Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Classic Boat

The 11th UK Maritime Heritage Forum convened in Glasgow on 13 and 14 November, co-hosted by the magnificent Riverside Museum and Glasgow’s very own 'Tall Ship' – 1896 steel-hulled, three-masted barque Glenlee. They were assisted as always by the National Maritime Museum’s indefatigable Sally Archer. This unique annual event typically includes the big guns and decision-makers of UK maritime heritage, such as Hannah Cunliffe from National Historic Ships (NHS), Paddy Rodgers (the new director of the Royal Museums, Greenwich, who took over from Kevin Fewster in August) and representatives from our most iconic vessels, such as the Cutty Sark, Mary Rose and SS Great Britain. Someone told me they kept coming back to the conference because of the lack of hierarchy and the fact that everyone talks to everyone –…

ARTCURIAL, FRANCE Is Mariska the Alfa Romeo of the seas? If the 1908 Fife-designed and built 15-Metre Mariska were a car, what would she be? A Bentley Speed Six or Type 57SC Bugatti perhaps, or possibly an 8C Alfa Romeo? Comparison is invited by the fact that Mariska is coming up for sale in a February classic car auction at the famed Retromobile show in Paris, where last year, a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B (inset) sold for €16.75 million. Like the exquisite race-bred Alfa touring saloon, Mariska was built not just for speed but for comfort, so that the owner may live on board in reasonable style, as laid down by the new 15-Metre formula established to challenge rules that had created marginal racing freaks. Consequently the 15-Metre boats attracted…

On the first day of our holiday, we were enjoying a coffee by the harbour in Sami, on the east coast of Kefalonia in Greece, when we heard the cry “Kraken! Kraken!” from local children. We rushed to the quayside and, sure enough, there was an enormous octopus tracking gracefully across the seabed – not quite the scale of the mythical kraken, but big nonetheless. As I watched my children pointing excitedly, I was taken back to my own childhood living on boats, first in France then Greece, when I spent much of my time in, on or around the water, stalking all types of sea creatures – but especially octopuses, with whom I felt a special affinity. It was the first of many such flashbacks during our week on…

CABINET MAKER’S TOOL Toothing with the No 80 BY ROBIN GATES The wooden-bodied toothing plane is an old cabinet-maker’s tool used to improve the key when glueing exotic veneers. Grooves forged into the near vertical toothing iron give rise to a serrated edge of tiny teeth, each routing a groove in the surface. Although there’s little call for traditionally hand-laid veneers in yacht cabinetry, the toothing iron finds wider application in raising a key for the glued surfaces of scarf joints and laminations. Set coarsely, it’s also effective at removing an old finish and levelling awkward grain before smoothing. While toothing plane bodies are often found in poor condition, the bite of a toothing iron is easily restored with a modicum of honing and slots conveniently into the more common…

THE WEDDING PRESENT Most couples choose toasters and cutlery, but Abbie and Aaron chose instead, a 46ft Fred Shepherd to restore WESTERN SKIFF Designer Nigel Irens drew a lovely dayboat for this magazine. Now, many years later, plans are available again SEA OF CORTEZ Ellen Massey-Leonard takes her classic sloop to sail in the world’s greatest aquarium. PLUS… Restored late 1930s Cornish motor yacht; the Broads racing yacht Viking; the early links between flying and sailing; and much, much more MARCH 2020 ON SALE Friday 31 January, 2020 (or why not subscribe!) 30 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1990, CB20 Our February issue three decades ago was diverse, even by the standards of this magazine. The ‘big yacht thing’ was covered with a visit to the Nioulargue, which later became Les Voiles…

It almost goes without saying (especially to readers of this magazine) that it isn’t just important that a boat should sail well, she should look good, too – and, many would argue, so should the crew. While it is common practice for race crews to wear matching liveried clothing so they are recognisable as a team, both afloat and ashore, during the 2019 season Viola’s crew – or the ‘Viola Lovers’, as they like to call themselves – took this one stage further. They all grew sideboards (or sideburns, or mutton chops) in a style that hasn’t really been fashionable for a long time. Viola was originally launched on 18 June 1908, having been designed and built – alongside the 15-Metre Mariska – by William Fife III. Her garboards and…

ROCK THE BOAT, BABY We have South Shore Boatworks to thank for the Plymouth Rock’R – a rocking boat cradle designed for children aged 1-3 and their proud parents (or grandparents) to enjoy. The design is in the spirit and tradition of the Banks dories that were once used by the fisherman of Massachusetts in their quest for cod. South Shore Boatworks has been building the Plymouth Rock’R since 1990, and each boat is handcrafted by third- and fourth-generation boatbuilders using teak and mahogany, and finished with non-toxic paints and varnishes. Decals for a child’s or boat’s name are included. Dimensions are 45in (114cm) long and 21in (53cm) wide. £POA southshoreboatworks.com WINDVANE There aren’t enough classic sailing boats decorating British rooftops we think, but Black Fox Metalcraft is here to…

James Dodds, the boatbuilder turned artist who took his drawings of working boats from the boatyard to London’s famous Cork Street and beyond, is having a major exhibition of his work at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Titled ‘Wood to Water’, the new show features 29 of his works, many of them new, and they include his largest to date: an oil of a Falmouth pilot cutter on gesso board that measures a breathtaking 213cm by 731cm (7ft x 24ft). Dodds’ work has always been informed by craftsmanship: his luminous paintings are nearly always of the boat on dry land, the boat as object built by human hand “Boats have evolved over centuries to suit the sea conditions and materials available to build them. Boats are shaped by the sea,”…

