AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
It was highly regarded for wooden boats when I was a boy - getting on for 60 years ago!
I would appreciate some advice about the Fairey Fisherman 27
- Thread starter OliverdelaRosa
- Start date
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
If I recall correctly preparation was everything,making everything smooth removing all the stuff on the deck and all the beading round the cabin top and also the gunwhale......on a smallHillyard deck and the deck of a Nicholson.........
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I'm relying on VERY old memories, but I think it was regarded as primarily a treatment for new hulls, because of the difficulty of applying it to an existing hull.
PeteCooper
Well-Known Member
In the 60s Cascover sheathing was offered as an extra on some plywood boats.
carlt
Active Member
Hi. This is my Fisherman...
It isn't made of plywood but hot moulded Agba laminate so no need to glass over it.
I have owned wooden boats since the 80s and this is like nothing I've had before.
Last week was the first time I've been able to visit the boat since the start of the lockdown and the bilges were dry!
The method of construction literally encapsulates the wood and its strength is legendary.
As far as seaworthiness goes I crossed Lyme Bay in appalling conditions last year and the boat coped far better than I did.
Being round bottomed (and having no steadying sail) it rolled about a bit but the only casualty was my flask of coffee at the start of the 14 hour trip which did not please me at all.
With full headroom in the main cabin (and all the way through to the front of mine thanks to the replacement cabin) and a full galley it is much more comfortable than many yachts.
It makes a fairly steady 6 to 8 knots under power (Lister Alpha 4 in mine though I imagine the original Perkins would be the same) but plans to rig the sails for this season have been spoilt due to Covid so I have yet to try it wind powered but I'm not expecting great things.
It steers wonderfully at slow speeds and, being a double-ender, steers in reverse too.
I would recommend checking under the gunwales for soft bits but, unless it is a total wreck, repairs are very straightforward and there is a lot of advice about hull repairs of its more illustrious cousins.
There are two clubs worth joining...The Fairey Owners Club, for the motors and The Atalanta Owners Association for the rag powered.
The Fisherman is the poor relation to both the Fairey motorboats and the yachts but with the same exceptional build quality you get a lot of boat for the money.
I really love it and don't expect to be swapping it any time soon.
It isn't made of plywood but hot moulded Agba laminate so no need to glass over it.
I have owned wooden boats since the 80s and this is like nothing I've had before.
Last week was the first time I've been able to visit the boat since the start of the lockdown and the bilges were dry!
The method of construction literally encapsulates the wood and its strength is legendary.
As far as seaworthiness goes I crossed Lyme Bay in appalling conditions last year and the boat coped far better than I did.
Being round bottomed (and having no steadying sail) it rolled about a bit but the only casualty was my flask of coffee at the start of the 14 hour trip which did not please me at all.
With full headroom in the main cabin (and all the way through to the front of mine thanks to the replacement cabin) and a full galley it is much more comfortable than many yachts.
It makes a fairly steady 6 to 8 knots under power (Lister Alpha 4 in mine though I imagine the original Perkins would be the same) but plans to rig the sails for this season have been spoilt due to Covid so I have yet to try it wind powered but I'm not expecting great things.
It steers wonderfully at slow speeds and, being a double-ender, steers in reverse too.
I would recommend checking under the gunwales for soft bits but, unless it is a total wreck, repairs are very straightforward and there is a lot of advice about hull repairs of its more illustrious cousins.
There are two clubs worth joining...The Fairey Owners Club, for the motors and The Atalanta Owners Association for the rag powered.
The Fisherman is the poor relation to both the Fairey motorboats and the yachts but with the same exceptional build quality you get a lot of boat for the money.
I really love it and don't expect to be swapping it any time soon.
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
That’s not the cabin as per the original drawings,was it rebuilt or built from new,being wood I should imagine owners might well ask for changes.
carlt
Active Member
It was rebuilt in the 90s.
There was less headroom in the fore cabin in the original.
carlt
Active Member
The keel is a long lump of iron, not wood.
The boat was originally designed to be a ship's lifeboat for the Navy but, despite being by far the best in trials, did not win the contract largely due to cost and the fact that only Fairey could hot mould the hulls so rather than bin the design they converted it into a family friendly motor sailer.
This lifeboat heritage means it is pretty much self-righting but does bob about a bit.
I'm guessing that, from the information you have given, the boat you are considering is this one::
The cabin surface looks very uneven so either they have put a lot of glass on it (roughly) or they've painted over knackered plywood.
There seems to be a non-standard bulkhead visible through the front window that the Paloma is mounted on.
Ask to see some internal photos including some taken of the hull and underneath the gunwales.
Wansworth
Well-Known Member
It’s a coastal motor sailer,
