Innehållsförteckning för January 2026 från Classic Boat

Port Townsend, Washington, lies at 48° north in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, which means weather for the annual Wooden Boat Festival is unpredictable. This year, rain, shine, and fog showed up to accompany over 300 vessels, 100 presenters, and an enthusiastic crowd topping 20,000. Highlights from the 48th celebration of wooden boats and builders included Keepers of the Fleet, a panel of shipwrights from throughout the US and UK sharing stories and expertise on restoring and preserving historic vessels. There were two remarkable films this year: Women & the Wind – the story of three women crossing the North Atlantic on a 50-year-old Wharram catamaran; and the award-winning documentary of Steven Callahan’s story, 76 Days Adrift. The list of presentations read like a University course for seafarers.…

As winter approaches, an old wooden boat owner’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of… maintenance, and with apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson, so it was last November when Sally was drawn from the loch at Corrie Point, scrubbed and chocked, and a start made on her annual chore list. This time it was the decks, her topsides having been painted in 2025, her coachroof the year before. With Sally it’s never all at once, unlike some Mediterranean swan, under the constant care of a crew of young deck hands with nothing better to do while the owner decides if it’s Monaco or Portofino next week, than flat down and lay another coat of Epifanes to the teak rail. No, it’s piecemeal; West Coast fishing boat smart, as I like to…

MECUM, USA America’s speed king The son of a Minnesota ferry boat operator, Garfield Wood made a fortune from engineering ingenuity – inventing a hydraulic lift for coal and dump trucks – and sealed his place as a sporting superstar with his exploits on water. First to break the 100mph barrier, Wood raised the world water speed record five times from 1920 to 1932 and dominated what was at the time the motorboat equivalent of the America’s Cup, with a series of 10 ‘Miss America’ racing boats. First lifting the Harmsworth Trophy in British waters in 1920, Wood achieved a clean sweep of nine wins (eight as a driver) through to 1933, with crowds estimated at up to a million lining the Detroit River to cheer American dominance. Of his…

Canadians claim that if it weren’t for canoes and other paddled watercraft, their country would still be largely unexplored. Whether true or not, the sentiment nonetheless captures the anthropological importance of this type of craft in the national culture and history. A country that places such importance on canoes naturally merited a museum, a home dedicated to them and their entwined story with Canadian culture. Such a museum was originally founded on the collection of the late Kirk AW Wipper (1923-2011), an academic and a pioneer in the development of outdoor education in Canada. Although a native of the province of Manitoba, Wipper chose Ontario as a home to his massive collection of paddled watercraft. When the collection outgrew the venue’s capacity, he was approached by certain individuals affiliated with…

Last night I cranked up Youtube and spent an inspiring hour watching the National Historic Ships awards, presented from Bristol docks. I enjoyed the photo competition, but what really hit home were the presentations to the volunteers. It’s so often the unsung heroes who make things happen in the heritage world. The men and women who give their valuable time unsparingly to the ship or the boat, asking for no reward other than to see a job well done. As it happened, the subject of unsung heroes was apposite. I’d just spent two days braving the ghastly traffic to visit a couple of quiet men with tales to tell. The first was Steve Tatham on Eel Pie Island. This is a small island in the Thames near Richmond, well within…

Light Horse, the classic Nicholson 43 with a storied heritage as the Lloyds Bank yacht and previously named Dark Horse, recently underwent a comprehensive transformation at Fox’s Boatyard. The project aimed to restore her elegance while upgrading her engineering and deck systems for modern performance and reliability. This entailed complete removal of the old teak deck and all fittings and the installation of a brand-new cork deck. New deck gear was installed and all brightwork stripped and refinished. The topsides were resprayed in navy blue with a gold cove line, replacing her former grey. Internally, work included a new Nanni diesel engine with upgraded hydraulic drive and stern gear. After her relaunch, Light Horse was carefully loaded onto transport destined for the Algarve and is now ready for her next…

It was an icy, misty morning when we visited Chris and Malcolm, collectively known as C&M Traditional Boat Repairs, working out of Harleyford Marina, near Marlow, and bringing a good 75 years of experience in specialist wooden boatbuilding to the Thames. Across several tents and many more beefy yard trolleys, it was clear there was a lot of work on, but first we had to deal with the cold. Fortunately, as well being a fine craftsman, Malcolm is also a generous maker of tea, with a ready tin of biscuits on the go. You might think this a form of payola but within minutes, clients (former and current), competitor boatbuilders and anyone else who happened to be out, were gathering. It all reflects Chris and Malcolm’s policy of open doors…

