Flying 25
Uffa Fox fans – and there are still quite a few here in the UK – may be interested to know that someone’s building a Flying 25 down in Australia – click here to see a page featuring the project. They seem to be working in modern materials and from the small drawing above the rig is to have a few modern additions, but it makes you think, doesn’t it?
Apparently, there’s a legend that the first of these boats to be built went so fast that some of the crew got frightened. Nowadays, with all the scary looking plastic boats there are about that seems unlikely, but the Flying Numbers are all pretty quick, low to the water and elegantly dangerous-looking.
Nephew and draftsman Tony Dixon is marketing the plans for this and a range of other Fox designs from this website: http://www.uffafox.com/
Uffa Fox’s books can often be found in second-hand bookshops here in the UK. Here are some copies of the recent compendium The Best of Uffa at a reasonable price, but they’re definitely becoming collector’s items: I’ve seen them marked up at prices that would make your eyes water.
Some of you may know that there are quite large numbers of Uffa Fox-designed boats in the USA, not least as a result of his close association with the O’Day company, for which he designed the Daysailer and Javelin, and also from his development of the planing International Canoe we still know today. The curious might like to read this chapter on the International Canoe from one of his many popular books, this anecdote, which seems very believable given all the other stories that are told about him. There is also a short biography here.
Looking for a boat, or do you just like playing? If so, try our new Google search engine focusing on some of the best places to find ads for traditional boats and classic wooden craft in the UK – including owners’ associations, yards, brokers and the advertising sites. But perhaps the best thing about this search is that there’s so little junk!