Yachting World Dayboat Tailwind – first three photos thanks to Jenny Steer, the final one thanks to Tracey Marler
Six months at the Boat Building Academy gave Lachlan (Locky) McKenzie enough time to build a Yachting World Day Boat with help from fellow students Tom Trevessey and Tim Price.
The traditional clinker build began in January 2010 after the initial foundation carpentry and joinery phase of the 38-week course. Locky chose the design because he is a keen dinghy sailor, and intends sailing her competitively.
Tailwind is spruce planked on a mahogany backbone, case, thwarts and frames with oak timbers. Locky has great hopes that his wooden boat will perform well against her plastic opponents when he races her out of Bosham – although he says she’s faster than the crew so anything is possible.
Instructor Justin Adkin modified the plank lines to allow better water flow around the hull, and altered the deck structure and layout, incorporating five full frames, to stiffen the hull and allow it to be tensioned up in a similar way to a Salcombe Yawl. A photodiary of the build can be seen on the BBA website.
Tom, from Cheltenham, and Tim, originally from South Africa, shared the main work on the build. Tim, who is a Maritime and Coastguard Agency Master of Yachts, has worked as crew, a water taxi, sailing instructor and in yacht delivery, and straight after the BBA course he started work at the Elephant Boatyard at Southampton. Tom, who joined the course because he wants to work in the marine industry, is heading off to New Zealand some time before the end of the year.
Locky’s Yachting World Day Boat has attracted a lot of attention, not just because it is a return to traditional wooden construction for the class, but also because of its beauty; the elegant decking and combing make great finishing touches.
