Daedelus
Well-known member
When they heel the tiller is hard work, the wheel makes it comparatively easy.
Classic glassfibre yachts
- Thread starter Concerto
- Start date
steve yates
Well-known member
But dont looks play a part to be called classic ? If so there are loads better looking boats, like the she's and their ilk.
lustyd
Well-known member
Not necessarily. Look at classic cars, some of them are very ugly but contributed something else that was special to the world. I don't think the Fulmar counts as it's essentially just an average white boat that doesn't look special and didn't contribute in any particular way (that I'm aware of, feel free to explain why it might). Arguably the Centaur could count as it was the Ford Escort of the boating world to a lot of people, it made boating affordable while being big enough for a family which gives it a special place in many people's hearts. Similarly there are boats which handle exceptionally well or are inexplicably fast, and these are the "Mini" of the boating world, or the Aston Martin.
To be a classic, there has to be an explanation. Sometimes that will be looks and sometimes not. It certainly wouldn't be based on numbers in my opinion, and unfortunately for the OP it's also not based on an owners opinion, although it might be classic to them, that doesn't make it "a classic".
To be a classic, there has to be an explanation. Sometimes that will be looks and sometimes not. It certainly wouldn't be based on numbers in my opinion, and unfortunately for the OP it's also not based on an owners opinion, although it might be classic to them, that doesn't make it "a classic".
dunedin
Well-known member
But looks are an age and prejudice thing as well. Some like low boats with long overhangs, which were a fashion for a time - but were seen as new thing, and a fad caused by a rating rule which only measured LWL, not like a “true” / traditional yacht which used to have a plumb bow (with sprit) and possibly transom stern. Time moves on but people relate to what they aspired to in their youth.
doug748
Well-known member
Some boats never go out of fashion or look ugly. I always think that they are generally the ones that were created with accommodations well down the list of priorities for the designer.
Courtesy Fife Archive
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Courtesy Fife Archive
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Tradewinds
Well-known member
^^^ Not glass fibre but neither were Hillyards - I wouldn't want to own one myself but I've always quite liked them. In the wooden boat world are they considered classics nowadays or simply workaday?
Crowblack
Active member
Probably one of the prettiest boats ever made.
Tradewinds
Well-known member
It's a bit like having a poll in the idiom of -
Who do you like best?
1) Marilyn Monroe
2) Twiggy (or some other shapeless wonder).
Who do you like best?
1) Marilyn Monroe
2) Twiggy (or some other shapeless wonder).
Bru
Well-known member
I'll throw two nominations into the ring ...
When it comes to Westerlys of the Laurent Giles era, the W33 / Discus tops the list for me
Not just as a Westerly but as arguably the ultimate expression of typical British production yachts of the Sixties and Seventies
And my other nomination is the Sabre 27 which for me is the best of the mid-twenty footer designs which were ubiquitous in that same era (when a thirty footer was a big boat!)
Yes, it can be argued that they're the Ford Cortinas and Ford Escorts of the yachting world but Escorts and Cortinas are definitely classics
PS. The fact that our last boat was a Sabre 27 and our current boat is a W33 is totally irrelevant
When it comes to Westerlys of the Laurent Giles era, the W33 / Discus tops the list for me
Not just as a Westerly but as arguably the ultimate expression of typical British production yachts of the Sixties and Seventies
And my other nomination is the Sabre 27 which for me is the best of the mid-twenty footer designs which were ubiquitous in that same era (when a thirty footer was a big boat!)
Yes, it can be argued that they're the Ford Cortinas and Ford Escorts of the yachting world but Escorts and Cortinas are definitely classics
PS. The fact that our last boat was a Sabre 27 and our current boat is a W33 is totally irrelevant
Kukri
Well-known member
Any other questions?
Ink
Active member
On a 31' boat a wheel takes up too much space in the cockpit. If the tiller is hard work on a Moody adjust the sail area to suit the conditions.
The tiller shouldn't be 'hard work'. Using a wheel to adjust for incorrect sail balance means it will be working as a brake. Very inefficient.
Ink
Laminar Flow
Well-known member
Yes, lovely lines, really, but for the love of God, did it not come in any other colour? My Gran had a couch in a similar shade of dusty rose. Granted, not nearly as pretty and a poor floater to boot.
Bajansailor
Well-known member
As the saying goes, 'beggars can't be choosers' - I think that re-painting the hull is on the 'too do' list for Mr Kukri, but no doubt there are many other items on the list of higher priority right now.
Kukri
Well-known member
Yes, quite agree. That particular shade is known as UV affected blotchy end of season pink…
…and they can be found in green…
and blue…
and white…
I particularly like the green one.
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Frogmogman
Well-known member
Is the green one Quailo III ?
Kukri
Well-known member
Yes she is. Well spotted. I particularly like the lower profile, varnished, coach roof.
Blue is “Chaser” and white is “Lord Portal”. All are in their original colour schemes.
Laminar Flow
Well-known member
They are truly beautiful. Red, sadly, is one of the most unstable colours in high UV conditions.
matt1
Well-known member
Lord Portal is moored opposite me. These are ex services vessels aren’t they?
Daydream believer
Well-known member
So what you are saying is that it is not a well balanced yacht. That takes it out of "classic" status if it sails badly. We might all be talking about looks but handling must surely come very high on the list & slow old dogs just do not do it for me.
A friend of mine has sailed a couple of Swans & said they were very heavy on the helm. There was an article in Y & Y or PBO ( forget which)a couple of years ago in which the reporter referred to the quarter wave as being good. Rubbish, it is a result of drag caused by less than perfect hull design. So I would knock out any yacht with such characteristics.
So ( in my opinion) we should have laid out the ground rules first-- to qualify, one wants- good looks, well balanced, excellent motion at sea, good performance, ease of sailing,
I will not comment about accomodation below - others might
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Kukri
Well-known member
Some were built for the MOD - including “Lord Portal” and mine. Others like “Quailo III” - also based on the Hamble - were built for private owners, then bought by the MOD, (she was “British Soldier”, then “Broadsword”) then sold again, and others, like “Eager” ex “Lutine (II)”, which lives in Lymington, were always privately owned.
In all, twelve were owned by the MOD at one time or another. The first MOD one was “Adventure” which was given to the Russian Navy in around 2000 or so.
26 were built, one was lost at sea, in Biscay, one (“Lord Trenchard”) blew up, in Poole, 24 remain.
There are also two half sisters - a wooden precursor of the design, “Blauwe Dolfin II”, owned in Belgium, and an alloy one, “Pacha” , which won line honours in a Sydney-Hobart, long ago, owned in Australia. “Pacha” has less displacement and flatter sections.
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