Vire6

terrymay

terrymay

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I am nearing the end of the restoration of a 1972 Valiant 18 Sloop. Due to unforeseen events, this is the fifth year of a two year project. With the boat came a sorry looking Vire 6. The boat had been in this chaps garden for 6 years and was full to the cabin with water, (at least there were no holes in her)!!!!
Anyway this engine, dynostart, and the voltage regulator had been submerged for most of this time, To cut this story short, I cleaned and stripped everything, and with the help of Nick Le Feuvre, it now all works, even the regulator! If anyone is interested I have before and after pics. After getting up close and personal with this surpurb piece of engineering I've fallen in love with it and she sounds perfect. Again I'd like to thank Nick for the parts I needed, and his advise, and paitence!
I would like to chat with anyone who still runs a Vire down below
 
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Info hoped for

I've just bought a Valiant 18 and cannot find much in the way of information about it. Only stuff I can find is what little they have on the sailboatdata.com site - not even sail dimensions.

Luckly mine's still sailing, but would really like some more in-depth stuff, such as owner's manual (if there was one) and the like.

Did you get hold of any detailed info while restoring? - and how does an inboard engine fit in such a small boat?

Cheers for any pointers
 
Just bought a Valiant 18 recently and been trying to find info about the things - seems to be very little on the interwebs. Only thing I've found so far is this on sailboat data.
Not an awful lot, really.

Did you manage to find anything more? I'm wondering if there's an owner's manual or the like floating around someplace? I can't even find the sail dimensions, let alone tech stuff such as the rigging tension or wiring diagrams.

Any pointers?
 
The Valiant 18 was a budget priced family sailing yacht built in the early seventies by F-Craft and later by Cox Marine. Designed by Tom Cox who designed the Cox motor sailers.

Cox Marine built the motor sailers Cox 22, Cox 27 and the Cox Master Mariner from 1979 to about 1995 ish.

The Valiant 18 was often confused with the Alacrity and lots of other small yachts from that era.

Fi-Craft address was:

Unit 21, Star Lane Industrial Estate, Great Wakering, Southend, Essex, SS3 0PJ
01702 535350

This address is now a car body repair workshop

Cox Marine were based at The Shipyard, Brightlinsea, Essex

The Valiant 18 cost £780.00 in 1972

The 6-hp Vire was a tiny single cylinder two-stroke petrol that would fit in anything. Built in Finland

Principal approximate dimensions* and parameters:

Length O.A. 18’0” 5.49m
Length W.L. 16’0” 4.88m
Beam 6’11” 2.10m
Draft fin keel 3’3” 1.00m
Draft bilge keel 2’5” 0.74m
Sail Area 156 sq ft 14.5 sq m
Displacement 1,800 lbs 816 kg
Year of construction circa 1972
Builder Fi-Craft Fibreglass Products, Ltd, England
Designed by Tom Cox
Engine
Accommodation four berths
Rig masthead sloop

*All the dimensions listed are approximate and taken from ‘Sailing Cruisers. Boat World Guide No 2 1973’.

What else do you need to know?

Nick Vass
 
terrymay said:
I would like to chat with anyone who still runs a Vire down below
Click to expand...

You might have more response on the PBO forum.

Well done for your persistence in getting it sorted! Should be an OK engine for the boat. The same motor was fitted to some 23 and 24 footers nearly three times your displacement (though would now be be considered woefully underpowered for such a size).
 
Cheers, those are the specs I've found.
- What I'd really like are things such as air draft (for going under bridges& the like), mast height, boom length and the actual sail dimensions - length of the luff, leech & foot for both the main & the jib.
My boat has a furling boom, not sure if this is standard and the goose neck isn't attached centrally, I'm guessing it was broken at some point & has been re-attached 'temporarily' using a bolt.

My boat came with 2 jibs and a genoa and I'm not too sure they are the correct sails - the genoa certainly doesn't look right.
20OBYachtStation_zps98b54fd4.jpg
As you can see, the clew is really rather high.

The interior is also somewhat of a puzzle as there is no lining, just the raw fibreglass - again, should there be a lining?
There is some sort of wooden platform under the cockpit with what appears to be a pulley system attached to it, probably something that's been added by a previous owner - no doubt there are quite a lot of additions - but it's not so easy to figure out what is & what's not without some sort of base.

Admittedly, I'm not going to be restoring to a concourse condition, it would be nice to know what the manufacturer & designer had in mind, though. Even some of the 'smaller' ideas, such as should the water tank be filled or is it better for sailing if it's empty/half filled? Would this make any difference to the handling characteristics - heavier, of course, but is it intended/designed to help with heeling or does it just add to a 'nose down' configuration?

An owner's manual would be great, if you have any idea of where I might get hold of one - or pictures of your restore would also be very interesting, too - if you don't mind, of course.:)
 
Greemble said:
Cheers, those are the specs I've found.
- What I'd really like are things such as air draft (for going under bridges& the like), mast height, boom length and the actual sail dimensions - length of the luff, leech & foot for both the main & the jib.
.:)
Click to expand...

You will need to measure your own mast with a tape run up a halyard to work out your air draft. Measure your own boom.

Sorry but I don't own one of these boats.

You might need to look out for them and try to get in touch with other owners.

Try putting an ad in the letters page of PBO asking other owners to get in touch. This is how the Hurley Owners Association started
 
Thanks for the replies.
Nick Vass said:
You will need to measure your own mast with a tape run up a halyard to work out your air draft. Measure your own boom
Click to expand...
I've measured the mast & boom, but I'm not sure if they are original, hence the need for someone with specific knowledge

Nick Vass said:
Try putting an ad in the letters page of PBO asking other owners to get in touch
Click to expand...
I'm hoping the OP may get back to me as he's restored one.
I think I may try your suggestion, though. Not too sure how many of these were made or how many are left.
 
Greemble said:
Thanks for the replies.
I've measured the mast & boom, but I'm not sure if they are original, hence the need for someone with specific knowledge
Click to expand...
The only thing that matters to you is the mast and boom measurements you have. If you had a new sail made it needs to fit the spars you have. That is how sailmakers work.
I had a Valliant 18. It was a a steady boat, no racer, a very comfortable cockpit.
The coachroof can sag if the rigging has been over-tensioned. I fitted a mast compression post to overcome that.
The rig is awkward in the way that many small masthead rigs are. The headsail can get caught up on the forward lower shrouds when going about.
You learn to hold on to the headsail sheet and let the headsail back to help you through the tack.
 
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