EAST COAST CLASSIC YARD
Sail and power, little and large, old and new... it’s all here
Avisit to Su olk Yacht Harbour (SYH) is always interesting, for the breadth of restoration work on show. On a recent visit to this idyllic site, on the River Orwell on England’s east coast, it was to see Ryegate finished, a project that’s been in the shed for five years, as the owner grew increasingly ambitious about what should be done. SYH originally had her brought to the yard from the lower reaches of the Severn, where she was lying in a sorry state. The 30ft (9.1m), Gibbs-built, single-screw motor yacht has had so much done over the last three or four years that it would be impossible to list it here. The yard’s MD Jonathan Dyke was on hand to show me around, and we both marvelled at the tiny little ship with its surprisingly usable, and highly original interior.
One thing that is always a dead cert at SYH is a Stella being doctored. Kim Holman’s lovely little (26ft/8m) post-war clinker sloops are, as a fleet, beginning to feel their age; they were built lightly to race, and economically. Now, Timoa is taking a bold step into new territory by being completely sheathed on the exterior; it’s either that or a refastening at best or a rebuild at worst. The class association has given its blessing and we’ll follow Timoa with some interest, as others in the class have expressed an interest in the same treatment. Sheathing is controversial, but as Jonathan points out, it saved Pen Duick for Eric Tabarly, among others over the years. And when you do it properly and dry the timber (to 6 per cent moisture content in this case), the idea becomes very compelling. By contrast, another Stella in the yard, Stardust, is receiving a stop-gap solution common to the class that will keep her going as original for a while, and this is the fixing of thin battens to the lands to keep the boat watertight.
We have a quick look around an attractive wooden IOD, the popular 33ft (10m) racing class of yachts. This one, Whisper, was one of the last built in wood, in 1965. She’s just had quite a bit of work too – structural hull frame repairs this season. Next to her is a GRP – but quite attractive – early 1970s Swan that has just had a deck refurb.
MERMAID
The most challenging boat, perhaps, is the amazing Mermaid. She’s clearly to the lines of a working vessel – oyster smack perhaps – but was actually built as a yacht in 1860, making her one of the oldest sailing yachts in the world. Currently, the yard is redesigning the interior, repainting, revarnishing, and moving the engine forward to just behind the mast for better weight distribution. It seems clear that more jobs will follow in time. This could turn out to be a really big project.
The two dinghies in progress are a 14ft Wright & Son sailing dinghy, from 1967, that’s just had a re-varnish, three new timbers and a new trailer; and Jonathan Dyke’s own 16ft (5m) larch on oak open boat from the 1880s, originally a working pulling boat, and later a sailing Winkle Brig in local races. Jonathan’s father had the boat in commission before Jonathan was born, and now she’s on her way back to the water once again.