1960 dolphin 20

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ollyoke1

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hello all. i`m new to the site so sorry if this is in wrong place
i have a 1960 ish dolphin 20 i am rebulding it has a fibergliss hull and wodden top side . i am trying to find out all what i can on the boat but getting nowhere can any one shed some lite on my boat
thanks olly
 
It\'s very late out here but

i couldn't resist replying to this. dolphins were made by a firm called brooklands aviation. they made their boats originally in marine ply but the later ones had grp hulls. yours is obviously one of these. the range was from 16ft to 24ft and both centre and aft cockpit versions were made in all sizes although the centre cockpit boats were rarer. most were outboard powered but the really posh ones had a sterndrive, usually an enfield. the reason i responded is that my first boat was a predecessor to their dolphins, a solent 16 which had a cold moulded ply hull and because of it's flat bottom for half of it's length slammed a lot at sea. keep your old girl going, the 24 was the best looking by far. the worst place for rot was the front corner joins between the deck and the superstructure.you might find:- http://www.theartistsweb.co.uk/artwork/140793_dolphin__boat_-_kingfisher interesting
Chas on Kentrina's log-in
 
Yours must be a later version as in 1968 they were still listed as Cold moulded Marine ply on Mahogany frames ..... >

dolphin20-23.jpg


The above bein g the Dolphin 20 and 23 as can be seen. The other Dolphin available at that time being the Dolphin 19. Main design difference being that 19 had 2 windows each side of cabin top, the 20 having a long single window each side. The two boats being very similar outwardly apart from this.

Later part of production put to GRP
 
Not mentioned in the ads there, but my father Alan Eckford designed the 20ft and possibly the 23ft (as it looks like another one off he did for the original Daily Express ofshore race, but not finished until some years later)
Andrew
 
hello all
thanks for the info . i`ve been looking for info on the boat for quite a while and got no where.a big thanks to you all.
on the picture of the dolphin 20 the roof hight looks to be lower than mine dose any one have drawings so i can compair with what i have .
thanks olly
 
Nige
"most boats that I have sheets for do list the actual architect name"
Is there a side to you we dont know about? Collector? Anorak? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Stu
 
[ QUOTE ]
Nige
"most boats that I have sheets for do list the actual architect name"
Is there a side to you we dont know about? Collector? Anorak? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Stu

[/ QUOTE ]

Boats have been a serious part of my life as long as I remember .... I was dragged onto an Enterprise dinghy as 5 yrs old after tripping over a breakwater at HillHead, Solent.

I have various books, mags, all sorts from my years as a surveyor of Yachts in UK and abroad. But my two main 'bibles' will always be Bristows.
 
I see BSS 1088 used to be marine ply . Now its not for marine use /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I have some pics of a dolfin 20 ( i think ) Inside and out . I will try and find them and scan them for you .
I think there is an owners club aswell .
 
dolphine 20

new to this but here goes......i own a marine ply dolphine 20... at last i know now what it is thanks to you all... spent hours stripping it down, and have replaced alot of the rotten wood. the hull is now repainted and looking good. have still alot to do with above water line but getting there, anyone with more pics please to get colour right.... thanks.
 
Dolphin 20 pics

Hi eye4ball !!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a few pics of my Dolphin 20 back in the early 70's, sorry that's all I've got. She (it) was called Sumar, haven't a clue where she (it) is now, probably
scrapped. A shame!
sumar1.jpgsumar2.jpgsumar3.jpgsumar4.jpg

Regards
Richard
 
Last edited:
Thanks very much for pictures Richard, brilliant... mine is same but needs outboard... still back to work and will try and do it justice....
 
