CRAFTSMANSHIP
FAIRLIE YACHTSsteel schooner. Or how about an 80ft (26m) luxury
houseboat offering more than 2,000sq ft (186m^2 ) of
internal space? For those who associate Fairlie with
turning old houseboats back into their original
incarnations as Big Class yachts, that comes as an amusing
inversion, but Paul’s clearly not ready to be pigeonholed as
a pure Fife freak: “A friend asked me who might draw
him a houseboat – and I find it hard to say no.”
Another growth area in the last few years has been
the boom in money-no-object restorations of smaller
yachts that were previously the domain of the newly
retired man in a muddy boatyard, garage or barn:
Stellas, Vertues, a Cheverton and a Gauntlet 8-Ton have
all benefited from serious rebuilds. So when Paul says
“the future for Fairlies is diversity”, he’s not kidding.
There’s enough work to keep around 15 full-time staff
busy. The shed is quite empty as we walk around it, but
a small team of men is outside working on the hard,
longboarding the hull of Helen, a 1936 Alfred Mylne
8-M yacht under a large frame and tarp structure,
enjoying the last of the Indian summer, as they finish a
complete structural rebuild that has included a new
backbone, re-planking from the waterline down, new
frames and timbers, new floors, and a re-spline. For
many yards, it would be a career-topping restoration.
From the yard that rebuilt Mariquita, it seems like
bread-and-butter stuff. We trudge over to another 8-M
lurking in gravel and weed, the jolly red hull clothing
a tale of hopeless decrepitude and sagging sheerline.
She crossed to the dark side a long time ago, but Fairlie
will bring her back as new. And it might be hard to judge
from her current state, but this one is a genuine Fife.
That’s some barn find for the owner, who discovered
her quietly mouldering away.
Meanwhile, another detail of men is at work at a yard
in nearby Eastleigh putting the finishing touches to the
elegant André Mauric yacht Antaren (YN passim).
Back at the office, we go to into a windowless, breeze
block storage room of janitorial mien. But there are no
mops or dead bodies here – far from it. The striplights
stutter into life to reveal a Tutankhamun of yacht design.
Here is the entire Fife archive, drawings of course, but
also original hardbacked books of calculations and
costings, all worked out in neat, italic handwriting, serifs
dripping off every letter, page after page of mathematical
workings to solve everything from the volumes of
cross-sections to the cost of nails. It’s a sharp reminder of
a time not long ago, but lost forever, when maths was
not hidden behind screens, and it’s a pleasure to see. But
not as much as the 700 or so sets of plans he drew in his
lifetime. On waxed linen, on cartridge paper, on blueprint
paper, they appear one after the other from the famous
to the less so, like Dodo III and Dodo IV, both of them
stout, flush-decked, heavy-displacement cruising yachts
of the sort that would later be reprised for places like the
Southern Ocean – they have a hint of Joshua to their
purposeful muscularity. Then there are some lovely
vessels imprisoned by paper and dustily waiting for
existence, including some big sailing and motor yachts.
What is it about Fife III that explains the desirability
of his creations? There is the unavoidable, if pedestrian,
reason that many were built and built well, meaning they
have remained a visible continuity throughout the 20th
century. And of course his yachts are beautiful: “his eye
for proportion was quite incredible,” says Paul.
Whether they are more lovely than those of his
contemporaries is a matter of conjecture, but whatever
the reason – perceived or real – Fife has become, in
Europe, by far the most desirable name in vintage
yacht design. It places Fairlie well for a future in which
more ‘replica’ building (the word often used incorrectly
to include new boats to previously unrealised designs).
“Certain classes like the 15s might grow,” says Paul.
There has been much talk about the possibility of a
new 15-M. It’s a large, glamorous yacht with its own
class, obviating the need to be measured under the
controversial CIM rule, and one that a small syndicate
of wealthy owners could own, as opposed to the bigger
classes where you’d need to be on the rich list (or the
wanted list). One area Paul is sure will grow is SoT
building. And the steady stream of restorations large
and small. Fairlie will be waiting for all of it.PREVIOUS
BUILDS AND
REBUILDS
Tuiga
Fulmar
Kentra
Madrigal
Belle Aventure
Carron II
The Lady Anne
Siris
Jap
Mariquita
Niebla
Hispania
Moonbeam III
Altair
Hallowe’en
Lucky Girl
Kelpie
St Patrick
Fairlie 55
Falcon
Fairlie 53
HelenThe new Fairlie 53 is turned (left) and is seen
leaving the shed for launch (right)