THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
You might recall our 400th issue last year, where we discussed the most beautiful boat of all time. It’s about the most fraught issue there is: not only are you trying to apply objectivity to something subjective, but such discussions run the risk of offence to owners, and even betrayal of loyalty by those in the marine industry. Imagine you’re a boatbuilder, and you say Yacht A is the loveliest. How is the owner of yacht B, who spent a million Pounds having her restored at your yard, going to react to that? There was much agonising! Unsurprisingly, there was also a lot of consensus, implying, as we always suspected, that beauty is not quite as subjective as some may think. In this issue, there are two spectacularly pretty, small boats. The first is the little Fife day-racer UandI, restored by a time-served perfectionist and written up by his pal Tom Cunliffe. No one will argue with me on this one. The second is the outrageous, unique, little Lancia-powered mahogany runabout, the 1945-built Insam. Its looks are bizarre, its story poignant, and I think it’s one of the prettiest motorboats ever. Do you agree?