I would appreciate some advice about the Fairey Fisherman 27

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OliverdelaRosa

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Hello!

I'm considering the purchase of a Fairey Fisherman 27 sailboat, apparently it's made from plywood but I can't find opinions or reference on the Internet. Maybe someone has experience with this model of boat? What are the things that I can or can't do with a boat like that? Any piece of advice would be very much appreciated, thank you very much!

Best regards
 
Not plywood, but hot moulded agba. Fairey made several boats with this method, Atalanta, Firefly and your Fisherman among them. The hulls have a reputation for durabillity, but because of age, need a very good look for problems. If you google Atalanta, you will likely come up with more info. There a Fisherman parked on the river near us. Considered more a motor sailer, as with a full hull, I don't think they go to windward very well. Burgandyben might be along with help as he knows a lot about Faireys.

BTW, Welcome to the site ?
 
DownWest said:
Not plywood, but hot moulded agba. Fairey made several boats with this method, Atalanta, Firefly and your Fisherman among them. The hulls have a reputation for durabillity, but because of age, need a very good look for problems. If you google Atalanta, you will likely come up with more info. There a Fisherman parked on the river near us. Considered more a motor sailer, as with a full hull, I don't think they go to windward very well. Burgandyben might be along with help as he knows a lot about Faireys.

BTW, Welcome to the site
Click to expand...
?

Edit: Process here: Very cool video - hot molding for a smaller hull.

not sure what happened, I tried to edit the original post.
 
Fairey owners club can provide a copy of the Fairey Marine drawing for the repair of the hotmoulding.

You should look very carefully around the top edge off the moulded hull shell. Tap test it with your finger tips like you would for plaster on a wall. It will tell you if there has been water ingress into end grain causing delamination. Its usually quite obvious. Another warning sign is cracked paint in straight lines following the edges of the strips of Agba.

Go to Charles Lawrence Chiswick website and order a copy of Fixing My Fairies.
 
DownWest said:
Not plywood, but hot moulded agba. Fairey made several boats with this method, Atalanta, Firefly and your Fisherman among them. The hulls have a reputation for durabillity, but because of age, need a very good look for problems. If you google Atalanta, you will likely come up with more info. There a Fisherman parked on the river near us. Considered more a motor sailer, as with a full hull, I don't think they go to windward very well. Burgandyben might be along with help as he knows a lot about Faireys.

BTW, Welcome to the site ?
Click to expand...

Thank you for answering me so fast! According to the actual owner "the hull is sound", but I will take special look into that. Do you know the owners of the Fairey Fisherman near you? Maybe, please, can you ask them about their experience with the boat? I almost can't find any information about this model in particular on the Internet. All have is this:

- SailboatData.com - FAIREY FISHERMAN 27 Sailboat
- Fisherman 27 - The Fairey Marine Hull Production Archive
- Fisherman27Brochure.pdf
And this video, but they aren't using sails:
(for some reason, the actual owner of the Fairey Fisherman I'm looking into, neither)

I'm looking for a cruising sailboat, confortable, around 8 meters (something between 26 and 30 feet) that can be able to take me to as many places as possible, not necessarily fast. The Fairey Fisherman that I'm looking at is in Scotland, and I live in the Canary Islands, so eventually I would need to sail from there to the Canaries... do you think that this kind of boat can do that? I have sailing experience with other kind of sailboats.

Why do you think that this boat can't go windward very well? Is because the small sails? I have seen some other wooden boats where people extend the bow with a kind of stick, in which they install some sails, such as genoa, jibs, storms ... Would it be very crazy to adapt the structure of the boat in this way? Maybe install an spinnaker and use it when weather allows it... etc.

On the other hand, can be the keel type a problem? Can it be corrected? It's wood... maybe something can be installed to improve the boat in that kind of navigation. Or is crazy to think this way? Maybe I have some misconceptions about wooden sailboats? Here I don't see many wooden ones, but apparently they are more common on other places, and people event make their own.

DownWest said:
?

Edit: Process here: Very cool video - hot molding for a smaller hull.

not sure what happened, I tried to edit the original post.
Click to expand...

Very interesting video! Thank you very much. It clarifies me a lot about the structure of this kind of boat.


burgundyben said:
Fairey owners club can provide a copy of the Fairey Marine drawing for the repair of the hotmoulding.

You should look very carefully around the top edge off the moulded hull shell. Tap test it with your finger tips like you would for plaster on a wall. It will tell you if there has been water ingress into end grain causing delamination. Its usually quite obvious. Another warning sign is cracked paint in straight lines following the edges of the strips of Agba.

Go to Charles Lawrence Chiswick website and order a copy of Fixing My Fairies.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will take special care with that. Is difficult to repair this kind of hotmoulding? Do I need any kind of special equipment like the oven on the video, or once the boat is build, repairs are more easy? I also saw on the Internet that some people cover in fiberglass the hull of some wooden sailboats. Is this a way to repair them? I definitely will take a look into that book, thank you!
 
