Classic Boat — January 2018

6 CLASSIC BOAT JANUARY 2018

GLENDHU

Above: owner Ian

Wilkinson gets

the coffee on.

Glendhu’s interior

was transformed

by a bright set of

cushions made

by Phoebe

Radula-Scott at

the Underfall

Yard in Bristol

Right: the rig, at

360sqft, is 35%

bigger than the

original Glen

class rig

I

an Wilkinson was browsing the classified ads in

Classic Boat when four words jumped out at him:

“Broken heart forces sale”. The picture next to

the text showed an elegant bermudan sloop, with

low cabin, a tall fractional rig and a pretty

counter stern. She was clearly a classic, a proper

mini-yacht – possibly even a Fife or similar – and

evocative of a bygone era. But what was this about a

broken heart, and what did it have to do with that

undoubtedly beautiful boat? “Needs remedial work,”

said the ad. Could that be a clue?

Ian rang the number and spoke to the yacht’s then

owner – also called Ian – and heard the full story.

Glendhu, as the boat was called, was built by the Glen

Boatyard in Bangor, Northern Ireland. She was hull

number 22 of the Glen Class, a popular cruiser/racer

designed by Alfred Mylne. With spoon bows and short

counter sterns, giving 7ft of overhangs on a 25ft hull, the

boats were a sensible compromise of beauty vs speed.

They were also fast and dry, according to a contemporary

report and proved ‘somewhat faster’ than Dragons racing

in light airs, though in stronger winds the Dragons’

longer waterline length allowed them to ‘have it their

own way’. Although the class started in Northern Ireland,

it eventually migrated south and by the late 1960s there

was a healthy fleet of Glens racing off Dublin. The boats

are still raced regularly, with 15 boats active on

Strangford Lough and a similar number off Dun

Laoghaire.

Glendhu was one of a handful of Glens that went to

mainland Britain – mainly Wales, Scotland and the

English east coast. Her original owner was a Mrs MJ

Sadd from Essex, who paid £495 for the boat and took

delivery on 5 April 1950. Her new acquisition was

painted pale blue.

The boat’s history becomes hazy for the next few

years, though we do know that by 1967 she was still on

the east coast, on the River Deben, where Mike Peel

bought her for £1,200. He kept her in Maldon for several

years before he and his family moved to Hampshire and

started sailing her from the Hamble. Despite the boat’s

cramped accommodation, the family, including two

young children and a dog, sailed her up and down the

south coast, often basing themselves in Dartmouth for the

summer holidays. The engine was a Seagull outboard

clamped on a bracket attached to the stern of the boat,

although Mike did install a small Simpson Laurence

heads. These were happy times, although Mike admits

the boat was a bit ‘soft in the gunwale’ by the time he

sold her in 1979.

Thirty years is a long time in the life of a wooden boat,

and by the time we catch up with Glendhu in 2009, her

circumstances were distinctly less happy.

“I met the previous owner of Glendhu while sailing

with a mutual friend in summer 2009,” says Ian Royston,

who had recently completed a 10-year restoration of the

1897 William Fife gaff cutter Whimbrel (see CB253).

“He mentioned he had a 25ft yacht which had fallen over

on her starboard leg in the Helford river, cracking a few

frames and stoving in some planks. He had been advised

by several boatbuilders she was only fit for the chainsaw.

I offered him help but did not hear back until mid-winter,