INVADER
usually iron pipes covered in canvas then painted.
Wooden Boatworks chose to have the tiller made of
highly polished 316 stainless steel, and mounted it
uncovered. Simon Grillet, who worked with Costanzo
on Kentra and other Fife rebuilds, fashioned Invader’s
tiller in the Fife shape, adding an Ebony wood handle
grip, finished with a turned polished bronze end cap.
The end result completes a harmonious and elegant
mixture of bronze and stainless fittings.
The rig and sail plan were designed by Theo Rye
[Classic Boat’s technical editor], very close to yacht
designer George Cuthbertson’s mid-1950s modifications.
Rockport Marine in Maine built the Sitka spruce 66ft
mast and boom. Maloney Marine Rigging of Southport,
Maine fabricated the standing rod rigging.
Invader’s sails are Dacron crosscut sails to conform to
the Neptune Trophy specifications in the 8-Metre Class.
They were built by North Sails. The headsails are hanked
on to a Bartels Roller Furling system which keeps the
furling mechanism below decks to preserve the classic
look. At the owner’s request, related to enjoying the
yacht in often light-air conditions of her home port,
Oyster Bay New York, the boat flies a masthead
asymmetrical spinnaker and also has a Code Zero on a
furler. A fractional symmetrical spinnaker, which will
meet the Neptune Trophy specifications, will be added
for this upcoming summer. Invader didn’t compete
against other 8-Metres in her first season. She does
perform beautifully, however. Her helm is very sensitive,
light to the touch, and balances extremely well. She
accelerates quickly out of tacks and is very sea kindly in
following seas. In all, Invader exceeds expectations,
moving beautifully along in very light air and, of course,
points well; all expected of a 1930s racing machine.
Invader’s interior is completely varnished. Spartan
but elegant, Costanzo describes it as “a combination of
a lot of Fife trademark signatures from many of his
boats.” These include Fife style fiddles, raised panelled
doors, and open straightforward simple styling.
Costanzo compiled years of experience on many Fifes
to incorporate them into Invader’s interior. Deep green
leather seat cushions with a shallow leather button
tuck, “for a sporting look,” explains Costanzo, were
made by Perry’s Upholstery, a Long Island company
specialising in antique and classic yachts.Wooden Boatworks placed a 16 horsepower Beta diesel
in Invader, with a Danish two bladed folding propeller,
offset to port. The weight of the engine, fuel tank,
exhaust, and associated controls and piping was
calculated ahead of time so lead could be subtracted from
the ballast keel to compensate. Invader came to rest
beautifully on her lines when launched.
Building this type of yacht requires intense dedication
to yachting history and depth of research. Brian Hunt
Lawrence and Wooden Boatworks share the common
belief that restoring yachts and building historic new-
builds perpetuate skills and dedication to fine
craftsmanship. Whether restoring an original yacht or
building a historic replica, they keep history alive and
promote an important art form. That said, it seems
natural that another 8-Metre would follow. Defender, an
exact sister to Invader, was also commissioned by Brian
Hunt Lawrence. Defender is on the construction floor at
Wooden Boatworks at this writing, due to launch in the
spring of 2017. When completed next year, the two
sisters will be sailed against each other in Oyster Bay
New York in the true match-racing tradition. The only
difference between Invader and Defender will be their
tillers. Grillet made the handle grip on the tiller for
Invader in Ebony; black. The handle on Defender will be
Holly; white. Pleased with this notion, Costanzo adds,
“That should be the only way to tell them apart.”INVADER
LOA
48ft 2in (14.6m)
LWL
30ft 8in (9.19m)
BEAM
8ft 6in (2.58m)
DRAUGHT
6ft 6in (1.98m)
SAIL AREA
868sq ft (80.6m^2 )Above left to
right: Rudder
bearing; deep
green leather
cushions and lots
of Fife
trademarks;
launch party late
last year