The Medway . Ted Heath.

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oldgit

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Sorting through Tesco bags of inherited paperwork recently. came across this , discussing with an ancient mariner and he suggested the hull was moulded by Tyler.
Know they did have a factory at Tonbridge but he was convinced they also moulded hulls at Hoo ?
 
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Very noticeable that in the article Heath states that at 34’ Morning Cloud was bigger than he was used to, this perhaps shows how the sizes of boats has changed over the years, when I started cruising 25’ was a decent sized yacht, now 34’ would be classed as average, and a sailor such as Heath would be in something nearer 45’.
 
I cannot remember if Mike Winfield moulded the S&S 34, but it was highly likely. This quote from Classic Boat is fairly informative.

"Mike Winfield, a British PR agent, approached Olin Stephens in 1968 and asked him to design a 34ft (10.2m) production cruiser-racer. The resulting design was unquestionably attractive, with a pretty sheer, wineglass sections, drawn-out counter and distinctive tumblehome. Under the water she sported a skeg-hung rudder – a relatively new feature on offshore racing yachts – while her masthead bermudan rig was dominated by a large, overlapping headsail.

The S&S34’s rapid rise in popularity was mainly thanks to one of Winfield’s first customers. Former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, a relative newcomer to sailing at the time, was so impressed by the design at the 1969 London Boat Show that he ordered one.

Sadly, Winfield’s company went into liquidation in 1969, but the moulds were bought by Aquafibre Ltd in Norfolk and over the next three years around 60 boats were built. Production eventually ceased in the UK in the mid 1970s." Sparkman & Stephens 34 - Classic Boat Magazine
 
oldgit said:
Sorting through tesco bags of inherited paperwork recently. came across this , discussing with an ancient mariner and he suggested the hull was moulded by Tyler. Know they did have a factory at Tonbridge but he was convinced they also moulded hulls at Hoo ?
Click to expand...
 
Are they getting two stories confused?
I remember Morning Cloud 3 being wrecked on passage in 1974,
Did the original also get swept from her mooring in 1974?
 
RivalRedwing said:
That is also a very big wheel for a 34' boat, especially in 1974

or maybe he is filling the water tank ;-) .. dress standards have certaily slipped.
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I would have thought that the 34 had a tiller and I think Heath had a preference for tillers anyway. I imagine that the photo was taken on a later boat. We got stuck in Brightlingsea when MC3 was lost.
 
Wasn’t the first S&S 34 a wooden boat which became Morning Cloud, rather than the later GRP production versions?

Before my time. Know more about the later cold moulded 42 footer Morning Cloud 2, which for a while lived in the Clyde and sailed under the new name of Opposition.
 
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There was a nice example of the S & S 34 in Dover harbour pre covid. Do not know if it is still there.
Ted certainly did prefer a tiller but needed a wheel as his boats got larger.
When one of his later boats was being built Ted Heath was persuaded to have the tiller removed from the earlier one for a while & a wheel substituted so he could practice ready for the new yacht.

One question that was never answered about Ted heath, was how he went from sailing a fireball, to several Morning Clouds ,of not inconsiderable cost- On an MPs salary. Even a PM's salary of the day was not really 45 footer money. ;)
Still He did not have to go on a 3 day week, like I had to, with my factory of the day. :mad:
 
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DanTribe said:
Are they getting two stories confused?
I remember Morning Cloud 3 being wrecked on passage in 1974,
Did the original also get swept from her mooring in 1974?
Click to expand...
The SS34 was lost from a mooring a later MC was lost on passage from Burnham on Crouch to the Solent. Being such a lightly built boat she was smashed by the waves. When the cabin side was stove in & she started to take in water. A theory bandied about ( by those in the know at Burnham) was that the crew should have been further offshore, as they sailed through an area renowned for rough water. Three other class 1 boats sailing the same trip at the same time were Ok, but picked the area through which they sailed better.
 
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dunedin said:
Wasn’t the first S&S 34 a wooden boat which became Morning Cloud, rather than the later GRP production versions?

Before my time. Know more about the later cold moulded 42 footer which for a while lived in the Clyde and sailed under the name Opposition.
Click to expand...
Opposition (I think that was the boat) was unusual in that she sported a "Davidson's Crease" under the stern quarter. This was a rule dodging feature, also designed to improve the run aft. I actually saw the boat in Holland ( Possibly Ijmuiden or Breskens) about 12 years ago. She raced at Burnham week a couple of times, along with Noryema , Morning Cloud, Prospect of Whitby & Cervantes, among others.
Those were the days when crowds would come to watch the big boats finishing the races. Sadly no more.
It is interesting that some modern AWBs sport a chine aft that looks a bit like this "crease"
 
Did spend some time in the workshop doing a Saturday job, owner Charles Manley was a "proper" shipwright his main income apart from fitting out boats was building spars and masts for barges .
My fathers first boat, ex Queen Mary lifeboat was converted into 4 berth cabin cruiser by Charles.
Remember an ever present pair of " horses" square baulk of timber on top with adze and chalk line not far away.
My job was to apply linseed oil, thinned with white spirit ? and sweeping up the never ending wood shavings, not the most enthralling job.
Last memory was of Charles Manley building a 30ft wooden sailing boat from the keel up for Tony Winters, at the time the owner of the barge Cabby and MD of London and RochesterShipping Co.
It was not success, suggestions was over built and to heavy, it sank and was lost a decade or two later.
The ribs were bent in steel tube contraption with a wood fire underneath to get the steam.
 
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Owen Parker sailed with Ted Heath a lot
( as did one or two on here iirc) and wrote a book.
I expect there’s a thing or two about the boats in there , although I haven’t read it myself .
The sunk-at-sea latter cold molded MC broke up whilst beating around Selsey , a bad spot in the wrong conditions even now I guess. TH lost a young relative in the sinking .
Tack now, skipper: Amazon.co.uk: Parker, Owen: 9780229116201: Books

I worked briefly with Parkers son T, who also had a career in yachting, shore managing one of the Brit rtw contenders I think.
Owen was known as Heaths sailing master - might be worth a read?
 
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Daydream believer said:
There was a nice example of the S & S 34 in Dover harbour pre covid. Do not know if it is still there.
Ted certainly did prefer a tiller but needed a wheel as his boats got larger.
When one of his later boats was being built Ted Heath was persuaded to have the tiller removed from the earlier one for a while & a wheel substituted so he could practice ready for the new yacht.

One question that was never answered about Ted heath, was how he went from sailing a fireball, to several Morning Clouds ,of not inconsiderable cost- On an MPs salary. Even a PM's salary of the day was not really 45 footer money. ;)
Still He did not have to go on a 3 day week, like I had to, with my factory of the day. :mad:
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I had an idea that Heath used to sail Sprites, possibly from Broadstairs, but I stand to be corrected.
 
Apropos of nothing in particular, a former vicar of mine was a personal friend of Ted Heath, through his family. They had tea together from time to time. Unfortunately, the vicar wasn't a sailor, so I didn't get to hear any saling chit-chat!
 
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