Photos of the Zulu "Violet"

[SunyBay]

At the request of Bajansailor I have managed to find and dig out some photos that my family took of "Violet" from when we first met them in Mystic Seaport in 2005 (for the Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous). We were moored opposite them at the end of the dock and immediately bonded over being the only two work-boats in amongst some immaculate classics (most were immaculate because they were owned by very rich people who kept their boats inside a shed for the winter).

The rest are here.

 

[Seanick]

Thanks for posting this pic and the link. She is a beauty! I would prefer it if her stern post ran all the way up, as I love the Zulus profile, but luckily we all have differnt opinions!

 

[SunyBay]

Violet was turned into a motor fishing boat at some time in her life, so who knows what was changed during her long life (I can't remember when she was built, but I think it was around 1912). If violetcrew comes back to the forums, he'll be able to confirm anything.

 

[Bajansailor]

Ace! I shall endorse Nick's comments above - these are lovely photos of a gorgeous boat!
That is an impressive rig on her - ok, not a lugger like the original Zulus were, but just imagine her tromping along under full working sail, probably averaging a good 7+ knots like a veritable train on rails.

 

[SunyBay]

Funnily enough, she won the prize for "Best Rig" at that Rendezvous (a prize they seemed to have made up for her, as we won "Best Lifeboat Converted for Ocean Sailing"!). And a couple of hours after the photos of her sailing away were taken, she lost her main mast, about 20 minutes away from Vineyard Haven. Water had got into where the topmast and mainmast met and subsequently rotted the wood.

But yes, it is a good rig. Needless to say, the original rig doesn't really suit having a crew of a husband and wife and two children handling her! A gaff ketch is much more manageable and looks fabulous.

 

[Seanick]

Ace! I shall endorse Nick's comments above - these are lovely photos of a gorgeous boat!
That is an impressive rig on her - ok, not a lugger like the original Zulus were, but just imagine her tromping along under full working sail, probably averaging a good 7+ knots like a veritable train on rails.

Yes we would like to race her..........

Re the rig, a short trip in Ocean Pearl a couple of weeks ago went somthing like this...

Very cold north wind, stove on very cosy down below with kids age 1 and 2 1/2 and mum staying warm.
Single hande, leave Sheppards Wharf, hit the auto pilot. Stowe fenders and lines. Now well out of Cowes roads, remove mains'l cover and stow. Hoist Main (fore lug) and get tight. we are by now with a good tide half way to Wootton.....have a quick rest. Get genny from below, and get that out and up and trimmed, now closing on Ryde. Mum and kids now come up. Have tea and cake for half an hour, then off Seaview. Time to start dropping everything. By the time its down and stowed its time to get the fenders and lines out for Bembridge. By the time thats done we are at the tide gauge. Pilot off and steer her in, exhausted.
See, you can single hand a lug rig!

 

[SunyBay]

I'm not saying you can't handle a lug rig at all, but it depends on what type of lug it is and how big it is. To get a boat like Violet going as fast as she does under the gaff rig, the lug sails (plural) would have to be pretty big - after all it used to be handled by several burly fishermen!

And you did say you were exhausted. I'm not sure Violet has an autopilot, actually, so that would make life a little more difficult!

A gaff rig is slightly more manageable in terms of having different portions of sail, in my opinion. If Violet had her original rig on her, I'm sure half the time with a limited crew she'd be overpowered. I know that Mike from White Heather needs a few crew to sail her now that she's back to a lugger. She looks fantastic, but not the best to sail short-handed. (Although perhaps her ballast isn't exactly what it was when she was fishing - Mike would have to confirm that.)

Plus, there's a large boom floating around high up the mast - something I'm not keen on. (Unless of course it's a standing lug.) Having a large dipping lugsail is quite daunting for sailing with a small crew, I believe.

Don't get me wrong, I love the lug rig, but I think in some circumstances, having a gaff rig is more practical. The sails are slightly smaller, so that may have something to do with it. Although of course a gaff rig is more complicated!

 

[Seanick]

I was totally in agreement! The lug is lovely and powerful, but single handing a 750 sqft fore is a challenge. In real blow we don't risk taking it down-saved only by Ocean Pearls 14' beam and form stability.I have always said if I was to cross the pond in her I would re rig her as a gaff for sure, even if we went a bit slower as a result. But for now I wil enjoy it whilst I am still young, fit and foolish enough!

 

[monkey_trousers]

Violet was turned into a motor fishing boat at some time in her life, so who knows what was changed during her long life (I can't remember when she was built, but I think it was around 1912). If violetcrew comes back to the forums, he'll be able to confirm anything.

think its the other way around. started life as a fishing boat on the east coast of scotland

she went pretty much straight from that, to where she is now, over a period of years obviously and with the usual ex fishing boat neglect we get to deal with as well!

 

[Ludd]

Most Zulus had a steam capstan and that was used to hoist the main lugsail---the block for which weighed close on 3cwt!

I have a DVD with pictures of loads of sailing zulus and fifies,with a recorded interview with three fishermen,one of them my father.Transcript available on the Buckie Fishing Heritage site. You might need an interpreter!

 

[JRMacGregor]

Violet was built as a lugger in 1911.

She got an auxiliary motor in about 1920, but kept her sails (or at least some of them) to 1936 when she was converted to power.

She lost the sailing rudder and had a spade rudder and skeg (extra deadwood) fitted aft. But she still had the Zulu stern post all the way up before her restoration to sail started in the USA.

I suspect that her rudder and underwater sternpost are now more like they were pre-1936. And the "high" bulwarks probably give the impression of a more severely truncated stern post top than if the bulwarks were lower.

 

[SunyBay]

Yes, monkey_trousers,I don't think those photos were taken from the 1910s when she was built, but later when she had already been converted to only motor-power.