Hi,
Your welcome, I hope they will be of use! The decking and cabin roof was covered in a blue rubberised/plastic non slip material. Near the transom on the side of the hull the word Dolphin should painted which I eventually did.
It was a fast little boat would do 30 knots easily when travelling light and that was after we had a keel fiitted. It had a ford 1600cc engine with Mangoletsi head and twin choke carb coupled to an enfield z drive which made it a little tail heavy, so to get on the plane was a bit of a struggle until we put trim tabs on, then it used to jump on the plane. As a family of four, my parents and my younger brother (I was 21 then, I'm 58 now) we spent many summer days on the boat, which was based at the Glanford Boat Club in Brigg, North Lincolnshire (River Ancholme) we used to go on to the River Humber, up the River Trent as far as we could go in three weeks. We also could either go up the River Ouse up to York and Beyond or onto the canals at Keadby Lock, Torksey Lock. To avoid the tidal stretch, Humber, Trent we later bought a Landrover and towed the boat to Farndon (on the Trent) which saved lots of fuel. We encountered the tidal wave (eager) once on the Trent. Sorry I'm rambling, happy memories of our little boat which is sadly missed. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we enjoyed ours.
Send me a picture, when you get it done!
Regards
Richard
 
They were a good cheap introduction to boating for many people.
I had one in the 80's with the Watermotor engine and Perkins Mk2 sterndrive, but the rot got the better of it and it had to be cut up, I think I still have the widows some-where.

A few were built in wide beam as well, these had the electronic OMC drive with a 100hp GM petrol engine and there was a 25 foot narrow beam, there is still a 23 near our mooring!
If I find any pic's Ill stick them on here..
 
Our first boat was a Dolphin 20

She was one of the later GRP hull jobs and we offloaded her a bit sharpish when we realised how bad the osmosis was!

Contrary to many sources, the boats were not built at Weybridge in Surrey, they were built at Sywell Aerodrome, Northants (early examples) or later at Northampton (at a dedicated factory in Buttocks Booth) whilst Sywell continued to be used to store boats and some of the finishing work overflowed to the original hanger from time to time according to older residents of the village (I was brought up in Sywell from the age of 10 and my parents and brother still live there)

Brooklands Aviation, as the name suggests, was originally based at the famous motor racing circuit and aerodrome, By the 1930's they ran flying schools and maintenance operations at a number of aerodromes around the UK including Sywell in Northants wherel during WW2 where they repaired Wellington and Lancaster bombers

Post war, they started building a range of plywood boats initially in the hangar at Sywell before moving production to a factory on the outskirts of Northampton about 3 miles away.

Rumour has it that Fairline poached staff from Brooklands when they started making their first small plywood river cruiser at Oundle, Northants in 1967. Fairline, of course, is still in business but Brooklands Aviation went west back in, IIRC, the mid-1980's - they were still repairing aircraft at Sywell when I was in my late teens albeit at a much reduced scale compared to earlier times. I think the boat production ceased some years earlier than that
 
An interesting thread!

My parents had a Dolphin 19 from new, in 1964 (Lorelei). They bought it from a dealer in Emsworth.
I think they had the boat for one season, but with the family expanding, and a desire to go 'rag and stick', the Dolphin was replaced by a Cheverton Caravel, which in turn was replaced by a Hillyard.

The family loved the Dolphin. She was before my time, but even so, I have a fondness of them. I still have a toy Dolphin 20 (made by Dinky?).

Here are some scans of my dad's slides.
Those who sail in the Solent area will recognize the backdrops!

img279.jpg



img280.jpg



img268.jpg



img291.jpg




Doug
 
ollyoke1 said:
hello all. i`m new to the site so sorry if this is in wrong place
i have a 1960 ish dolphin 20 i am rebulding it has a fibergliss hull and wodden top side . i am trying to find out all what i can on the boat but getting nowhere can any one shed some lite on my boat
thanks olly
Click to expand...
Hi all! I am the proud owner of a late 70's Dolphin with GRP hull and topsides; my father bought her as a bare hull/superstructure from Harry Kitchener Marine in 1979,and I believe she is one of 20 that were constructed with GRP hull and topsides? I inherited her when she was about 50% finished and now in 2011 I am still working on her! The build is more like a refurb/build as all her internals,which are varnished mahogany ply have had to be stripped and revarnished. She is fitted with a 1600GT Mk.2 Ford Cortina marinised engine and Enfield Z drive,both of which I have recently rebuilt,as I intend to get her where she belongs,as soon as I can, in the water on a sunny day! I would love to know if any other 100% GRP Dolphins are still around and of any other Dolphins in the Northampton/Midlands area? All the best, Chas bluepolara
 
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