Innehållsförteckning för October 2016 från Classic Boat

Witnessing the building of a new classic yacht in the traditional plank on frame manner is an exciting experience. But they are often built upside down and it is only after the hull is completed and turned over that their true beauty reveals itself. So to witness one being built upright on its own keel, as this boat was, is special. Given that it was a 70ft (21.3m), nearly 80-year-old Johan Anker-designed International 12-M, being built for the very first time, the experience was unique and truly magical. Design number 434 was drawn by Johan Anker in 1939, but never built as Anker died just one year later. She was meant to be the culmination of over 30 years’ experience designing and building metre class yachts and the ‘master of…

SALCOMBE, DEVON 50 years of Salcombe yawls More than 50 boats took part in a parade of sail in August to mark 50 years of the Salcombe Yawl Association, reports Nic Compton. The boats have been around racing much longer than that but it wasn’t until 1966 that the design envelope was formalised and an association formed. The 50th anniversary was an occasion for fancy dress rather than racing, with some boats and crews sporting decorative sails and attire. As the sun played hide-and-seek with the clouds, the whole fleet sailed past Salcombe Yacht Club in numeric order – starting with Y14 (Blackbird II, 1939) and finishing with Y189 (Great Bustard, 2011) – before regrouping to all cross the line at the same time. It was an ambitious idea that…

“I could see what great skill was going into her restoration and I now know the boat inside out myself, having watched the procedure step by step” Every time David Butcher went off afloat in his Bavaria 34 he found himself looking at prettier boats. While waiting for the waters of Birdham Pool lock to drop to the level outside, the 60-year-old businessman regularly performed a double-take at his neighbours’ craft, and always they were timber. “They all looked so beautiful,” he said, “but I kept being told: ‘Don’t buy a wooden boat, you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot!’” And so David, a member of Chichester Yacht Club, continued cruising his Bavaria, eventually moving her to a new berth in the local marina where there were fewer aesthetic distractions.…

If God had meant for there to be plastic boats, he would have planted plastic trees. So read the T-shirts at the first Cowes Classics Week in 2008. These days the regatta actually features quite a few ‘glassics’ but that hasn’t detracted from it. Far from it, I reflect happily, as we pass a group of glass Folkboats and Contessa 26s (enjoying their first halfcentury this year) racing near the Royal Yacht Squadron. It had to be the easiest job ever – “just pick the prettiest boat” said Royal London Yacht Club commodore Peter Taylor, for the CB prize for concours d’elegance. It was a good excuse to take to the RIB for a couple of hours with regatta PR Marina Johnson, snapper Jake Sugden and driver John. On a…

Despite initial resistance, the OK has gone on to become one of the most successful singlehanders of its generation. Ironically, for a class now popular in over 40 countries worldwide, at the time of its launch, many clubs in Denmark tried to ban the design for being unseaworthy. Used to the stability of the Junior-boat keelboat, which many of Denmark’s young sailors cut their teeth on, the cat-rigged centreboarder, with its tendency to capsize if not correctly balanced, proved an interesting challenge, and one that some clubs declined to partake in. It was designed by the Dane Knud Olsen, who during the 1950s worked for speedboat manufacturer AP Botved in Vordingborg. In his spare time, he produced a number of designs, including one for a bermudan-rigged dinghy. But it wasn’t…

A rolling drive through thickly wooded waterside Maine and we find our way down an unprepossessing track to the great Brooklin Boat Yard. Brooklin was for years one of the marine industry’s biggest secrets, under the direction of founder Joel White building some of the early boats on the Spirit of Tradition scene and restoring many important vintage yachts along the way. The secret, however, is out and Brooklin, for the past 16 years led by Joel’s son Steve, has become a top-of-the-list yard for anyone considering either a restoration or the build of a modern classic. The yard has built more than 80 boats since its launch in 1960 and the not inconsiderable trip to coastal Maine is made by customers from all over the world. The yard stands…

