Does anyone know the story of the racing yacht Mayhi?

Mayhi lines - note that this is foreshortened due to the angle from which it was shot
Mayhi lines – note that this is foreshortened due to the angle from which it was shot

Shipwright Simon Grillet is appealing for  for information about the history of the sliding gunter-rigged centreboard sloop Mayhi, the racing yacht to be used as the template for building a new vessel by apprentices on the Faversham Creek Trust’s new scheme starting in August this year.

She is believed to have been built at Ramsgate in 1908, but I gather that it is the period before the Great War that is least known. I’m curious myself about how her form was arrived at and what the references might  have been. If you can help at all, please write to gmatkin@gmail.com, and I’ll pass the information on the Simon.

Mayhi is 27ft by 8ft with a draft of 5ft 3in with her keel down and 2ft 3in  with her keel up. Her saucer shape (seen in the foreshortened photos above) is said to make her very stable, and her sail balance when close-hauled is reported to be excellent, with only slight weather helm.

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