Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis writes to say that two Fowey River Dinghies are currently up for sale – Red Kite (No. 55) pictured above and No. 51.
No. 55 was built in 2009, and is planked in spruce, and comes with sails and cover. She has no trailer. There is the possibility of a handy mooring in the river. The dinghy needs sanding and re-varnishing all over: the asking price is £8,000 as is, or £9,000 all done.
No. 51 was built in 2004, and is planked in mahogany. She was recently stripped and revarnished throughout, and comes with sails, cover, trailer and the possibility of a convenient mooringat an asking price of £6,500.
Contact Marcus via his website.
Fowey River Dinghies are based on the Yachting World 15ft Knockabout designed by Reg Freeman, and were published by the magazine in the late 1940s.
A Fowey dentist asked a local boatyard to build him one, and then others followed. Some owners go for plain sails, but the majority now get the coloured pencils out and design a unique sail pattern.
The class holds racing on a regular basis. At Fowey Regatta last year, Marcus tells me, there were 23 dinghies entered. There have been 67 Fowey River Dinghies built to date, with around probably half that number surviving.
PS – When he wrote, Marcus included these photos of a 14ft rowing boat that he’s recently completed for a client. Thanks Marcus!
Any news on the S130?, please
John