Brest 2016 was a fairly mind-blowing experience. The city’s four-yearly maritime festival welcomed 1,050 classics of all shapes and sizes, more than 9,000 sailors and 1,500 musicians, drawn together from the coastlines of Europe and beyond to celebrate every aspect of nautical heritage for six glorious days from July 13-19. It was a blockbuster of a festival, a tented city pitched around the extended grey breakwaters and stark concrete quays of Brest’s historic naval forti fications. It was colourful, inspiring and joyous. At first the giant tall ships, floating in stately magnificence, kept you spellbound and it didn’t matter if they were repro or real – older boats just had a longer list of stories to tell. As days passed you got to know some of them quite well: there…

EGGEMOGGIN REACH REGATTA, MAINE “The best day’s sailing I’ve had in years” “The best day’s sailing I’ve had in years,” said Mat Barker. “Everyone told me ‘Maine in the summer, good luck sailing in that’.” At a time of year when the east coast is known for light winds and oppressive humidity, the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta delivered not only the perfect weather, but stellar boat-on-boat racing as well, writes Matty Oates. With sunshine and a breeze that eventually built from nothing to a steady 15 knots, the fleet of more than 100 set o. on the 15-mile course that has remained the same since its founding in 1985. The fleet spanned everything from the creations of Herreshoff, S&S and local legend Harvey Gamage, to the impressive boats of today from…

The reception of King George V’s visit to Southend Pier in July 1923 was substantial. The King, plus three admirals, one viceadmiral, a colonel and a major had been driven to the Essex town in two brown Daimlers to inspect his 121ft gaff cutter Britannia moored in the Loway just west of the pier. She had been towed there after the regatta at Deal in Kent by the steamyacht Lorna and was protected by two destroyers, HMS Wolfhound and HMS Vesper. “It was an ideal summer evening and thousands of expectant sightseers had gathered,” the Southend Standard reported, beneath the headline: “The King Impressed.” When the King and his entourage pulled up at the entrance to the pier they were met by the mayor, town clerk, mace bearer, piermaster, several…

SAVAGE Philip Rhodes yacht seeks new lease of life CB reader Yves Gaignet has found himself in what he describes as “the not uncommon situation of an ageing couple: wooden boat, and owner without the means or stamina to consider the thorough restoration the boat deserves”. He’s had Savage, the first Rhodes 27, since 1993, keeping her in “cruising” rather than concours condition over the years. Now it’s time for a new owner or partner. She’s the first of six identical Rhodes-designed 27s built by the famed American Nevins yard (1939). This makes her a rare yacht from a pedigree designer and builder, and much of her remains original. She’s 39ft (11.9m) long, displaces 7.6 tonnes and requires new caulking, a fastenings survey, engine, and quite a bit more. A…

The screw and scrap wood beading tool BOATBUILDER’S SECRET Here’s another illustration of the thrifty resourcefulness of the humble boatbuilder, and although cruder than expensive shop-built alternatives, it has proved itself to be more versatile. Fine wooden boats are full of delicate little mouldings, from ogees to the humble bead. They can be seen in fine Thames craft and work boats alike. Their origins can be traced back through the mists of time in Norse tradition, and are evident on Viking finds such as the Gokstad faering. It is not always certain whether they are simply decorative. On Shetland craft and historic Viking craft, beads scratched onto the inside top edge of each plank may have provided a reference for positioning nails through the lands. Whether this detailing serves a…

As magnificent as the entrants in Antigua Classic Regatta’s Concours d’Elégance are, for some people the heart of the regatta lies in the final day of racing when the big boats take a rest and the little ones come out to play. The Afternoon Gig Racing and Cream Tea Party doesn’t necessitate ratings or rehearsals. Just boats, on the small side, a few loose rules and a sense of humour. For me, it’s a day I shift from crew to admiral, a day I’m Master and Commander of my very own boat. She’s not much to look at, my Ruby, but we’ve been together for nearly 40 years with the vow: “Till rot do us part.” Her El Toro design, eight feet in length, resembles a box with a dish…

