LETTERS
Send your letters (and also any replies, please) to:
Classic Boat, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place,
London SW3 3TQ
email: [email protected]Z4 devalued
Fairlie did it right
Enterprise memories
I own a Zyklon, which on the
cover of your May issue you
compare to an Austin 7.
Interesting that you choose a
car analogy. When I am asked
what sort boat I have, by those
to whom the words Zyklon,
Harrison Butler or 4-tonner
have no meaning, I explain it is
like having a vintage MG, not a
Bentley or Aston Martin.
I think ‘Austin 7’ devalues this
enduring design.
Charles Jackson, DartmouthThe Enterprise article in your March issue really brought back
memories. In 1956 I was the fi rst member of the Horning
Sailing Club on the Norfolk Broads to order an Enterprise, on a
Saturday evening in January 1956, when the club met in the
Swan Hotel bar as normal, and our local boatbuilder Ralph
Moore produced a plan of a new dinghy called an Enterprise
which he was going to build. My wife and I were so impressed
that we placed an order on the spot. His next Enterprise he
built for his wife Madge. The class rapidly took off at Horning.
We formed Fleet No.8 and soon had over 80 racing on the
river. We organised the fi rst ever Broads Area Enterprise
Championship, which was won by the late Eric Smith of
Jeckells sailmakers sailing E.1705 Scampi. I was appointed to
the Enterprise Association committee and we met in London
at the News Chronicle offi ces under Bert Lanning – great days
indeed. We had one interesting episode as we moved the
forward thwart aft, to give the crew a seat, much to the anger
of Jack Holt!
David Hastings, via emailBooks
by Bob
Dick Durham’s article
on Bob Roberts gave
details of his books.
Seafarer Books no
longer distribute these
books – they are now
available through
orders@
nbninternational.com
on 01752 202301.
David Stickland, via
emailI must say it was quite an emotional shock to see in print the words
‘Fairlie fi nished’ at the top of your article about the end of Fairlie (May
issue). I have always thought of Fairlie as an attitude and ethos to
restoration rather than a physical entity. The last batch of good old-
fashioned, time-served shipwrights are now in the last few years of their
careers and the knowledge and experience slowly disappearing.
For over 20 years Fairlie always had apprentices and have done our
best to teach them the traditional skills and the ‘right way’ to do things.
Fairlie always strived to restore yachts to the highest and most
sympathetic standards following the original builder’s intentions, this
being learnt from Fairlie original Owner, Albert Obrist, a fanatical
restorer of Ferraris. The team have learned that in order to do a proper
job that will last for years, certain steps must be followed to succeed and
that the liberal use of epoxy is no substitute for development of
traditional skills. A traditionally built yacht is and was designed to have
an element of fl exibility, limited by tight joints and good caulking and the
people who try to mix old structures with new techniques often come
unstuck (literally).
The designers and builders of old, knew what they were doing and
messing with the structural components due to a lack of understanding
is verging on criminality. We had had two signifi cant yachts here over the
years where a restorer has messed about with the fl oors, which we all
know connect the keel to the frames, leaving the keel slowly pulling
away from the rest of the structure. This deep-seated knowledge is still
here in the Southampton area in the sub-contractors and ex-employees
who still live and work in the area. This team is just waiting for the phone
call that Paul or I have found a project and an owner.
Our modern classic builds (Fairlie 53 pictured above) have been
designed with classically aesthetic lines and looks, and of course built
using modern timber construction techniques where of course the liberal
use of epoxy glues is very appropriate. These yachts combine a classic
look with a modern hull form that results in a fantastic machine to sail
and manoeuvre.
Should anyone wish for assistance in projects involving restoration or
indeed modern classics, either new concepts or from the existing Fairlie
range, our contact details are
[email protected] and
[email protected]
The Fairlie 55 will be racing in Antibes during the fi rst week of June
should anyone wish to have a look over her.
Duncan Walker (former director, Fairlie Yachts), via email