom. Either that, or his famous book on East Coast cruising, Magic of the Swatchways. He did also, however, draw many traditional yachts, and Wendy May is a beautiful example of that. She’s pitch pine on oak, built in 1936 by the Welsh yard of Williams and Parkinson, and ga. cutter rigged. Her commissioning owner wanted an easy-to-handle boat capable of anything – “a hard-weather packet” in his own words. It would seem that’s exactly what he got, as the current owner’s experience has borne out. She’s 26ft (7.9m) in length, with a cosy, traditional four-berth layout…

The 13th ‘Monaco Classic Week – La Belle Classe’ took place in September with 150 yachts, dinghies and motorboats enjoying events on the water and ashore, courtesy of the Yacht Club de Monaco. As a special tribute to Carlo Riva, who died in April, Riva motorboats and members of Carlo’s family gathered on the water in front of a tarpaulin on which was written ‘Grazie Carlo’. Turquoise balloons, a colour forever associated with the brand, were released. Among other highlights were 90th anniversary celebrations for Creole, Xarifa and Trinakria, which made a stunning entrance into Port Hercule on the Saturday to thunderous cheers all round the quay. The overall winner was ga. cutter Viola of 1908. The Blue Peter and Elena of London also won concours prizes. It wasn’t all about the big boats. John Fildes of Albatross Marine…

Spirit Yachts in Ipswich has now built 66 boats, but founder Sean McMillan says perhaps the latest, a newly designed 52D called Oui Fling, best captures the idea of a ‘modern classic’. The boat was the star of the regatta at Panerai British Classic Week in July, where her racy lines and bare deck attracted onlookers aplenty. The ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ would have been all the louder if they’d seen down below to the yacht’s stripped back interior, something McMillan, too, has taken great delight in: “There is a glorious moment in the build of any wooden yacht when the finished hull is rolled over, but the interior is not yet fitted. “Don’t be a slave to the long keel when it is an obsolete form” “At this stage, the purity of…

“From 1974 to when I retired, I only had one day when I never had a boat to build” It was a very British affair. A fleet of largely open boats travelling slowly together up Salcombe Harbour – in the driving rain. At a certain point opposite the town, above the wind and torrential downpour, horns and sirens could be heard tooting their respect. Sheltered on the quay, one man stood quietly, a mixture of pride and surprise on his face, memories flooding back of the boats he’d built over a five-decade career – a career that those in the town’s maritime community wanted to acknowledge. “It was lovely and quite humbling,” says Mike Atfield afterwards, at a reception in Salcombe Yacht Club. “You never think, when you’re doing your…

David Boyd reported for duty at Alexander Robertson and Sons’ yard in November 1929 at a fine starting salary of £5 per week, no doubt justified by the competition for his services. However, after an initial burst of activity on a backlog of work, it became obvious that, in terms of new orders, the forecast for the entire shipbuilding industry on the Clyde was not encouraging. Prospects in ‘luxury’ yacht building may have been less bleak, but they were by no means heartening. With so many wonderful designers then at the peak of their powers, any young pretender would have been lucky to pick up such work, even if he was known to be a disciple of Fife. In this difficult environment, Boyd’s impatience for new commissions led him to…

It is natural to think of woodworking tools when the building of a wooden boat is proposed, but there will be metalwork too. If wire cutters or tin snips won’t cut it, and a full-size hacksaw frame is too big to gain access, an Eclipse Junior hacksaw will often solve the problem. Cutting metal with metal is always a battle of hardness, but for aluminium, brass, copper, or mild steel up to about 1/2in (13mm) thick, this little saw proves both tougher and more precise than ‘junior’ and ‘hack’ would suggest. Sawing metal is an art in itself, especially sawing tubing, where you need a sympathetic grip to avoid deforming the work and a fine tooth pattern to obviate judder. Originally there were two models, the No 670 with steel…