Can anyone please identify this boat?

Cliveshep

Cliveshep

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I posted this on the PBO forum, sorry for double posting here but most of them are still drying the washing!

I'm selling my big old tub and downsizing to a trailed boat. Because of unemployment I'm buying what is advertised as "an American style Fairey Huntress grp 23ft boat, with single Volvo 170B and Volvo outdrive leg. The boat is a cheap project boat needing a total interior refit so it'll keep me happy over the winter cutting and sticking ply and a new grp roof on it. History wise it has apparently lived in a barn for some years, was previously on Lake Windemere (you there Lakey?) where the previous owner (a Philistine) cut a whopping great chunk out of the roof and built up a sort of greenhouse on it I'm told. The current owner has stripped everything out but decided not to proceed with the restoration for whatever reason.

Here's some pics if you can confirm the manufacturer for me, many thanks:

View attachment 311

View attachment 312

View attachment 313

It certainly has some or most of the Huntress lines but can anyone advise for sure for insurance purposes please?
 
epervier said:
it certainly has the look of a fairey, but at 23 ft what model, your man for this would be burgundyben.
Click to expand...

First shown at the 1961 London Boat Show, the Huntsman was an enlarged version of Fairey's 23ft (7m) Huntress. Both boats were named after American naval architect Ray Hunt, who had designed the then-innovative deep-vee hull they share.

Clive, looks a whopping project... just a couple that may require less work...which are genuine..

http://www.boatshed.com/fairey_huntress-boat-63467.html

http://www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk/details/?id=311

and now for something completely different...but not that dissimilar concept....and working...and not that much money....

http://boatsforsale.ybw.com/Boats/show/id/62394/searchId

...but I do agree with epervier, burgundyben is the expert here
 
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Not a Fairey.

Hi Clive - Definately not a Fairey, my money on a Levi design.


ETA - Further thoughts, I'm not sure its a Levi, there is not the distincitve reverse sheer although otherwise the hull form looks very much the work of Sonny Levi. I have never seen that deck/cabin type before.

Scallon might know more about the works of Sonny Levi.

ETA2 - Nope, got me beat, the chine rail looks Levi, the air scoop on the coaming looks very 828/Trident marine so maybe Levi.

Sorry, dunno.
 
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Fairey or not? And it's 22ft not 23ft - sorry!

First of all sorry for my misleading typo - length is advertised as 22 ft and NOT 23 ft long.

Firefly525 - I'm out of work my friend, which is why I'm looking to (a) radically downsize to get out of mooring fees (b) go trailing so we can venture further afield (c) go faster so we can shoot out, have fun, do a bit of fishing perhaps, come back in safety (d) do it on a budget the size of the weekly shopping bill (almost). It will cost me all-in a fraction of the cost of the ones you listed if it goes ahead.

I'll be using some of the money from selling the Ocean, the rest to keep a roof over our heads. Work is tight, I haven't found work in my profession for nearly a year now and don't expect to until next year.

Growing Lad - I'll certainly keep all the record pics of the project, actually, I've been so bored of late, no more outboards to restore etc, than I'm quite looking forward to it. It looks a great deal worse if you could see the internal pics and the top-sides ones showing the missing roof! But, it's mostly carpentry and upholstery/trimming, with a small amount of grp fitting the new roof.

Burgundyben - no-one else seems to know either including no response on the i-Boats forums. I think that unless I can find clues on what is left of the hull I'll call it a Huntress and let the insurers know there is some doubt and leave it at that. By the time I'm finished it'll be a "Clive22" anyway!
 
burgundyben said:
Hi Clive - Definately not a Fairey, my money on a Levi design.


ETA - Further thoughts, I'm not sure its a Levi, there is not the distincitve reverse sheer although otherwise the hull form looks very much the work of Sonny Levi. I have never seen that deck/cabin type before.

Scallon might know more about the works of Sonny Levi.

ETA2 - Nope, got me beat, the chine rail looks Levi, the air scoop on the coaming looks very 828/Trident marine so maybe Levi.

Sorry, dunno.
Click to expand...


My first thought was also Levi.
 
burgundyben said:
I would not do that, Huntress is wood and insurance will be calculated accordingly.

