The scale of the thing

[John B]

Off to an old classics event last night. There were lots there and also one old boat.
Ida featured back on this thread in 19. She's had a restoration after being acquired from Australia. She's an 1895 Bailey 5 rater, left here sometime in the 70s ? I think and had another life in Sydney .
The hero of this story is a man called John Street who started and funded the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust and now operates several of the famous NZ vintage boats. Terrific vision. http://www.classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/about.htm
A really lovely evening , it's winter so the sun goes down early but the weather cooperated.
Like most of our multi skin boats and as I've said many times before, her hull is still 90 or 95 % original and is there. New decks etc but this is not one of those new boat builds around a stern chock and called a restoration, the whole hull is there albeit re fastened and stabilised as needed. She won't leak and she'll be raced hard. This was the formal re launching, she's already been shaken down and proved fast in the light, massive sail area.
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A really interesting evening with a surprise in the form of the deputy prime minister of the country speaking.
A nice speech from him, very entertaining when away from the usual political subjects, great time.

[Garret]

That's a beeyootiful boat!

[Peerie Maa]

Interesting, thanks! Sailboard fins have a similar issue. We call it `spin out'. When planing, particularly at higher speed, the fin simply loses its `grip' and the tail of the board slips sideways, and becomes difficult to control. It can be a bit freaky hurtling along in choppy water and suddenly finding you're going sideways. Various fin shapes have been tried to deal with it but deeper fins tend to be less prone. I haven't ever seen tubercles tried but I'd be surprised if they haven't, given the reasoning you describe.

That might be a bounbdary layer issue if deeper fins are less prone.

[Larks]

Off to an old classics event last night. There were lots there and also one old boat.
Ida featured back on this thread in 19. She's had a restoration after being acquired from Australia. She's an 1895 Bailey 5 rater, left here sometime in the 70s ? I think and had another life in Sydney .
The hero of this story is a man called John Street who started and funded the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust and now operates several of the famous NZ vintage boats. Terrific vision. http://www.classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/about.htm
A really lovely evening , it's winter so the sun goes down early but the weather cooperated.
Like most of our multi skin boats and as I've said many times before, her hull is still 90 or 95 % original and is there. New decks etc but this is not one of those new boat builds around a stern chock and called a restoration, the whole hull is there albeit re fastened and stabilised as needed. She won't leak and she'll be raced hard. This was the formal re launching, she's already been shaken down and proved fast in the light, massive sail area.
20200719_163239.jpg

20200719_155812.jpg

A really interesting evening with a surprise in the form of the deputy prime minister of the country speaking.
A nice speech from him, very entertaining when away from the usual political subjects, great time.

Another beautiful example of a hull that has been splined and glass sheathed and done exceptionally well.


JB - bit of a side story: back in about 1993 I was wandering around trying to drum up support for our “Alice Springs Yacht Club” to gain sponsorship to fund a second go at the Sydney Hobart Yacht race.

I flew over to the Sydney boat show and approached anyone I could for sponsorship in-kind, especially for wet weather gear as the previous year we had been loaned oilies from the Darwin Sailing Club but it was all essentially light weight tropical gear and so we all ended up pretty “chilled” by the experience.....

Unsurprisingly pretty well everyone that I approached gave me short shift with no interest in supporting us, until I bumped into a vagabond bunch of assorted Kiwis at a somewhat non-specific Kiwi sailing stand, I think pretty much just there to promote what I guess was (for the rest of the world) an emerging Kiwi yachting industry at the time.

These guys were hilarious and great fun and without hesitation they easily convinced one of their lot to kit out our entire Sydney Hobart crew and any ASYC members with Dorlon oilies and snugs at a fraction of their cost (quite a bit less than 50% from memory)..... I think we ended up buying about 30 or 40 sets all up.

Anyway, I remember the name John Street being amongst that lot - I must find my contact list to see who else was there, I think it’d be a pretty interesting list of names.

[John B]

That's a great story , Greg. Makes me happy you were looked after. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the same man, he owned Fosters chandlery for many years in Auckland . He's been this great benefactor and supporter of classic yachting and marine history, including the Daring recovery.

[RFNK]

Yep, and the boat looks terrific! It's great that NZers keep bringing their boats back and fixing them up.

[John B]

Another NZ classic boat hero is Ian Cook of Yachting Developments. Erewhon shipped back from AU as an example among many other saves. YDL builds new boats for money, race boats to superyachts.
The Daring is stored at his yard.
I have no connection with either of those guys but I've realised just what a massive effort they've put into our historical fleet. A true scale of the thing effort.

[snow(Alan H)]

More photos from the function here. https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/07/...h-celebration/

[John B]

I've got a doozy for the scale of the thing and its oh so close to home. It needs about 6 photos though , so it'll take a couple or three days for the forum to accept them.
On another thread I mentioned that my son had , against my advice and wishes, bought a Townson 28 plywood keel yacht.
My objection is around the age of the boat and the quality of the ply available then, these boats are at the end of their lives unless they've been in particularly good ownership and care. This one was let go.

20200719_145024.jpg
This is it above a month ago. He's replaced a couple of underwater/bottom panels due to rot, partly rebuilt the cockpit , replaced one of the topside panels, and a cursory walk around looking at wrinkly paint suggested strongly that there was a lot left to do. But Ahh, the enthusiasm, the work, the learning curve.
Sometimes you can't tell em, sometimes they just have to find out for themselves.

And find out he did. And came to an unpleasant conclusion last week ish.
Here is the sad ending of a rotten plywood boat on its final trip to the dump.

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[John B]

What catalysed his feverish boat mad brain into such a hard decision you might ask.

