how they used to build fireflys

What a great piece of film, we had 2 fireflies at school so I too sailed these a lot, but what I remember most was winter evenings staying on after school and sanding down and then revarnishing them, all done by hand and seemed to take all winter from memory.

I don't remember them as being that light either, maybe ours were waterlogged! Wonder if similar technology is still in use today? They sailed ok though.

thanks Dylan.
 
How many dinghies still being sailed owe their existence to the invention of that process? Albacore, Firefly...Jollyboat (still being sailed...ish?)
 
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Pete735 said:
What a great piece of film, we had 2 fireflies at school so I too sailed these a lot, but what I remember most was winter evenings staying on after school and sanding down and then revarnishing them, all done by hand and seemed to take all winter from memory.

I don't remember them as being that light either, maybe ours were waterlogged! Wonder if similar technology is still in use today? They sailed ok though.

thanks Dylan.
Click to expand...

I think that is because you were young weak and feeble. :D

I have the same recollections of the two Enterprises at our school. They seemed to weigh a ton or two. My 78 year mother has an old enterprise in her garage - and that now seems pretty light. Two of us can lift lt.
When at school we needed at least 10 kids to be able to move one.
 
So interesting.I had a Firefly number 2119 , just slightly older than the one in the film while I was at school and during the summer holidays sailed it non-stop clockwise round the Isle of Wight with a friend starting and finishing in the dark from our base in Chichester Harbour.It took us 20 hours and the boat performed wonderfully.I had many great cruising adventures with that boat and the film reminded me of them!
 
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I remember racing fireflys at Felixstowe in the '60s/'70s - there was quite a fleet there then. Does anyone else remember the 'Airfix' plastic model of a firefly that was once available, complete with pre-formed plastic sails?
 
I hate to say this but........

I wonder if those guys suffered from Repetative Stress Syndrome after hitting the staple gun with their hands every day for years ? now it would have to be an automatinc staple gun goggles gloves fire proof overalls ect ect :)

Tom
 
I was fascinated watching the boat being autoclaved. The whole method of construction was abandoned as too expensive with the arrival of GRP, but now similar techniques are being used to improve the lamination of GRP! Maybe someone will reintroduce this type of construction one day. Fairey were/are famous for the fact that their hulls are almost indestructable. With advances in resin technology, you'd think there would be a lot of mileage in this.

Rob.
 
my thoughts exactly

LittleShip said:
I hate to say this but........

I wonder if those guys suffered from Repetative Stress Syndrome after hitting the staple gun with their hands every day for years ? now it would have to be an automatinc staple gun goggles gloves fire proof overalls ect ect :)

Tom
Click to expand...

I built a boat five years ago and too many times I did not bother picking up the rubber hammer and used my hand to bash bits of wood into place

bad mistake - took my wrists two years to recover

never been the same since

Dylan
 
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What a great clip !
I think the method of building was actually abandoned because of a corporate buy-out of Fairey Marine by an American holding company. Land at the mouth of the Hamble was (and is ) worth a serious amount of money. The company closed overnight - even the plans for the boats had to be smuggled out after dark (some by the Atalanta Association - fortunately ).
But - Yes - it was an expensive method of construction. Very Light and very strong - even after 50 years.
The hot-moulded veneers are indeed almost indestructable - wish I could say the same of the ply-wood bulkheads !
ken
 
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