Uffa Fox’s
Flying boatsUffa Fox produced designs for a whole range of
Flying boats from the Flying Ten to the Flying Fifty,
in every case their names corresponding to their
waterline lengths. It is not known how many Tens
and Twelves were produced – Andrew Thornhill
thinks no more than a hundred of either – but there
is an example of both at the Racing and River Boat
Museum at Pangbourne, and it is highly likely that a
new Ten will be built by Tim Loftus this winter.
Not surprisingly, the Fifteens have been much the
most popular of the Flying boats, with 4,042 now
built. It is thought that four Twenties were built, one
of which was last seen in south east England a few
years ago. There have been several Twenty Fives,
including a cruising version that was last heard of in
North America, and a GRP boat called Flying Fox
built in Australia seven years ago.
There is just one Thirty Five, another Flying Fox,
built in the same year as Huff, which is thought to
have been recently sold in Croatia. There have been
no Forties or Forty Fives, and the only Fifty was
broken up after foundering in Florida about eight
years ago. And the only Flying Thirty ever built
is Huff of Arklow.BEKEN OF COWESHUFF OF ARKLOW
Bridgman’s best memory is of a visit to the Royal St
George YC. “I knew that the club had a half model of
Huff and a full size portrait of Douglas Heard, and for
five years I dreamt of having a pint of Guinness while
sitting under the model and looking at Huff on a
mooring outside. And that’s what I did – several times!”
Soon after the Irish trip, I joined Huff for a sail from
Cremyll. As I watched the crew hoist the sails, I was
struck by Huff’s disproportionately small sail plan, but
as soon as she got underway I could see from her
impressive turn of speed – and, in particular, her
acceleration in the gusts – that she had all the sail she
needed. She is, after all, a light boat. The wind was
blowing between 13 and 20 knots, and in the lulls she
was well balanced and surprisingly un-twitchy for a boat
with such a keel configuration. In the gusts she developed
some noticeable weatherhelm but Bridgman assured me
a reef would restore the balance.
She still has her original roller reefing gear – her spars,
too, are probably original – but Bridgman has now fitted
slab reefing because he thinks it better suits her new
mainsail. On the wind, the leeward rail aft was
permanently submerged – if the rail on the raised section
gets wet, it’s definitely time to reef.
Other changes to the rig include moving the inner
forestay aft, to allow its chainplate to be fitted to a
bulkhead and the headsail to tack more easily; the
runners have been moved aft and now share the headsail
sheet winches, to make them more effective and
hopefully reduce the load that the masthead backstay
puts on the counter; and the boom has been extended so
that the mainsheet can be taken to a track aft of the
cockpit, which is now clearer for crew.
Huff is now ready, and in a better position than ever,
to resume her role as a platform for RYA training and to
race with charter guests in classic regattas. “Particularly
for sailors who will appreciate her performance and her
history,” said Barbara. What is certain is that wherever
Huff goes, she will be noticed, for her unusual looks and
for her turn of speed, just as she was in Dublin Bay in
1951, and that will give her custodians welcome
opportunities to share her story with others.
LOA
45ft (13.7m)
LW L
30ft (9.1m)
BEAM
9ft (2.7m)
DRAUGHT
7ft (2.1m)
SAIL AREA
45.2m^2 (487sq ft)
DISPLACEMENT
8.5 tonsHUFF OF
ARKLOW