When the dark green hull of Shamrock V slipped back into the water in Southampton in May 2024, the sight was enough to stir even the most seasoned shipwrights. The oldest surviving J-Class yacht, Sir Thomas Lipton’s fifth and final America’s Cup challenger, had emerged from a three-year restoration that proved as demanding and revealing as any in her 95-year history. What began as a structural refit had deepened into a full-scale resurrection. Beneath her gleaming Epifanes finish and flawless teak lay a story of discovery, perseverance and respect for a yacht long regarded as the “Queen of the J Class.” She carries this title not just for her beauty and pedigree but because of something utterly unique in yachting: she is the only J-Class yacht never to have fallen…

Cape Horners converge Some 126 ‘Cape Horners’ met in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to applaud the latest global circumnavigators into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame. Now in its fourth year, the International Association of Cape Horners (IACH) received 31 nominations from the public for this year’s Hall of Fame. The list was verified by an independent selection committee chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world; then 15 names went forward to a vote by all members of IACH. The names of 46 of the most famous round-the-world sailors now adorn the Cape Horn honours board housed in a club house in the French port of Les Sables d’Olonne, host port for the Vendée Globe and Golden Globe race events. At the awards…

The outline plan in 2025 was to move Integrity as far west in Alaska as practicable and leave her in a safe harbour for the winter, pending a journey down the Aleutians to Japan the following year. Much of the territory to be transited had been covered the previous year, so we could reasonably hope for heightened shore excursion success, given the lessons learned and difficulty already encountered in the jungle of virgin pine forest and dense salmon berry bushes along the shore. The Alaskan state capital Juneau, where Integrity overwintered ashore, has an average of 90in (2.3m) rainfall per year. The correct proportion of RPD (Rain Per Day) fell during the re-commissioning week and made the unpleasant task of re-coppering the underside of the ballast keel only more onerous.…

ROCKPORT, MAINE SUPER SLOOP IN WOOD COMPOSITE The new 95ft (29m) sloop Ouzel floated to her lines after her launch at Rockport Marine, the boatyard where the contemporary classic took shape over the last three years. Ouzel will begin mechanical and systems trials, testing the intent of her owner to build a comfortable blue-water cruiser with good performance. Her design is by Langan Design Partners of Newport, RI, with interior design by Mark Whiteley Design, of Lymington, UK. Build was in wood composite; the Rockport recipe is a mix of cold-moulded wood, carbon fibre, E-glass, and foam coring. Representing the owner was another Rhode Island firm, MCM Newport, for a yachtsman who chose to buck the trend and build a superyacht on American, rather than European, shores. See rockportmarine.com STEPHEN…

Mitring by other methods The loveliest and most reliable of mitring tools is the mitre square (1). While adjustable squares are prone to human error in setting the angle, decoratively roved rivets fix the blade of this centenarian mitre square immovably at 45 degrees. Butt the brass-bound ebony stock against the work, hold all absolutely still and scribe along the blade’s edge onto opposite faces. A try-square suffices for squaring across the edges of the piece. Chisel a tiny channel for the saw on the waste side of the line, cut carefully to the marks and the resultant mitre joint will be sharp as a paper cut. Should the sawn surfaces not be quite right, the mitre template (2) comes to the rescue. Consisting of two pieces of hardwood joined…

CHARMING, STRANGE & SLIGHTLY DELAYED The fine 1921 Albert Strange yacht, Charm, will now appear in the February issue. Worth the wait, recently restored and raring to go VARNISH GUIDE What to use, how to apply and some feedback from an expert panel CANNES CLASSICS This year’s Régates Royales saw 120 boats take part. The weather tried its best to dampen spirits but the yachts and the yachting prevailed FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE ON SALE 06 January, 2026 Or why not subscribe? SAILING TODAY WITH YACHTS & YACHTING IN THE JANUARY ISSUE • Boat test: new Swan 51 • Electric motors: is it time to upgrade? • Scilly to Skye solo • Boat test: Leopard’s new eco-friendly catamaran • Youth revolution: the young guns chasing racing glory • British Yachting Awards…

Christmas 1999 was a uniquely peculiar time, the dawning millennium fuelling a mix of end-of-days dread and party-of-a-lifetime anticipation. The dread seemed mainly based on how alarm clock radios would react to a number two being introduced; the excitement was more understandable, with the greatest of New Year’s Eve shindigs on the cards. Meanwhile, on the river, life just ticked along. My boat had a near-perfect mooring, a private spot directly on the Thames with a pub approximately 126ft away. It had been cold, there was even some snow around, but otherwise all was well. The boat in question was, of course, wooden. It had no diesel heating (that was always a next year’s job that the summer allowed me to forget) but the mooring had power, so a selection…

