Classnotes
BY VANESSA BIRDT
his year marks the 50th
anniversary of the Salcombe
Yawl Association. However,
this class’s roots go back further than
that – in fact, its origins can be traced
to the early 1800s when fi shermen
worked the Salcombe Estuary and
surrounding coastline in small, open,
clinker-built yawls of between
14ft-18ft (4.3m-5.5m).
By the 1850s, several of the yawls,
known as the Licensed Watermen’s
Boats, had begun to race at the
Salcombe Regatta, and in 1906 the
fi rst yawl to be used wholly for
pleasure sailing, the 15ft 6in (4.7m)
Busy Bee, was launched.
However, it was the launch of the
14ft (4.3m) three-quarters-decked
yawl Blackbird around 1917 that
marked a new era in yawl design and
sowed the seed for what was to
become the current class.
Built for harbour sailing by
16-year-old shipwright Jim Stone, the
yawl was similar to the working
boats, but proved so fast that by
1921 she was regularly beating the
existing fl eet. Then, in 1936, Morgan
Giles modifi ed his design of a 16ft
(4.9m) Teign Corinthian One Design,
and built two boats, Edra and
Auburn, which took yawl racing to a
whole new level. Jim Stone
responded by building Blackbird II in
1939, and in 1947 built the fi rst of a
new generation of 16ft yawls,
Kingfi sher (Y15).
By 1962, Stone had built 24 out
of 26 racing yawls since the Second
World War, but interestingly his
original Blackbird and Morgan Giles’
Choice (ex-Edra) remained at the top
of the fl eet. By 1967, however, Peter
Taylor’s Taylormaid, a development
of Choice, proved the most
successful, and more yards became
involved in the class. In total, 20
yards have built Salcombe Yawls,
although of these, Stone’s Boatyard
remains the most prolifi c, having
built nearly half the entire fl eet.
Unlike many of its
contemporaries, the Salcombe Yawl
is not a one design, but is adevelopment class. This means that
although there are rules regarding
the design and construction
specifi cations, their designers are
allowed reasonable fl exibility, which
has allowed the class to develop
signifi cantly. It has also led to the
introduction of several top designers
to the class, including Ian Howlett
and Phil Morrison. Hull shape and
construction has, however, remained
broadly the same, with a straight
stem, transom stern, clinker hull and
yawl rig, with the jib set on a short
bowsprit. Only wood – usually
mahogany planking, although spruce
has also been used – is allowed for
hull and spars construction, but
modern materials have crept in in the
form of rigging, sails and deck gear.
Perhaps one of the most
controversial periods of the class was
in 1988 when Nuffi n (Y141) was
built by Dave Gibbens to a Phil
Morrison design. Although the
underwater shape from amidships to
stern was very similar to existing
designs, she proved revolutionary.
She also proved unbeatable during
her fi rst season, which caused
concern among the class that
previous designs would be outclassed.
Subsequently, the fl eet has been
divided into two – classic and
modern – which has helped to
maintain the older boats’
competitiveness. Sail numbers
currently stand at 189, of which
around 160 are still sailing.DEVON YAWL
Wood is the only material
allowed for the construction of
Salcombe Yawls, but in 1965,
following concern over the
escalating costs of building new
boats, some members of the
class mooted the idea of building
a simulated clinker GRP version.
In 1968 the fi rst GRP yawl was
built from a plug built by Jack
Damerell of Powercraft and a
separate class, the one design
Devon Yawl class, was created.
The plug later became Hobby
(Y81), and over 300 Devon Yawls
have since been built.STONE’S BOATYARD
Stone’s Boatyard is still heavily
involved with the class. Now
under the helm of Tristan Stone,
Jim’s great-great nephew, the
yard looks after around 40 of the
fl eet (see full interview p50).ORIGINAL YAWLS
Around 160 Salcombe Yawls are
currently in existence. Of these,
some of the earliest include
Kingfi sher (mentioned above,
built in 1947), and Heron (Y19),
built by Stone in 1952.
Both were rebuilt in recent
years by Stone’s Boatyard.THE PRICE
When Jim Stone started building
Salcombe Yawls, a new boat cost
£250. Now, new boats, which can
be built to order by several local
yards, cost over £40,000. One of
the newer yawls built will be
exhibited at the RYA Dinghy
Show at Alexandra Palace in
March. Secondhand Salcombe
Yawls go for £5,000-£6,000.© EXPLOSURESsyoa.co.uk© EXPLOSURESVanessa’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.SPECIFICATIONS
LOA
16ft (4.9m)
LWL
16ft (4.9m)
BEAM
7ft (2.1m)
DRAUGHT
10in (25.4cm)
4ft (1.2m)
SAIL AREA
175sq ft (16.3m^2 )
DISPLACEMENT
c950lb (430kg)Next month
BULLSEYESalcombe
Yaw l