Exactly the same hull , not rotten, for sale, for a buck..
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[Chris249]

Ahhh, a lovely end to a sad tale.

[Larks]

Dare I ask what he paid for the yellow horror?????

Nice score though (if it’s not in the “there’s nothing cheap about a cheap boat” category), I take it the new hull is a bare hull and he’s fitting it out from everything that he’s taken from the yellow horror......that’ll be a very satisfying job in itself.

[RFNK]

Plywood. Buy well and use it properly, then it's almost a perfect boatbuilding material! Break those rules and it turns to crap! Sounds like a great lesson's been learned and he'll have a real classic boat! Great!!

[John B]

Ahhh, a lovely end to a sad tale.

Wellll, it's the beginning of a lovely ending , I hope. But he certainly seems committed. I mean committed to the job, not committed to an institution, just making that clear.

[John B]

Dare I ask what he paid for the yellow horror?????

Nice score though (if it’s not in the “there’s nothing cheap about a cheap boat” category), I take it the new hull is a bare hull and he’s fitting it out from everything that he’s taken from the yellow horror......that’ll be a very satisfying job in itself.

I do believe the rot pocket was about 4 k. And now it's the donor of all the parts to make the new one live again.
The new one is someone else's stalled project but it's had some very nice work done already.

[John B]

Plywood. Buy well and use it properly, then it's almost a perfect boatbuilding material! Break those rules and it turns to crap! Sounds like a great lesson's been learned and he'll have a real classic boat! Great!!

I think so. Townson is not known out of NZ but here they enjoy a very good reputation and are highly regarded .
Tom has many offers of help and support including a full set of construction drawings. He plans to digitise those at work and give access to other owners.
The yard he's in at Milford is fantastic with help from both the haul out yard and the commercial slipway next door.

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[John B]

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[RFNK]

What's all that black or brown on the topsides? Burnt off paint or some sort of primer?

[John B]

Some sort of thin primer. The bottom is 2/3 glass where the peel ply is. Whole boat cover being built now. He has some deadwood work to do to get the keel on. He's optimistic about floating it before Christmas ,even if it's without rig. Well see about that.

[Jase]

he made the right call, that old one was stuffed

[John B]

he made the right call, that old one was stuffed

Listened in the end eh. Thanks for the help from your end too. That's a real haven with all the right values there in the Milford yard and Slip way.

[Hwyl]

Sounds like a great lesson's been learned and he'll have a real classic boat! Great!!

I'm glad it worked out well, that doesn't absolve the previous owner, if they knowingly sold a rotten boat to young man with big dreams.

[John B]

I think he went in with open eyes and youthful can do anything, Gareth. I ran interference on 2 other inexpensive but trouble filled boats, he went ahead and bought this one when we were caught up in our own major life change with business and property, I wasn't able to stop him. He is an adult now and he can make and be responsible for his own choices, so I must keep telling myself.
But, it is a terrific learning curve and although expensive, it's going to come out in the wash financially, sorta....., and he's getting great support from really great people, that's one of the rewarding parts to observe as a parent.

[John B]

Shoving the keel around with a car jack when we visited sunday.
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[Chris249]

Wellll, it's the beginning of a lovely ending , I hope. But he certainly seems committed. I mean committed to the job, not committed to an institution, just making that clear.

Oh, I think it's clear - anyone who is silly enough to renovate a 1960s NZ-designed timber 28'er is ripe for institutionalisation. Trust me........



Actually, that's completely unfair of me. It's a sane thing to do, as long as you don't also have another yacht to play with (plus the cat, the Tasar, the Int Canoe, the Lasers, the 20 windsufers etc).

The scary thing is that in many ways some of those Kiwi lightweights from the '60s and '70s still stand up really well as cruiser/racers, even against modern boats. He'll have one hell of a craft. I know about the legendary Piedies, and a 28' version of that could be a great boat. What's the rig like? I changed my Spencer over to an Etchells mast, main and kites and it means you can get some very nice sails for very little.

[John B]

The 28 was a cruiser with a modest masthead rig ,Chris ,but that's the style of the day anyway isn't it. I think they go well but a bit much rocker compared to a piedy and piedy performance. I like to see it scooped to 30 ft and a nice rudder plan, but I don't think that'll happen. The foil shapes look good actually.
Later, circa mid 80's he designed a big Pied Piper called a Townson 30 or Townson 9. Those are nice shaped boats within the medium. Fractional rig.
I was lucky enough to become a friend of Des Townson later in his life, He's been on Riada many times, and I've sailed his own boat when the new owner took over, also a friend. To this day it is the finest helm I've ever sailed ,and the boat barely pitched at all, just rose and fell level going over waves.

[John B]

I dropped in at Peter Brookes' yard on my last 2 road trips north. A lot going on there including the Fife 40 footer Impala.
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The usual high standard with focus on structure and finish we've come to expect. Pete puts giant effort into floors and step in particular to make them stronger than when new.
This is all dry fitted, not attached. I lifted one of those beams out and put it in my pocket. Made to give it back.
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[John B]

Attachment 71529

[RFNK]

What are those cutouts next to the chainplates for, and those right along the deck?

[Hwyl]

My dream. I just missed out on being the skipper of a nice Fife
She isn't listed under the name "Impala" in the build list, or at least I didn't find it.

[Larks]

What are those cutouts next to the chainplates for, and those right along the deck?

tops of the hull frames

[John B]

Try this and see if it beats the image hex.
20201020_121144.jpg

[John B]

tops of the hull frames

Yep, Pete says he always builds them short like that because planing the strake is a pia with the frame end grain.

[Hwyl]

In my Fife book (fast and bonnie) the numbers only go to 831

[RFNK]

tops of the hull frames

Ah, of course! Thanks!