The 10th Hamble Classics Regatta saw a pleasing jump in participants to 40 yachts, with all the racing superbly marshalled by principal race officer Peter Bateson. The Spirit of Tradition IRC Class saw the two Spirit 46s Ondine of Ipswich and Dido (eventual class winner) split by Vesper1, a Guernsey-based Spirit 37. In the main IRC fleet of nine yachts, the three equally well-prepared West Solent ODs Harlequin, Suvretta and Arrow, all built by Berthon in the mid-1920s, took first, third and fifth places. Splitting them were the Knud Reimers-designed 30 Sqm Aeolus and the Sparkman & Stephens Sagitta 35 Ugly Duckling. The Regatta Handicap Class for non-rated yachts under its simple empirical handicap method were joined by a trio of well-sailed GRP Nordic Folkboats and these very capably crewed…

Dave Selby What a year. My highlights would be taking part in a barge match, not going to the boat show and doing 39mph on a Fairey Huntsman. The launch of Laerling was a gala day for Maldon but I will go for the barge match. I have crewed regularly on Thames sailing barges, carrying the most perilous cargo of all – guests – which when combined with cream teas, is a highly volatile mix. This year I took part in my first proper match on Victor, built in 1895. The first match was held in 1863, making these contests the oldest sailing competitions in the world after the first America’s Cup. The trust and skill involved with cross-tacking 100 tonnes at close quarters is awe-inspiring. Robin Gates I’ve always…

There’s an aesthetic rule with powerboats of this style, and if you have to explain it to someone who doesn’t know the language of stepped sheer lines and tumblehome, it’s very simple: imagine it in an old film, coming alongside a destroyer with a uniformed naval officer at the wheel. Traditional twin-cabin, centre cockpit designs have seen a resurgence in recent years as ‘limousine’ tenders to superyachts; but the roots of Loch Lomond are a lot saltier than that. The idea was born the day the French round-the-world racing yachtsman Halvard Mabire saw the royal yacht Britannia in Edinburgh, where he was taken with the ship’s ‘royal barges’ (tenders, and not remotely barge-like). Halvard is a tough, Norman sailor cut from the old cloth, who built and campaigned his first…

Cowes has long been a crucible of yachting and few yards have shaped it as well as Clare Lallows. Today, the yard remains traditional, down to its letterhead which, until 1996, was still made using the original thermographic printing method. Lallows’ commitment to techniques of old has saved classic yachts, while forward-thinking diversification has kept the company alive and kicking. Given the historic successes of boats like Roundabout, Morning Cloud II (Opposition) and even the first translatlantic rowing boat, Lallows has convincingly earned its place in boatbuilding lore. THE BEGINNINGS… 10FT CLINKER DINGHIES The company started in Cowes in 1867, building 10ft (3m) clinker dinghies. The family name was already known locally, with Clare’s father making sails. For most of its 158 years, Lallows remained in the family, as sons…

It’s been 14 years since Kit Rogers took over as MD at Jeremy Rogers from the founder; his father Jeremy, famous for his Contessa 26, 32 and others, and an ex-CB man of the year. Since then, the yard has refurbished yachts from around the world, alongside looking after a sizeable fleet of classic Contessas – and even building a handful of new Contessa 32s! In parallel, the Atlas brand carbon davits made on site have become a name in the superyacht world. Now it’s time for another change, as Kit’s brother Simon takes on the role of MD. Simon is a yacht designer, sailor, designer of the Atlas davit and has project-managed many of the composite military products made at Jeremy Rogers. Kit will return to teaching, while his…

The Royal Barge that served as a tender to the royal yacht Britannia, as well as the inspiration to Loch Lomond (featured in this issue), is undergoing an extensive winter preservation program in Leith, Edinburgh. Over two months, the 40ft (12.2m) twin-diesel launch built by Camper & Nicholson in 1964 has been supported in a temporary dry dock, stripped of aged paint and varnish, and treated to protect her timber. New deck panels, fresh caulking, seating supports, and interior flooring are being installed, alongside renewed varnish. The two original Foden engines—now long out of production—have been inspected, with spare parts sourced, and the hull’s seacocks overhauled. All restoration work is carried out by Britannia’s dedicated maintenance crew on site, in this case, Mark Sinclair, Nigel Parkinson and Joss Wilson: they…

1 Marples mitre cutter Is anything more satisfying than the crisp right angle of a well-cut mitre joint? Well yes, but there are few things more dissatisfying than the mitre which doesn’t quite meet in the middle, gaping like a hungry carp. Professionals would set up a machine dedicated to the job but those whose time is not so much money as it is a precious resource to be enjoyably spent will likely prefer to use hand tools. Accurate sawing is what’s needed and for that it would be hard to beat the Marples No 6808 Mitre Cutter. This isn’t really a cutter, as such, but a jig. There are fancier devices with built-in frame saws and 180 degree range of adjustment but they seem cumbersome by comparison, not to…