Sailing cruisers – Page 20 – intheboatshed.net

Canoe yawl Arklight II for sale

Robert Whitmore Jones is selling his 1936 canoe yawl Arklight II for £7500, or sensible offers.

Built by George Cardnell and sons at Maylandsea in Essex, Arklight II is said to be in sound condition and to sail well. Her hull is pitch pine planks on oak frames, with cabin and cockpit sides of mahogany.

Her paint, varnish and antifouling could all benefit from refreshing.

She has a recently (2011) installed secondhand Yanmar 1GM10 and is currently moored near Weston super Mare. If you’re interested, contact the Albert Strange Association and they’ll put you in touch with the owner.

Umfreville Laws-designed 1907-built sailing cruiser Dawn II for sale

Ben Boardman is regretfully selling his part-complete restoration project Dawn II as a result of changed circumstances – and very much hopes that she will be taken on by someone who sees her as a classic.

Built in Falmouth in 1907 by WE Thomas of Falmouth, she has a splendid history. When owned by CJ Munford, Dawn II was the first winner of the Houghton Cup in 1911. This was the first UK offshore race: it was organised by the Crouch Yacht Club and the prize went to the first boat to sail from Burnham, round the Cork Lightship and return to Burnham.

Later, and rather strangely, she spend WWII stored in a naval stores ship.

Dawn II was written up by Francis B Cooke in one of his early books – the description appears in the book Cruising Hints published by Lodestar Books:

‘Another attractive design is that of a 5.75 ton canoe yacht, designed by Mr G Umfreville Laws for Mr H Algar, and now being built by Thomas of Falmouth. The yacht will be sloop rigged and fitted with roller-reefing gear. Her internal arrangement is excellent and she will sleep three, two in the cabin, and one in the fo’c’astle. She has a flush deck and a lifting skylight. The cabin is lined with ¼-inch kauri pine, and the bunks fitted with kapok cushions. To avoid spoiling the profile of the keel, 400lbs weight of iron has been placed inside in the form of a cast iron mast step.’

Ben says Dawn II’s pitch pine on oak hull is sound, and she has new oak deck beams and 75 per cent of a new coachhouse, and the hull is glass sheathed to a high standard. She has lots of original fittings and is currently stored under cover. He has lots of photos detailing Dawn II’s restoration to share and discuss with anyone interested in taking her on.

More information is available through the Canoeyawl.org website.

OGA celebrates 50 years in colourful style despite strong winds

Strong winds meant that just 60 boats completed the OGA’s 50th anniversary race at Cowes on Saturday, but it didn’t prevent the organisation’s members having a lot of fun.

Almost 200 traditionally rigged sailing boats gathered in Cowes Yacht Haven and Shepards Wharf Marina from all round the UK, and from as far afield as Holland, Belgium and France.

Some 141 boats registered to participate in Saturday’s big race, which would have set a new record for gaff-rigged boats racing together. However, strong winds deterred entrants, and only 94 boats started the race. Many then retired as the wind got up and the sea became rougher. But 60 stalwart boats soldiered on and finished the course.

One of the photos below by Keith Allso shows the 18ft Chough owned by Christine and David Christine Hopkins, which at 18ft the smallest boat to finish the race.

At the other end of the scale, the deep sea smack 68ft Pioneer was the oldest boat at the festival. originally built in 1864 and recently restored by the Pioneer Sailing Trust in Brightlingsea.

She once worked the fishing grounds off Terschelling, but now she takes groups of up to 12 young people from all sorts of backgrounds out to sea for an experience of a lifetime. This weekend she was crewed by a group of young carers.

Pioneer picked up more than one prize in the racing: she was first over the finish line, second in her class on handicap, and to top it all she was awarded the Youth Cup for the crew with the lowest average age.

OGA president Mike Shaw announced the launch of an OGA-sponsored youth fund to support the work of Pioneer and others like her.

Dutch visitors to the festival challenge the different UK OGA areas to make up a simple model racing boat using a kit comprising a clog, a shaped wooden keel and a lump of lead for ballast. A race was held in the marina as part of the regatta, and the winner was awarded a carved wooden tulip awarded by the Dutch skippers.

There’s more to read on the Sailing By website, and more here from Bonita.