Yachting World 5 tonner

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alwchester

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I'm contemplating - verb chosen to reflect how tentative I am at this point! - acquiring a neglected YM 5 tonner and having her professionally re-fitted. I should be grateful for any information about the class, including experiences of anyone who has owned or sailed one.

I've seen the information on http://www.ybw.com/cb/tonner.html
and the description in Dayton's.

AW
 
Dayton's and the Classic Boat Class Notes give more or less the same, Dayton's gives her an extra 1" beam (7'10") and waterline length of 20'11."

I've been on board a couple of examples, tho' not sailed in one. They certainly have the 6' headroom and feel bigger inside than they look outside!

AW
 
Joliette is also a Robert Clark design. She's a fast, seaworthy and very well balanced design. I don't know the YW 5 Tonner, but I'm sure that you could expect similar attributes from this designer. So, certainly worth contemplating if you can acquire your project at the right price, as a professional refit will probably not be cheap / economic given market values.
 
I remember doing the Yachtmaster theory course some 14 years or so ago at the Nottage at Wivenhoe, and during one tea break the youngest member was talking about a channel crossing, comments were made about his boat laying on its ear the moment the wind started, but that once you got used to that she was fine, one of the others then commented that he had had a YM 5 tonner which was identical to that, turned out the same boat and owners many years apart.

On the positive side it transpired she had served many sea miles, and ridden out more gales and storms that I would like to think of, all agreed a superb sea boat.
 
Thanks for this confirmation that she sails on her ear, the slackness of the bilges certainly suggested it. 40+ years ago I owned a "tender" yacht, a 20,' long keel yawl on the Humber which went through the waves rather than over and and liked to lean a long way away from the wind; on balance I think that's what I prefer, a softer if wetter ride.

How's Joliette in this respect?

I came across this account of a circumnavigation in a YW 5 Tonner: http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/circumna/ci_35.htm
 
Joliette will hold her sail up well in a good blow and will clock over 9 knots to windward if I let her have her head, which I don't often to avoid the stresses and the resulting breakages / expense! (The genoa once ripped a section of genoa car track right out of the deck in a F5/6). So, I know try to reef early, particularly as I like to sail alone / short-handed, and avoid too much green stuff coming down the deck.
 
Robert Clark designs had an unparalleled record in the old OSTAR.

First 1960
Second 1964
First 1968
Fourth 1972

It does suggest a designer whose yachts went to windward rather well.
 
I love all boats - including Robert Clark designs: eg ...Ortac (his second design I think, a lovely 50 ft sloop - see "Racing, Cruising and Design 1937", Uffa Fox)

or Favona (1953 Fastnet Winner)...

or the YW Five Tonner... lovely!
 
There was a 3 or 4 page article in PBO in Sep 99 about the Yachting World 5-ton: it's available through the archive (under the "used boat" category, and make sure you put a hyphen in, otherwise the search engine won't recognise it). As I remember, it compared 2 boats, one was very original, right down to the Bullnose Morris petrol engine; the other had been continuously updated to get the best performance - both owners obviously thoroughly enjoyed owning them, and wouldn't swap them for anything larger. Cracking little boats.
 
I was talking to a man restoring a RC YW 5-tonner in Arisaig last week.

Having a bit of a problem with the rudder pintle.

Looks a lovely shaped yacht and should sail well.

My parents own a RC 32' sloop - Lassiette - and have owned her since 1972. Not a lot of space compared to modern yachts, but the resuilt is greater sailability.

Donald
 
I should have a survey report and refit/restoration costings during the next week/ten days; I'm expecting the decision about whether or not to take her on will be difficult!

It would be helpful to talk to the owner who is restoring one at Arisaig; the West Coast of Scotland is my intended base. Would you be able to put me in touch with him?

Alan
 
Alan

Sorry we were on holiday in those parts in August. We had popped into Arisaig for diesel and this guy was working on the YW 5-tonner and we stopped to chat as we passed.

You will probably get a response from
Arisaig Marine

Good Luck
Donald
 
I don't own a 5 tonner, but I do own Favona and I can honestly say that I've never been on a better sailing boat. I've been mostly on classic woodenboats &, while some were bigger and some prettier, I've not sailed on the boat I would trade Favona for. She does heel early, but I was once hit square on the beam, main and genoa up, by a known 70 knot squall and she would go no further than her toe rail. I guess, at that point, she was dumping wind off the top of her sails. Under 3 reefs & a storm jib, with the toe rail in the water, she steers with 2 fingers and a thumb on the tiller. I have never been beat to windward. Of course, like most winners, she won the Fastnet on corrected time, but her elapsed time back from the rock was faster than Bloodhound, among many others. I am willing to believe that there were other designers as good as Clark, but I can't imagine any better.
 
Thank you for the replies to my original posting, I enjoyed reading them.

Here's a follow-up: I decided that the likely cost of restoration (I guessed £10,000 minimum) wasn't affordable, particularly since I was/am in the middle of an extensive house renovation. I told the seller/owner this, offering any help I might be able to give in finding a purchaser who would take her on. His reply astonished me; he offered to gift me the yacht on the understanding that it was my intention to restore her.

In the face of this I thought the least I could do was to pay for a thorough condition report and detailed costing from a wooden boat builder: the result, £16000 plus £4000 for contingencies. A lot of money but a reasonable price for a skilled and careful restoration (the boat builder has a high reputation and I've seen some of his work) but I still couldn't afford it.

I did fall for this yacht (you guessed?) and was loth to leave her looking sad and neglected and slowly deteriorating on the waterside. Serendipity came to the rescue; in the course of a conversation about a yacht I thought I could afford, I mentioned the YW 5-tonner and discoverd I was talking to a former and enthusiastic owner of one who was also a wooden boat builder. After deliberating for some days, he agreed to accept the yacht as a gift and put her in a corner of his yard and have her worked on as and when. The yachts owner agreed and the 5-tonner is now under cover in a highly reputable yard. I'm confident that she will be restored and - surprise! - some time soon I shall start talking to the yard-owner about how much he might want for her when she's complete.

AW
 
I have registered hull no. 29 'Valfreya', built in Tasmania, Australia, in 1948. She is still in Tasmania and I have owned her for 2 years and am presently in a major refit from the bulb up. I am the the 3rd owner and have her history. I have extensive photos of the refit if anyone has the need and would love to see some of other examples. Maybe Valfreya is the only one on this side of the globe. Cheers.
 
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