Email: steffan@classicboat.co.uk WEST COUTRY ROAD TRIP Catching up with boatyards in the southwest of England TRELUGGAN BOATYARD, CORNWALL Riverside haven It is a long, winding Cornish lane that takes visitors to the idyllic riverside spot that is home to Treluggan Boatyard. This is the yard that Sara Stirling bought just a couple of years ago, and embarked on a big update of the facilities. It’s primarily a self-service yard at the moment, with 126 boats wintering on the hard and at the river moorings, although the staff of six offer a good range of services on site. These include engineering, rigging, repairs, outboard motors and more. There is some crossover with husband Will as well: the last Will Stirling dinghy was built here, and Kingfisher, the motor yacht currently at…

Where many identical screws are required there’s a solid case for the cross-head screw and electric screwdriver, designed to relieve the drudgery of the assembly line. But where the craftsman’s touch holds sway, the slotted screw and hand-powered screwdriver still reign supreme; in feeling hands, this combination may even prove faster, especially if the power tool’s slipping clutch is struggling with variable grain, or its battery is on the wane. Given the degree of automation in 21st-century woodworking, it’s often to the hardware that the eye roams in search of those finishing touches, suggesting the cabinetry wasn’t built entirely by robots. Hinges, stays, locks and catches accurately installed with screw slots pointing north and south speaks volumes for the craftsman’s care and skill. Screwdriving, correctly handled, is a process as…

She was an Arthur C Robb-designed Lion Class, 35ft 2in (10.7m) of graceful line and lovely sheer, moored to the pier at Oban waiting to take us on our adventure around the Western Isles. Our charter agents were, likewise, measuring us up, unsurprising given that the previous charterers had sought to clear a reef at high water, only to find that her 5ft 7in draught would not oblige. As a result the lead keel sustained some subtle alterations to the original design. We smiled and tried to look confident. On hearing of the recent mishap we shook our heads in disapproval and muttered something about weekend sailors. (I should point out that the average age of our crew of five was 20 years and 9 months). However, we were cash…

The oldest yacht ever to have raced in the Sydney-Hobart classic makes a return to the event on Boxing Day, following her recent restoration by the son of a former owner. Katwinchar was built in 1904 by coopers employed by Ricardo Watney, a keen sailor who lived on the Isle of Wight – better known as the founder of the Watneys Brewery in London. There are no surviving plans, but it is believed the 32ft (9.8m) double-ended ketch was designed by Watney himself. She was built with steel-frames and cedar planking, and named after his children Katherine, Winifred and Charles. The restoration has been carried out on behalf of well-known Australian boatbuilder Bill Barry-Cotter, who first fell in love with the yacht when his father Frank bought her in 1960…

Welcome once again to the annual Classic Boat Awards in association with Classic Marine, where we celebrate the best in the sometimes unsung world of classic and traditional boatbuilding and restoration. The pages that follow feature everything from large, antique restored sailing yachts to plywood folding dinghies, motor boats and cutting-edge spirit-of-tradition yachts, along with some of the people who have achieved great things on and on the water. Some have been complete rebuilds, others partial, some at the best boatyards in the world, some in backyards. Choosing the shortlist is a big job, but now the bigger job falls to you – and that is to pick the winners of our 2020 Awards. To do that, please visit awards.classicboat.co.uk, a dedicated Awards page that makes it easy to cast…

There must be something soothing about wooden boats that so many of my friends’ children recall growing up to the sound of gurgling water, an inch or less of pitch pine/larch or plywood from their little ears. Jack and Mollie, Ella and Hannah, Hamish and Meghan to name but a few. There’s another on the way as I write this, and for sure his first sounds will include the splash of water on wood. I suppose it is simply an extension of the sounds and sensations they would have been used to for nine months, inside and, no doubt, outside, as their intrepid parents eked out the last of their free time before even the hardiest of them decided it was time to swallow the anchor for a while. Not…

Coble-inspired dayboat This 16ft gaff cutter was built by Katie Hammond in glued clinker construction to a design by her boyfriend Morgan Richardson. It is based on a Yorkshire coble and modified by staff at the Boat Building Academy. Gartside sloop Jonathan Sheldon’s 16ft gaff sloop is based on Paul Gartside’s design No. 218 but with the addition of a bowsprit. She is of traditional clenched clinker construction with khaya planking on oak timbers, with the fit-out mainly in oak. Clinker canoe Arthur Stickland’s 11ft 6in Rushton Vaux Jr canoe is of traditional clinker construction, with yellow cedar planking on oak timbers, and symmetrical fore and aft. Gartside lugger Kate Abernethy’s 16ft lugger is another Gartside boat, design No. 124. She is of traditional carvel build with the planks clenched…

Dennetts is one of those yards that keeps a relatively low profile for the amount of work it carries out, perhaps because it, like many of the upper Thames boatyards, already has more work than it can handle. What goes on here though, in a modest collection of riverside sheds by Chertsey, really is on an epic scale. For the first time ever in a yard visit, I gave up trying to record the basic details of each boat (year, length, builder, designer, material), as it rapidly became clear that Dennetts, in terms of the number of boats being worked on, is unlike anything I've seen before. I'll settle for counting the number of boats, I thought, realising later that even that is not realistic. The main shed was originally…