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- Thread starter Wansworth
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srm
Well-known member
Those were the days, very few buoyancy aids in sight, no need for special clothes, even a crew with a headscarf.
Sandy
Well-known member
No yellow wellies, that is a disappointment.
Snowgoose-1
Well-known member
The era when PVC was still king . When breathable only meant something to do with staying alive.
Boathook
Well-known member
Rather like the first boat, Pixie. Just so light.
And my first dinghy, The Cadet. As a 11 year old I thought that they were heavy !
And my first dinghy, The Cadet. As a 11 year old I thought that they were heavy !
PeterV
Active member
Nice find, I still race my Fairy Finn, but I didn’t think Fairey built cadets.
johnalison
Well-known member
I wasn't aware that Fairey's had anything to do with the Cadet, which wasn't moulded ply, nor would I describe them as stable, which was half the fun. Many were home/school built and I remember helping to build one. My chief skill was bodging up the holes that others had made in the wrong places. An associate who I knew quite well, Barry Steele, home-built a Cadet called Chips and won the YW championships twice with his younger brother. One trick they had was for young Rodney to hang on outside the shrouds to make better use of his weight.
The Firefly perhaps wasn't perfect, but it was a very good boat for its time. When I started, in the mid-50s, Fireflies (I owned F1671) were on a par with N12s with a PH of about 60 in old money. I think all the boats shown had cotton sails, as I did initially. Terylene sails were given a couple of minutes' handicap/hr but in most conditions this wasn't enough, especially when planing was just possible. By the late '50s the N12s had advanced considerably and we couldn't keep up.
I had the use of a Swordfish during a very windy week in Salcombe, which was great fun but I think the Fiffle is the classic one of the set.
The Firefly perhaps wasn't perfect, but it was a very good boat for its time. When I started, in the mid-50s, Fireflies (I owned F1671) were on a par with N12s with a PH of about 60 in old money. I think all the boats shown had cotton sails, as I did initially. Terylene sails were given a couple of minutes' handicap/hr but in most conditions this wasn't enough, especially when planing was just possible. By the late '50s the N12s had advanced considerably and we couldn't keep up.
I had the use of a Swordfish during a very windy week in Salcombe, which was great fun but I think the Fiffle is the classic one of the set.
johnalison
Well-known member
My heyday of sailing my Firefly was probably when I was a student, and I sold it when the family came along. Harrow School had lost all theirs in a fire and were looking for replacements, which suited me. I have shown this shot a friend took with my camera before, but since it shows me in a good light I will repeat it. Viyella shirt, corduroys and none of us bothered with lifejackets, though I could almost swim.
Around the same time, my father bought a moulded ply pram from Prout. It would go on top of the Mini and was fun to sail if no race-winner. I would have loved to have kept it and turned up at a Prout-owners' rally in it.
Around the same time, my father bought a moulded ply pram from Prout. It would go on top of the Mini and was fun to sail if no race-winner. I would have loved to have kept it and turned up at a Prout-owners' rally in it.
LittleSister
Well-known member
The first sailing boat I ever owned was a Firefly, sail number 1969 but dating from the '50s (it was late 80s when I bought it, me then in my mid 30s).
I raced it inexpertly single-handed. Fortunately the club I was in had very restricted inland waters and so didn't attract serious racing types, and was generally a very low-key family-friendly type of place (though there's always one or two who take it all far too seriously!). There was a very mixed fleet - hence all racing was handicap, and mine was the only Firefly. The club adjusted the standard Firefly handicap in recognition of my being single-handed, then tweaked it again when I started winning too often!
Someone in the club had a veritable fleet of Fairey boats at home - Duckling, Firefly, Albacore, Jolly Boat and probably more. He would sometimes bring one or other down to the club. The Jolly Boat was a sight to behold!
I always had a soft spot for the Duckling, and fancied one for fun and as a tender for the the yacht I dreamed of one day owning.
I'd never heard of the Pixie shown in the vid. An intriguing craft! (I'm thinking one could build a third central section, perhaps even a series of different central sections for different purposes - Thunderbird 2 like! )
The video above didn't mention the 17' Fairey Falcon (?). I only became aware of it through reading of Charles Stock buying a Falcon hull, and decking and gaff-rigging it to his own design to create his little cruiser 'Shoal Waters'. (IIRC the Falcon dinghy had started off life, unlikely as it seems, as a motorboat hull!)
I raced it inexpertly single-handed. Fortunately the club I was in had very restricted inland waters and so didn't attract serious racing types, and was generally a very low-key family-friendly type of place (though there's always one or two who take it all far too seriously!). There was a very mixed fleet - hence all racing was handicap, and mine was the only Firefly. The club adjusted the standard Firefly handicap in recognition of my being single-handed, then tweaked it again when I started winning too often!
Someone in the club had a veritable fleet of Fairey boats at home - Duckling, Firefly, Albacore, Jolly Boat and probably more. He would sometimes bring one or other down to the club. The Jolly Boat was a sight to behold!
I always had a soft spot for the Duckling, and fancied one for fun and as a tender for the the yacht I dreamed of one day owning.
I'd never heard of the Pixie shown in the vid. An intriguing craft! (I'm thinking one could build a third central section, perhaps even a series of different central sections for different purposes - Thunderbird 2 like!
)The video above didn't mention the 17' Fairey Falcon (?). I only became aware of it through reading of Charles Stock buying a Falcon hull, and decking and gaff-rigging it to his own design to create his little cruiser 'Shoal Waters'. (IIRC the Falcon dinghy had started off life, unlikely as it seems, as a motorboat hull!)
Bodach na mara
Well-known member
Ducklings were quite commonly used as tenders on the Clyde during the 60s. I seem to remember that the one I was in most didn't have the centreboard case. I also sailed in (other people's) Fireflies and Albacores. I liked the room and stability of the Albacore but hated the Firefly. The annual ANUSC (Association of Northern Universities Championships) regatta seemed to be sailed in them and I have capsized them in Southport Marine Lake, Edgbaston Reservoir and Dun Loaghaire Harbour. Tippy wee things with not enough room for their crew of two large students.
Thanks for posting the video Wansworth
Thanks for posting the video Wansworth
Wansworth
Well-known member
Thanks
