Oysterman 22

Oysterman22

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I have an Oysterman 22 "Pilgrim" since 2016 and would be happy to get in touch with any other Oysterman 22 owners, or previous owners who know these sturdy pocket yachts

thanks,

John
 

Romeo

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I have sailed in one, Mrs Mouse. Proper little ship. Very pleasant to be aboard. Has changed hands since I was on her, and not sure of any others in Scotland.
 

KINGFISHER 8

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HC1.jpg

Paul Gartside does design very pretty and practical boats - I had one called a Helford Cutter 30 - actually 32 ft but I never told the marina! …. :encouragement:
Iroko on oak and built like a church !!
 

AntarcticPilot

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Paul Gartside does design very pretty and practical boats - I had one called a Helford Cutter 30 - actually 32 ft but I never told the marina! …. :encouragement:
Iroko on oak and built like a church !!

What - you mean it's got a thin outer and inner skin with the middle filled up with whatever rubbish was lying around (pretty much any church buitl where there's no decent building stone)? Or it has foundations 6" deep (any pre-Victorian church)? Or it has "interesting" architectural features to counter the mistakes they made when guessing the forces involved (Wells Cathedral - the inverted arch)? Or it's whatever they could get to stay standing after the first try fell down (the Octagon Lantern at Ely Cathedral)?

I'm afraid these are all real examples of church architecture!

Sorry - from years of involvement with mediaeval church buildings, I know exactly HOW badly they were built, and woudn't take "built like a church" as any kind of recommendation :)
 

KINGFISHER 8

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What - you mean it's got a thin outer and inner skin with the middle filled up with whatever rubbish was lying around (pretty much any church buitl where there's no decent building stone)? Or it has foundations 6" deep (any pre-Victorian church)? Or it has "interesting" architectural features to counter the mistakes they made when guessing the forces involved (Wells Cathedral - the inverted arch)? Or it's whatever they could get to stay standing after the first try fell down (the Octagon Lantern at Ely Cathedral)?

I'm afraid these are all real examples of church architecture!

Sorry - from years of involvement with mediaeval church buildings, I know exactly HOW badly they were built, and woudn't take "built like a church" as any kind of recommendation :)
I'm sure you're right … she went to weather better than Ely Cathedral though !! …...….. :encouragement:
 
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KINGFISHER 8

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But Ely Cathedral has weathered more storms than her, both literally and metaphorically! The "Great Ship of the Fens" has been around for 800 years and still counting.
Because it was built strong, just like my boat, hence the expression often used by shipwrights - 'Built like a church' - I expect they were thinking about Ely Cathedral when they built her, at Gweek Boatyard in 1983.
 

AntarcticPilot

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Because it was built strong, just like my boat, hence the expression often used by shipwrights - 'Built like a church' - I expect they were thinking about Ely Cathedral when they built her, at Gweek Boatyard in 1983.

Yes, it has foundations only a few feet deep, is built on clay and has fallen down at least twice (once when the tower where the Octagon Lantern is now fell down, and there used to be a tower north of the porch...).

Basically "built strong" isn't something I recognize when it comes to mediaeval churches. What is left is strong enough, but it's only "strong enough", usually after a period of trial and frequently fatal and dramatic error!
 

Romeo

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Fred Drift is alive and well :)

"Church Boats" are a type of large rowing boat used in Finland:

"In times gone by, these elegant, long boats took up to 50 parishioners from distant farms and hamlets located near the many lakesides to the important Sunday services, with all able-bodied persons taking their turn at the oars."

https://finland.fi/life-society/row-row-row-that-church-boat/

4312-churchboat-anthonyshaw-640px-jpg.jpg
 

dancrane

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I know speed isn't the first concern of owners or buyers of such a vessel, but at under 23ft on deck, 9ft beam and 4.5tn displacement...

...(same as a Fisher 25)...

...how did she perform?
 

Romeo

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I know speed isn't the first concern of owners or buyers of such a vessel, but at under 23ft on deck, 9ft beam and 4.5tn displacement...

...(same as a Fisher 25)...

...how did she perform?

She has fairly straight ends, so her waterline length is given as 22 feet. She feels like a 30 foot boat. LOA is 31 feet when you get that big stick out the front.

I did not sail beside any lightweight round the cans modern boats, and they would of course beat her in a race! However for serious voyaging, I was very happy in the Oysterman.
 

Kukri

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I know speed isn't the first concern of owners or buyers of such a vessel, but at under 23ft on deck, 9ft beam and 4.5tn displacement...

...(same as a Fisher 25)...

...how did she perform?

Seen an Itchen Ferry recently?

er. for example the legendary Fanny of Cowes and her almost equally legendary owner, Nigel Warren:

ecr2018-fanny-smiller.jpg


22ft 9ins on deck, 8ft 6ins beam, 3ft 6ins draft, sail area SIX HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SQUARE FEET, built 1872 and will beat the pants off just about anything...

Set foot on Fanny (she lives in the RHYC marina now) and you are in no doubt that you are on a serious racer; no varnish; lots of Dyneema...

I don't doubt that Paul Gartside (my favourite living designer) had the Itchen Ferries in mind when he drew the Oysterman.
 
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dancrane

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She is a compact thing of great beauty.

I hadn't even formed an image in my mind of what an Itchen Ferry is, though I knew the name of course.

It's a wonder to me that glassfibre constructors haven't aped her styling exactly, and her rigging and modern approach to sail control.
 

Kukri

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She is a compact thing of great beauty.

I hadn't even formed an image in my mind of what an Itchen Ferry is, though I knew the name of course.

It's a wonder to me that glassfibre constructors haven't aped her styling exactly, and her rigging and modern approach to sail control.

Years ago, somebody did, taking the lines off an actual Itchen Ferry, but they didn't sell well, owing to limited accommodation. Paul Gartside's interpretation is probably better.

Talking of Itchen Ferries, the queen of all Itchen Ferries, Thomas White Ratsey's "Dolly Varden", an enlarged version of "Fanny", is said to have turned up, in need of complete rebuild...
 

LittleSister

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GRP Itchen Ferrys aren't that rare.

There's also the Tamarisk 24, possibly the first 'plastic gaffer' (predates Cornish Crabbers, etc.), which though a new design (by David Cannell, who also designed the Samphires, Calypso and Northsea 127), reportedly drew inspiration from the Itchen Ferry and Falmouth Quay Punt. There was later a Tamarisk 19 and 22.

9762868fd5b40705bf6e59e56ac5f44f.jpg
 
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