Broads – Page 5 – intheboatshed.net

The Waveneys of the Norfolk Broads

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Waveney One-Designs in action. Photo from Alan Davies
of the Museum of the Broads

Alan Davies of the Museum of the Broads has kindly agreed to allow us to republish a short article telling the story of the Waveney boats that he wrote for the museum’s newsletter. Many thanks Alan!

Waveney One Designs

Length 20ft, beam 6ft 2in, draft 2ft 11in, sail area 290sqft, gunter rig

Designer W S Parker

The Waveneys were designed in the early 1920s by William Parker of Oulton Broad, after the Waveney Sailing Club proposed to have a one-design boat. The first four or so boats were built along similar lines and developed into a consistent set of drawn plans in 1928.

The first seven were built before World War II and, instead of sail numbers, had the letters A-H in alphabetical order of build. This was later changed to numbers with a ‘W’, both in red. They are all named after wild marsh flowers.

The first six were built by the Evans Yard at Kirkley. Horace Jenner built Number 7 and Number 8 was built at Richards’s Shipyard. The rest were built by Tim Flower and his sons in a boat shed in their Lowestoft garden with exception of Number 24, which was built by Selwyn Watson.

WODs are occasionally mistaken for the more numerous Yare & Bure One Designs, but an easy way to tell them apart is the red sail numbers of the WODs and the fact they have two shrouds on each side as opposed to the Y&BODs’ single shroud. Another difference, only seen when the boat is out of the water, is that the keel is a ballasted metal plate rather than a ballasted wooden one.

By the early 1990s many of the 26 boats had already had to undergo major restoration and it was felt that as with the Y&BOD and the Broads One-Design the cost of building and maintaining new wooden boats would be too expensive. so local boat builder Jimmy Toplis decided to take a mould of his WOD, Penny Royal. By September 1994 the first GRP Waveney, Celandine (Number 27) was launched.

The new boat had to be assessed to make sure its performance was similar to the wooden boats, and once the weight was corrected the new boat’s performance was on a par with the older boats.

To date five more GRP boats have been built, taking the numbers to 32, with orders for two more. One of them has gone to Lake Windermere, and interest has been expressed in developing the hull as a small two-berth Broads cruiser, as has happened with the Thurne Class, which is based on the Y&BOD’s hull.

Home Built Boat Regatta at Barton Broad 2008

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Photos thanks to Ian Ruston

Chris Perkins has kindly sent a short report on the UK’s Home Built Boat Regatta group’s successful meeting at Barton Broad on the Norfolk Broads the weekend before last.

A whacking total of 19 boats attended – a splendid result given that at least some of us feared American-style messabouts like the HBBR were unlikely to be successful in the UK, not least because so few people take the trouble to build their own boats here.

The success of the HHBR makes an important point: whatever skill level we work to, amateur boatbuilders are not alone, even in the UK!

If Chris’s name seems familiar it’s because he won last year’s Watercraft prize prize for his Iain Oughtred-designed Macgregor canoe, Scotch Mist.

Any way, here’s his report, and some splendid photos from both him and Ian.

Before you read any further, I should explain that in our changeable climate, HBBR meetings have traditionally been dogged by bad weather – there are also one of two items of detail that Chris didn’t have to hand, so please email me or use the comment link below to fill me in on anything that seems to be missing.

‘Barton Turf 24-26th May 2008

‘The usual adverse weather forecast failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the ranks of the HBBRers who made treks from all parts of the country to assemble at Barton Turf for a weekend of sailing and boatbuilding talk.

‘Saturday dawned bright and breezy – just how breezy we would find out later – and everybody who came managed a spell on the water, some more successfully than others. Nobody landed in the water.

‘A good range of designers were represented, but fittingly, 25 per cent of the attendance were from the board of designer Conrad Natzio, which was fitting as these are his home waters.

‘Canoes were well represented, but some eagerly anticipated sailing trials unfortunately had to be curtailed due to strong winds.

‘One new build made an appearance, Dave Wallwork’s Oughtred Puffin ‘Lucia’ appeared on the Sunday, a beautiful piece of work, although the incessant rain would have meant that any launching party would have smacked of masochism!

‘An excellent barbecue was provided by Barton Turf Adventure Centre, thanks Simon and Sheila Fishwick, and a variety of beverages brought by the attendees ensured a great evening was had by all – even if one gentleman did become a little lost later in the evening.

‘Sunday was an unpleasantly wet and windy day and the planned group cruise to the pub in Neatishead dwindled to the intrepid crews of two vessels. Conrad in his Spoonbill and Tony Waller rowed his Oughtred Shearwater, Isabella III, the length of Barton Broad in borrowed waterproofs.

‘The rest of us chickened out – and took to the road. After a pleasant lunch we returned to the centre and watched the rain come down for a while longer until a small party gave up on the weather and went off in search of the Museum of the Broads at Stalham.

‘Monday was not as wet as Sunday, but by then most had had enough and started to make for home. In all, despite the weather, the meet was a success and the group is now looking forward to the next rallies in September at the Cotswolds Water Park, and at Ullswater.’

Boats and crews at Barton Turf May 2008
Mermaid 137, Steve Blackman; Sandpiper ‘Nessy’, Chris Partridge; Oystercatcher ‘Everhopeful’, Wayne Oliver and Marcus Davies; Tit Willow, Chris and Ruthie Waite; Isabella III, Tony Waller; Tonawanda, Phil Oxborrow; Deux Chevaux, Ian & Janet Ruston; Ranger canoe ‘B&Q’, Graham Neil; Inwe, Richard Rooth; Serafina, Peter Nobes; Ranger 8, Lata Nobes; Puffin Lucia, Dave and Carol Wallwork; Polly’s Folly and Scotch Mist, Chris and Viv Perkins; strip-built kayak, SamB (SOTP member); Tigerella, Simon Fishwick.

In addition, Conrad Natzio brough three examples of boats built to his own designs.

Photos thanks to Chris Perkins

Norfolk Broads boat sheds and boat houses

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Sign spotted at a Stalham boatyard

Boat sheds at Hickling, including the Whispering Reeds boatyard

Following Chris P’s Rowing for Pleasure post, by coincidence I have also been making a little study of Broadland’s boat sheds and boat houses. They seem to me to have almost as much character as the people of the area and, when open, their doorways often offer coy glimpses of something wonderful inside.

Most of my Norfolk Broads shed photos from the past week were snapped under a typical leaden East Coast sky – but I hope they’re entertaining nevertheless.

Boat sheds and boat houses on the River Thurne

Still more boat sheds and boat houses on the Thurne

Two further boat houses on the Thurne

An impressive home and boathouse at Irstead on the River Ant

Finally, I thought I should add a few more photos of some unusual features that can be seen from Broadland’s rivers. One of the themes of the Broads is the circular structure – many local churches have them, there are many round windmills and they are reflected in at least some other structures.

$\'Dutch Tutch\' house on the Thurne$

‘Dutch Tutch’ house on the Thurne, a summer house on the Thurne, and a typical Broadland windmill

Finally, here’s a real landmark of a shed sited by the river on the way to Hickling. It’s used by eel fishermen working with nets, and is equipped with a large illuminated sign used to warn shipping when the nets are set.

$Eel-netter\'s shed near Hickling$

Eel-netter’s shed, near Hickling Broad

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