It began early, like all good adventures. I’d barely laid down my head to sleep than I was up again, to the sound of the alarm. A sleepy-haired Frenchman rafted up outside me had to be roused before I could slip out into the mirror-smooth Rade de Brest on the ebb tide. Some of the smaller craft were already well out in the offing. There were traditional yoles, being rowed serenely downtide with their little mizzens dangling over the stern. Small lug-rigged dayboats had their sails out in the hope of trapping what tiny breeze there was – they were catching more of the early morning mist, I suspect. Also underway was one of the bigger beasts, the Nao Victoria, a Spanish replica of the top-heavy carrack that took Magellan…

While his famous ballpoint pen began its conquest of the world in the middle years of the 1950s, Marcel Bich spent his summers on the French Riviera. Eventually, his Liuzzi runabout was to direct him towards the challenge of the America’s Cup. His family boat inspired a photo album and a record of those happy days, as the period coincided with two great industrial and sporting ventures. The boat was also noteworthy as a rare model stemming from a small-scale and special boatbuilder located in a chic suburb in the west end of Paris, near the River Seine. In 1950, Marcel Bich was making and beginning the export of his Crystal BIC ballpoint by the thousands every day and to every corner of the world. Even then, the huge impact…

RIVA/FIAT CAR It’s not often the Objects of desire page features a car, but then it’s not often that an iconic boating brand such as Riva puts its name to anything with wheels. The Fiat 500 Riva is a ‘collaboration between two Italian icons’ and as such bears all the hallmarks of that country’s timeless style, while still being able to drive round Rome at 90mph. “The 1957 Fiat 500 was not only the cornerstone of a mobilised Italy, allowing millions of people to experience the personal freedom of car ownership, it also symbolised the rebirth of the nation, becoming inextricably linked to the Dolce Vita years during which the country rediscovered its sense of style and vitality,” says the team behind it all. “During the same time, another Italian…

“If I could not get back aboard, the strength in my arms would soon fail and I would end up suspended by my feet, head down in the sea” As a boy I remember trying to fix something – I cannot recall what it was or how I went about it – I just remember my dad looking at me critically and after a while he said: “Why, when you decide to do something, do you always choose the most difficult way?” That was over 60 years ago and I still don’t know the answer to his question. Somehow I always choose the hard way. Most people setting out these days to cross an ocean do so in a modern GRP, steel or aluminium boat with bermudian rig, furling headsails,…

WINDERMERE LAUNCHES Elegance on the Lakes Patterson Boatworks has, for some time, been treading the line between modern wood construction and traditional design. The Windermere Launch range, started in 2003, exemplifies the approach. The design, by Hamish Patterson, is based on the Edwardian steam launch Bat, a boat that Hamish considers to have the “perfect sheer line”. Pictured here are the 25 and 30. Both are built in yellow cedar strip plank, with cherry interiors, oak covering boards and Douglas fir laid decks. The easily propelled hulls are suitable for steam, electric or diesel power. They were designed for electric, but the four built so far have all been diesels, and a 20hp diesel pushes the 30 along at 10kts. The 25 seats up to eight passengers, and the 30…

Edited by Steffan Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758 Email: steffan@classicboat.co.uk SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Historic 8 returns to life Our recent story on the 8-M replica Invader (May issue) was of interest to CB reader Nicole Shrimpton, owner of another 8 with extraordinary provenance and undergoing a transformation. Defiance is, Nicole tells us, the first Aussie-designed and built 8, put together in Melbourne in 1935 by “a visionary shipwright” named Ernest Digby. Digby designed, built and raced Defiance, building the boat in his backyard in the middle of a depression with a large family to support. He went on to build a second 8, Frances, with which he won the Sayonara Cup and in an egalitarian spirit steered the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria through the Olympics as its commodore. Nicole…

Nothing generates wood shavings so abundantly as making spars. In the process of rounding a mast from its flat-faced column to a smoothly tapering stick the maker walks a country mile with his plane, pushing it steadily from step to truck while crunching a sea of curly shavings underfoot. Boom, pole, tiller, and the looms of oars – there’s a lot of squared-up timber to be wasted in fitting out even a day boat. Much of the grunt work can be done with a jack plane but at the point when this flat-soled tool achieves little more than a new set of facets it’s time to deploy the spar plane. Its special feature is a hollow sole with the blade ground to match, so that it leaves a convex surface…