Classic_Boat_2016-06

Classnotes

BY VANESSA BIRD

I

t was the advent of the steam age

and the railways that came with

it that led to the introduction of

pleasure wherries to Norfolk’s inland

waterways. Prior to their arrival,

trading wherries had been a frequent

sight on the Broads, transporting

cargo such as coal, reeds and timber

from port to port, with over 300

plying East Anglia’s waterways in the

craft’s heyday of the 1800s (see Class

Notes, CB326). However, once the

railways arrived, transporting goods

by water was seen as an arduous and

expensive luxury, when trains could

transport goods the same distance

and further, in less time and at less

cost. For the trading wherries, it had

a devastating effect, and by 1929 just

16 were still operating under sail,

with the majority of those in

existence laid up.

Undeterred, many wherry owners

sought to capitalise on the railways,

as while they took away the

industry’s main source of income,

they also brought along a new source

• tourists. By the 1880s, railway
  networks had linked Norfolk with
  London and the Midlands, and
  holidaymakers, keen to get out of the
  big cities and into the countryside,
  began to arrive at the Broads by train
  in their thousands. Keen to explore,
  they were only too keen to charter
  boats, and many of the trading
  wherries were subsequently refi tted
  so that their holds could provide
  basic accommodation for paying
  guests. Separate cabins for ladies and
  gentleman were created, hammocks
  hung, and the wherries plied the
  Broads with a new type of cargo.
  By the early 1900s over 100
  trading wherries had been converted
  and the craft’s popularity led to the
  production of a new type of wherry,
  designed specifi cally for charter, with
  full accommodation and plenty of
  deck space for paying guests. Sharing
  the same clinker hulls as the trading
  wherries, the new craft were of a
  similar length, too, ranging between

56ft-68ft (17m-20.7m) length

overall, and with a draught of

around 4ft (1.2m). Generally, they

were built of oak planking on oak

frames and the rig comprised a

single, loose-footed gaff mainsail set

on a tall mast, deck-stepped in a

tabernacle forward of a long

coachroof. But the sail was white,

instead of the wherries’ traditional

tarred black sails, although the hull

was still painted black.

Interior accommodation and

fi t-out on the later pleasure wherries

was particularly fi ne, especially on

board the privately owned wherries

such as Hathor, which was built

by DS Hall of Reedham in 1905

(see sidebar). Teak and mahogany

was used throughout and the layout

generally comprised a large saloon

and individual cabins for paying

guests. A skipper and crewmember

were also provided on the charter to

sail the wherry and attend to the

needs of its guests.

Around 24 pleasure wherries were

built for charter companies and

private individuals, before the design

evolved once more into the wherry

yachts. These 50ft-60ft

(15.2m-18.3m) craft were rigged with

the same traditional rig as their

forebears, but were carvel built, and

had elegant counter sterns instead of

the double-ended sterns of both.

Of the two dozen pleasure wherries

built and the 100-plus converted

trading wherries, only three remain in

existence: Solace, Hathor and Ardea.

SOLACE

Built on spec in 1903 by DS Hall of

Reedham, the 68ft (20.7m) Solace

was bought by Lieutenant FS

Rogers, who raced her to great

success in early wherry races on the

Broads. Her oak hull has been

replanked over the years, and is now

clinker above the waterline and

carvel below. Unusually, Solace has

remained in sailing condition

throughout her 113 years and has

never had an engine fi tted.

HATHOR

Nominated for the Restoration of

the Year category in our 2016

Classic Boat Awards, this 56ft (17m)

pleasure wherry was named after

the Egyptian goddess Hathor and

has an incredibly ornate interior

featuring hieroglyphs that cost

£1,464 – two and a half times what

it cost to build the bare hull. She

was built for two members of the

Colman’s mustard family in 1905 by

DS Hall. You can read about her

restoration last year in our

upcoming August issue. She’s now

owned and chartered by Wherry

Yacht Charter.

wherryyachtcharter.org

ARDEA

The pleasure wherry Ardea was

built by Leo Robinson on Oulton

Broad for Howard Hollingsworth in

1927. Launched in front of an
      audience that included King George
      V, she was taken to Paris in 1959,
      where she was used as a houseboat
      and later cruised around Belgium,
      Holland and Germany.

RICHARD JOHNSTONE BRYDEN

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA

68ft (20.7m)

BEAM

16ft (4.9m)

DRAUGHT

4ft 3in (1.3m)

TONNAGE

40 tonnes

BUILDER

DS HALL

Next month

INTERLAKE

Pleasure

wherry

Vanessa’s book, Classic Classes, is a

must-buy. Please bear in mind that

this book provides only a snapshot of

the myriad classes in existence.

The pleasure

wherry Solace

was built in 1903

by DS Hall of

Reedham and

has been in full

sailing condition

ever since