What makes a classic?

[jzaat]

Just wondering, as I ve been turned down now by a number of Classic clubs/regattas..
My boat is from 64, Bill Tripp CCA design, a real beauty (IMHO) but...
built in GRP which apparently rules out any classic status immediately.

Any thoughts?


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[claymore]

Well - if it was me/my boat being turned down for membership, I think I'd rather take the line that that is their loss.


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Claymore
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[jamesjermain]

YM Classic Rallies

You would have qualified for the old Yachting Monthly Classic Yacht Rallies. We had a class for GRP yachts for which the criteria were: elegant lines and/or a historical significance in terms of design, construction, performance of achievement. We accepted Contessa 32s without quibble as also Nich 32s, 35s etc, some Rivals, most plastic gaffers and even a Westerly Centaur because it was almost the first built.

You would also be eligible for the Plymouth Classic Boat Rally which has class for 'Reproductions' and 'Traditional' designs (ie new boats built in the old style).

My second car, bought in 1968 was a Triumph Roadster which no one questioned then, and certainly not now, was a Post Vintage Thoroughbred, yet it was then a mere 20 years old. Surely yours, at nearly 40 years of age should have some similar status.

I think people get a bit pompous about classic status, don't you

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[claymore]

Re: YM Classic Rallies

Quite agree - there was all that palaver on the Clyde when the Fife's were doing their thing earlier in the year - can't see what all the fuss was about really.

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Claymore
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[Mirelle]

Agree.

I do not own a "classic yacht"; I own a nice old family cruiser, built just before WW2, gaff rigged. I've never taken her to a "classics rally", still less a "concours d'elegance" (which she would fail by a country mile, with muddy decks, grotty varnish and a general air of being "well used"). So far as I'm concerned, she is a cheap and practical boat for going to sea in.

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[chippie]

Re: Agree.

I like that attitude, Try telling it to the Yanks on Wooden Boat though.

I reckon the thing that makes a classic is being old and for sale.;-)

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[Robin]

Any Boat That I Own(ed)

Is obviously a classic or I simply would not have bought it. Just like beauty, 'Classic' is in the eye of the beholder.......IMHO.


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[Twister_Ken]

Why?

Just wondering why you'd want to join a club or a rally that is obviously chock-full of pompous asses.

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[zefender]

For cars, there are clear definitions of veteran and vintage but classic too is open to broader definition. A Morris Marina is as likely (by some) to be considered a classic as an E-Type.
Generally what it can't be though is still in production.

For boating, it seems to have nothing to do with age (since surely a 40 year old boat would otherwise qualify) but construction. I wonder if a 1975 Naja30 (ply with West epoxy) would qualify? The word 'Classic' also implies quality and thus anything which is not a classic is not 'quality' which is plainly daft.

Organisers of these sort of events seem to want to recreate a bygone era and have set out how they want that era to look, even if it's innacurate.

So Jzaat should hang onto his boat and not feel ostracised. To him its a classic (which means it is one) and these classic 'revisionists' should be left to their quaint little ideas of exclusivity.

I'm organising my own classic rally soon. Coracles only I'm afraid. Strictly basketwork only and definitely no linear galleys.

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[tcm]

A classic boat:

1. is Old

2. has lots of varnish

3. has a special little set of pigeon-hole shelves for all the flags

4. does not have much if any obvious grp or other plastic

5. has hardly any stainless steel: brass and bronze please

6. has lines and warps NOT overtly looking as though made of synthetic materials.

7. does NOT have a trendy name. So "Gertrude" is ok, but "Let's Go" isn't

8. is hopelessly ineficient in terms of using available space (eg Max 4 berths in a 36 footer, max 6 berths in 60 footer, and note all berths are cramped and crap) , and in terms of outright speed for given length

9. is/was a utter nightmare maintence-wise, and have bills to prove this is the case. Instead of the using the phrase "utter nightmare", the phrase "colourful history" should be used.

10. is for sale, and looking for a suitable owner to cherish her. The suitable owner is anyone with a lot of loot.

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[jzaat]

May be not then

You are probably quite right, and seems most others replies point in the same direction.
Still, I would have liked to participate in such events if only to see how well/poor we can do against the opposition. And it is strange to see 1978 boats be accepted just because they were made of steel.
My main question was to see what the forumists thought on this subject ;-)

Jeroen

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[jzaat]

yep, affirmative on most points..
Not for sale though, so apparently that's the only thing keeping me from attaining classic status?

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[sailbadthesinner]

Re: classics

if more than two people gather in a pub to discuss it, then it is a classic or a future classic
i recommend you join the virual pub and arrange a meeting with other like minds.

look they have a bestowed the term classic on the allegro car for heaven's sake
if you think it is a classic it is a classic
if it is old it is a classic
if you spend more time fixing it, worrying about it and inspecting it than actually using it then it is a boat
ergo it is a classic boat
i cannot imagine you need a binch of toffs to confer that status on you


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[jonjo]

Re: That\'s easy

> what makes a classic

Tendency of the owner to expend large amounts of money or time that cannot be justified by a rational investment/payback formula.

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[andyhail]

I have also been wondering on classic status of my GRP Wing 25 built in 1966.
Possible solution Classic GRP Forum


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[andyhail]

I have also been wondering on classic status of my GRP Wing 25 built in 1966.
Possible solution Classic GRP Forum


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[jzaat]

Re: classics

I'm convinced it is!
I just wonder when/if the 'classic-event organisers' etc are going to acknowledge that a GRP boat can be a classic too.
Saw that Antigua Classic week, one of the first if these classic event organisers, has separate GRP division, as did the Yachting Monthly Classic event that JJ mentioned as well.


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[Evadne]

I thought about this as well, and a "classic grp rally", but I think that while people who fall into the "classic" boat, pompous ass category will form their own clubs and rallies and be proud to exclude boats classed as "yoghurt pots"; people who just sail old, nice looking boats can't be bothered with all that malarky. The only rallies I've been on are about meeting like-minded people first and seeing their boats second, even class rallies. Its not that other peoples' boats aren't interesting, quite the opposite, it's just that they are no guide to the owner. IMHO.

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[tcm]

Re: eh?

Um, all boats fail on this criteria! You mean thaty classics fail by a very very long way, rather than just fail.

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[Neal]

Halcyon 27, James?....

I used to have a lovely example of this wonderful class. To my mind a real classic, with true design pedigree.

I applied some years ago to enter her in the YM Classic Rally, and you said she didn't qualify!

Good news is that I sold her (coincidence, not because of the rejection) and bought a proper wooden gaffer.

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