CCraftsmanshipraftsmanship
86 CLASSIC BOAT NOVEMBER 2017MATT AUSTINEdited by Ste an Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758
Email: ste [email protected]
Yard NewsBill Tra ord, who won the ‘Spirit of Tradition under 40ft’ category
in our last awards, is at it again. Bill, AKA Alchemy Marine, turns
end-of-life GRP hulls with beautiful shapes but often
unattractive cabin trunks, into spectacular, small, spirit-of-
tradition yachts. Most of these hulls from the 60s and 70s are
built to a quality rarely produced today, and Bill's ‘water to
wine’ treatment is a cheaper option than a new, spirit-of-
tradition yacht – not to mention a nice way of saving on landfi ll!
The latest project is for a GRP version of an Alan Buchanan-
designed Coleen, a 1950s yacht similar to the Spartan. The
donor boat, which Bill bought on Ebay, is an Elizabethan 29.After 17 years inland at Glandford, Norfolk, Neil Thompson Boats is
moving to Wells-next-the-Sea. “It’s a sad move, but our new o ce
has a sea view!” Richenda Thompson told Classic Boat. The new site
will give the family company a more visible coastal location.
Neil Thompson Boats builds the beautiful Norfolk range of GRP
classic dinghies, dayboats and small yachts: the 13ft (4m) Urchin,
17ft (5.2m) Oyster (and motor derivative, the Explorer), 20ft (6.1m)
Gypsy and 25ft (7.6m) Smuggler. More recently, it has become a
Honda outboard dealership too. The spiritual home of its boats is
Blakeney Harbour nearby.MALLOW, CO CORK, IRELAND
Alan Buchanan 'Spartan' in GRPNORTH NORFOLK
New home for Neil ThompsonSHMH“It’s a sad
move, but our
new o ce
has a sea
view!"DAWLISH, DEVONBurnett boat nearly done
As retirement boatbuilding projects go, this one is way beyond
the norm. We reported last year on Mike Ludgrove’s huge project
to build a 54ft (17m) bermudan cutter yacht to a design by the
late Ed Burnett. The decade-long project is now nearly fi nished,
waiting just for upholstery and sails; launch should be in spring
next year. The spec is second to none: the deck and everything
above it is in Burma teak salvaged from a 19th-century cotton mill
near Mumbai. “It came in 8m [26ft] lengths and is the oiliest teak
I've ever encountered,” said Mike. The lead for the 13.5-ton keel came
from the roof of Exeter Cathedral. The 28-tonne, long-keel, carvel
yacht, in glassed Douglas fi r planking, has mahogany frames, an
iroko keelson and a Douglas fi r rig. Mike, 62, aims to spend a year
chartering Helena, then a season sailing with disadvantaged
youths, something Mike benefi ted from in his own youth. After
that, Mike and his wife will sail in the wake of Odysseus in the
Med, then around the world.CB353 Yard News.indd 86 26/09/2017 13:33