Small yacht on R Crouch

[Dan Tribe]

I passed a little boat at Canewdon today. She was heading towards Fambridge, I was going downriver, no chance to get a photo. Sail insignia looked like a B in a circle with an arrow through it. She looked about 13ft long and going well up wind. Interested to know what class.

 

[Hadenough]

How many crew?

 

[LittleSister]

A 13 foot yacht? Particularly, a 13 foot yacht going well upwind?

If that length is a typo, could it perhaps be a Brue Arrow (UK version of a B25 with Collins Tandem keel and twin rudders)? I can't find a pic of the insignia to check.

 

[Dan Tribe]

No typo, it was tiny, or perhaps the helmsman was HUGE. It was her sailing performance that first made me interested, it was making good progress. My 1st thought was a Bradwell Voyager 14 but the insignia was wrong and they were not noted for performance.
I could only see 1 person, don't think there was room to hide any others.

 

[DavidofMersea]

I passed a little boat at Canewdon today. She was heading towards Fambridge, I was going downriver, no chance to get a photo. Sail insignia looked like a B in a circle with an arrow through it. She looked about 13ft long and going well up wind. Interested to know what class.

The Oxey Bird is 14 feet long and has a B in a circle on the sail, but no arrow ... could it have been a sail batten? This boat is clinker built and was designed and built for the Lymington Town Sailing Club in the 50's

 

[Cpt-Pugwash]

Sail insignia guide published by Good Old Boat in 2012:-
https://www.goodoldboat.com/pdfs/SailInsigniaGuide.pdf

 

[DavidofMersea]

Sail insignia guide published by Good Old Boat in 2012:-


I can't find "a B in a circle with an arrow through it"

 

[Cpt-Pugwash]

I can't find ETAP either... so it's not definitive, but is as full a list I came across.

 

[Dan Tribe]

That's a good list but not comprehesive. Maybe it's a bit US centred.
I still think it may have been a version of a Bradwell Voyager. I will keep an eye out for it in the upper reaches of the Crouch.

 

[DavidofMersea]

That's a good list but not comprehesive. Maybe it's a gift US centred.
I still think it may have been a version of a Bradwell Voyager. I will keep an eye out for it in the upper reaches of the Crouch.

No, it is an Oxey Bird. Perhaps there is someone from Lymington Town Sailing Club that will confirm this

 

[LittleSister]

Dan, can you clarify whether you are talking about a yacht or a dinghy?

 

[Dan Tribe]

Dan, can you clarify whether you are talking about a yacht or a dinghy?

It had a cabin, so I suppose, technically a yacht, but about the size of a dinghy, about 14ft I guess. White tupperware, I would guess mid 70s vintage. There were loads of this type of boat built but this one caught my attention because it seemed to be sailing so well. I don't think it was a Micro-cupper, Gem type of thing though.

 

[DavidofMersea]

It had a cabin, so I suppose, technically a yacht, but about the size of a dinghy, about 14ft I guess. White tupperware, I would guess mid 70s vintage. There were loads of this type of boat built but this one caught my attention because it seemed to be sailing so well. I don't think it was a Micro-cupper, Gem type of thing though.

If it had a cabin and tupperware, it is not an Oxey Bird. 14 feet and a cabin ??? it must have been a little cabin

 

[Dan Tribe]

If it had a cabin and tupperware, it is not an Oxey Bird. 14 feet and a cabin ??? it must have been a little cabin

I was guessing at 14ft, didn't have time to measure, but it was small, which prompted my interest in such a little boat going so well upwind. I was doing 7 knots downriver, she was doing [say] 3 knots up river, had little time to take notes.
Not an Oxy Bird, I've never come across one of those. Time was when almost all saing clubs had their own one design, often built by local craftsmen. How different nowadays.