No special tools. Hand tools. Staple gun and epoxy. All low cost and easily available.

Fairey reccommended 50mm over lap on each layer. So if you have several layers in, the area gets quite big quite fast. But dont be daunted.

Join the owners club. We have a wealth of knowledge.
 
burgundyben said:
No special tools. Hand tools. Staple gun and epoxy. All low cost and easily available.

Fairey reccommended 50mm over lap on each layer. So if you have several layers in, the area gets quite big quite fast. But dont be daunted.

Join the owners club. We have a wealth of knowledge.
Click to expand...

That sounds fantastic! It's much better than working with fiberglass. Thank you, I will take a look into the club.
 
About the windward ability: It has a low sail area for the weight and length and only 20% ballast ratio, along with a shallow keel, so no 'side resistance'. The engine is quite powerful compared with a sailing yacht of similar length of the same era. The video you posted shows a ketch rig, so more sail area. Beware of adding sails without good advice. The extra 'stick' out in front, is known as a bowsprit, but adding it and extra sails could upset the balance of the boat and make her difficult to handle, esp to windward.
Sorry, I don't know the owner of the one here, it was in Rochefort for a time after sailing from the UK (I think) but I imagine it is on the river to save marina costs, as it doesn't look well maintained.
In general, boats can endure worse weather than their owners, so, if it is is in good condition, sailing to the Canaries is OK. You might want to get some time sailing her before a big trip, or take some experienced friends. Three of you would be good for that trip.
If it has the original Perkins 4-107, they were very good engines, if looked after, but getting old now. I would hope it has a more recent engine.

In general, making all sorts of alterations to a boat is not a good idea, apart from the cost... It is usually better to find one that suites your intended type of sailing. There are a lot of good boats for sale for little money now.
 
Oliver, do you have a particular love for wooden boats, and especially Faireys?
I am just thinking that it might be prudent to have a look around (eg do an 'advanced' search on www.yachtworld.co.uk) in the Canaries to see what types of boats are available there.
If you enjoy sailing more than motor sailing then a more sailing orientated boat might be more suitable.
Similarly a Fisherman will generally need more maintenance and upkeep than a fibreglass boat of the same size, assuming that they are both in reasonably good condition to start with.
And finally, that is a very long passage really for a 27' motor sailer, going from Scotland to the Canaries - about 1,800 miles in a straight line.
I doubt that you would want to do any long legs - maybe coastal hop down to the Algarve or Gibraltar and then 'jump off' from there? Even from Vilamoura to Madeira is about 500 miles, with another 300 miles from Madeira to the Canaries..
 
The Canaries are a meeting point and departure point to distant shores why don’t you get yourself down to the marinas and look around and chat with the owners who will be pleased to put you on the right track for your endevour
 
I trust you have deep pockets as my impression from owners is that they are pricier than most to maintain? Maybe collectors are not put off by this but it might be worth considering.
 
You asked about glass fibre sheathing. On an older boat this is a very definite no no! Firstly polyester resin does not stick well to wood. Looks fine to start with, but the wood moves, not only flexing as it designed to do, but shrinking and expanding as the moisture content varies. Glass fibre doesnt, so breaks free. Water then gets in and rots the timber very quick. Its known particularly on ply as the boat killer. Sheathing is possible but only under very highly controlled conditions. The timber moisture content must be below 15% otherwise grip resins will not stick. Its virtually impossible to dry out to that extent, and causes a host of other problems in a timber hull!

Epoxy is a better wood adhesive but very expensive for sheathing, and the wood still needs to be drier than is good for an old hull.
 
oldharry said:
You asked about glass fibre sheathing. On an older boat this is a very definite no no! Firstly polyester resin does not stick well to wood. Looks fine to start with, but the wood moves, not only flexing as it designed to do, but shrinking and expanding as the moisture content varies. Glass fibre doesnt, so breaks free. Water then gets in and rots the timber very quick. Its known particularly on ply as the boat killer. Sheathing is possible but only under very highly controlled conditions. The timber moisture content must be below 15% otherwise grip resins will not stick. Its virtually impossible to dry out to that extent, and causes a host of other problems in a timber hull!

Epoxy is a better wood adhesive but very expensive for sheathing, and the wood still needs to be drier than is good for an old hull.
Click to expand...
You seem to have missed the point a bit? Sheathing with epoxy glass on a DRY hull of this type is certainly practical. Polyester resin was not mentioned and should not be. This is a hot moulded hull, not to be confused with ply or plank on frame. Very different. If sound, best left as is.
 
No. You reinforce exactly my point. Dont use Polyester resins. Hull MUST be dried out. I have owned a cold moulded hull, fortunately sound. I have also attended the death of several wooden boats killed by by glassfibre sheathed using Polyester
 
Cascover is not a polyester resin,cascover sheathing is normally applied to a sound wooden base be it a deck or Hull especially below the waterline to beat gribble,don’t remember the resin used
 
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