intheboatshed.net

Maidie in action with her new mast

Friends walk Maidie’s new mast across the marshes

Classic Norfolk Broads racing boat Maidie has been fitted with a new carbon fibre mast made by local company Polar Composites.

One of the unforgettable moments of a Broads hire boat holiday is when one of the area’s real racers flies past, and I don’t think any do it with more panache than the 104 year-old spoon-bowed beauty Maidie, which belongs to Mike Barnes, managing director of the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company.

But Maidie lost her existing aluminium mast and rigging recently when she was hit by another vessel. Barnes took the opportunity to replace it with a carbon fibre mast after a chance meeting with Polar Composites’ Mike Harris, who is based at nearby Wymondham.

From Polar Composites’ press release it seems, Barnes had no qualms about replacing Maidie’s aluminium rig with the even more modern material:

‘Maidie was built purely for racing, using the latest techniques and materials available 100 years ago. The original mast was made of wooden veneer rolled around a mandrel, very like the way a carbon fibre mast is made now. It was a new breakthrough at the time, valued for its strength and lightweight property, and was used on the Americas Cup boats of the day.

‘I think it is fitting to choose carbon fibre for the new mast today, as it will give Maidie the cutting edge material she deserves and I’m confident that, had her Edwardian builders had the material available back then, they would have been using it!’ he said.

It took 15 friends to manhandle the mast over the marsh at Reedham, carry it by hand to the water’s edge and manually lift it into place just in time for bank holiday weekend. Maidie’s first outing was at her home club on Wroxham Broad the next day and Mike was delighted with her performance.

‘It has been everything I hoped it would be. The black, shining mast looks fantastic fully rigged and Maidie is sailing well so we look forward to an exciting season,’ he said.

I’m planning to take my kids up to the Broads in a few days, and doubtless the boat we’ve hired will be safe and steady - so as usual I’m looking forward to seeing Maidie and her sisters fly by under her huge rigs adapted for inland sailing. You can be sure I’ll be taking my camera!

For more intheboatshed.net posts about the Norfolk Broads, click here.

Chris Partridge who runs the Rowing for Pleasure weblog has posted about fascinating project to build a traditional sixareen.

John Welsford’s interesting Fafnir design. Click on the images for larger drawings

John Welsford tells me that the level of interest in his new Fafnir pocket cruiser design is exceeding all expectations.

It’s certainly an interesting boat - a blue-water cruiser capable of being build in a typical garage, and there’s a good case for saying that it’s the best choice available for someone who wants to sail alone in a small, easily handled boat.

Its crucial dimensions are:
•Length on deck 13ft 1in (4.00m),
•Beam 6ft 2in (1.90m)
•Draft 2ft 7in (0.800m)
•Sail area 139sqft (14.9sqm)
•Dry weight estimated 1430lbs (650kg)
•Ballast 550lbs (250kg)
•Maximum sailing weight 2420lbs (1100kg)

John describes Fafnir as a tough little cruiser for one or two, and tells a story about how the design came about at his website.
It seems a customer wanted to build a 10ft boat in which to circumnavigate, so John worked out a route, the amount of current assist that was possible, the weather windows and the climatic and stores consumption issues - and decided the voyage wasn’t practical.

But he went on to draw the minimum boat he considered workable - and Fafnir is the result.

Go to John Welsford’s site to learn more!

An oar, and a fine example of Australian bush carpentry, says Jeff Cole

Jeff Cole sails an Iain Oughtred MacGregor canoe and occasionally sends us photos from his wonderful and growing collection of yachting photos from the 19th and early 20th centuries. What’s less obvious is that he also has an interesting line in collecting items of old Australian bush carpentry.

Here’s what he says about the oar in the photo above:

‘This is a vernacular creation, bush carpentry at its most basic, an oar that seems old but it’s hard to tell - but very collectible.

‘I found it on the woodheap at a Mallee (sandy desert without water) clearing sale. The closest water is an irrigation channel, next to the Murray river. It’s six feet long, and made of wood, with iron spikes, some cotton sash cord, a little rubberised canvas, nails and red paint.

‘The roughly shaped triangular “blades” of the oar fixed by iron rod roughly peened over and in some cases using triangular galvanised “roves”. It’s absolutely out of balance, but a prize for my collection nevertheless!

‘Jeff’

Thanks Jeff - now that’ll give all those home boatbuilders something to think about!

For more of Jeff’s contributions, click here.