Tell them its a Triana 23, its closest to that.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea, I'll try that. At the moment the vendor is a bit pissed off with me as I've asked so many questions about this and that and where he sourced this and that he thinks I don't trust him. What he fails to realise is that he's hundreds of miles away and I've got to establish all the facts by e- mail and attached pictures and telephone calls and he's not the most articulate of people. Plus there's a Yorkshire or whatever accent you could cut with a knife and I'm very much a Surrey boy with an untrained ear. I have to be sure I can source the major parts he's already tracked down a manifold, roof panel, spare engine and rubber fendering from this WD surplus store he's found.

And all these parts hundreds of miles apart!

Ah well, I'll keep chewing at it until either it gets digested or spat out!
 
Nope she's definitely not a not a Triana
DSC9913-1.jpg

Have a look at my site http://www.triana-boats.com for a feast of Sonny Levi boats.



The chine + spray rails look wrong for her to be a Levi design, to my mind it does look a bit like a Ray Hunt / Alan Burnard Hull and being as she is GRP with a sterndrive my first guess would be one of the Bruce Campbell Christina hulls they had moulded [by Halmatic I think?] rather than the cold moulded wooden ones and then sold as the Ocean 25 - Like this with a different top onhttp://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1967/Halmatic-Ocean-1848933/Isle-of-WIght/United-Kingdom

1848933_1.jpg


If not then perhaps one of the scandinavian boats of that era. perhaps a Coronet http://freespace.virgin.net/simon.sherlock/range.htm or a Draco?
 
Scarron, just looked at your website and now I am in desperate need of a box of tissues. All of the boats on your site are amongst my favourites of all time and make me wonder when I actually turned into a sheep. Bahh!
 
Jonathan Ross...

Scarron said:
to my mind it does look a bit like a Ray Hunt / Alan Burnard Hull and being as she is GRP with a sterndrive my first guess would be one of the Bruce Campbell Christina hulls they had moulded [by Halmatic I think?]
Click to expand...

Paul (perhaps I should say Jonathan...I was 'quite' drunk)

If you look at Hunt/Burnard Hulls in plan view they are eliptical, the boat Clive shows is not, stem rake is wrong too.

You are right, Halmatic did mould the GRP Christina/Ocean 25, very early Christina's were Fairey, later wood ones Walter Lawrence, then GRP. Someone on east coast still moulding them, with small engines as river cruisers.

To me its more Levi than Hunt, but if you say its not Levi then I reckon its neither.
 
Clive , For all the reasons you gave I think your idea is superb. Being a bit of a boat restorer myself I would love to do the same, I think this could look superb, always been a Fairey fancier.... mmm sounds worrying?! There was a small article in an MBM probably last year were someone has restored a very similar boat.... I will have a look through my pile of old copies!

Just wondered if you might consider to ask anyone on this mighty forum who is in the Yorkshire area to go and take a peak on your behalf.... or do you think the seller may take offence?!
 
Ben - Hmm yes got a telling off about that... Didn't leave til late afternoon Sunday - power nap required.

Agree with you about the stem rake, not right for either but the heavy squared chine rail looked more Hunt like [Levi always seems make his spray rails converge up to the prow]

Wondered if it was a little Bertram but that doesn't look quite right either so I'm stumped.
 
Scarron said:
Ben - Hmm yes got a telling off about that... Didn't leave til late afternoon Sunday - power nap required.

Agree with you about the stem rake, not right for either but the heavy squared chine rail looked more Hunt like [Levi always seems make his spray rails converge up to the prow]

Wondered if it was a little Bertram but that doesn't look quite right either so I'm stumped.
Click to expand...

Truth is cant remember much of the evening, I know we went to the pub for a pint, woke up with a stinking headache....

Bertram's were Hunt hulls, possible but I really dont know (I think that is now well established point!)
 
bertram

my first thoughts looking at the spray rails and chines are Bertram I had a 25 and the hull looks very similar, the cockpit moulding is not right though. but Bertram made only a 20 or 25 foot unless somebody knows better??
 
but Bertram made only a 20 or 25 foot unless somebody knows better??
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Pretty sure they only made 20 and 25 footers at that end of the range (My dad was the original UK Bertram importer). But if you ignore the superstructure, the hull does look a bit Bertram-ish. And it's GRP...........

I don't think it's a Sonny Levi design.

This is really intriguing - at least to a sad git like me!
 
Guys, I've fallen out with the seller and as a consequence pulled out of the deal. Too many variables not under my control and in the end the scales tipped in favour of pulling out. Shame as had it all been geographically closer it would have been a done deal.

Thank you all so very much though for your valued input, even if we still haven't pinned down the makers.
 
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