Reader Nick Runeckles has nearly fi nished a three-year restoration of his Fairey
Atalanta 31 Zambra. The eccentric-looking, sloop-rigged boat was designed
in 1961 by Fairey Marine along the lines of Uff a Fox's Atalanta 26, of which
hundreds were built in the 1950s and 60s. The lifeboat appearance and centre
cockpit were part of the design brief – to make a light trailer-sailer as seaworthy
and safe as a traditional yacht – a brief that was, by all accounts, fulfi lled. Only 13
of the 31s were built. The unusual features include vertical (‘whipstaff ’) steering,
twin hydraulic keels and the hot-moulded Agba hull. “She represents a moment in
post-war British boatbuilding: the divergence of wooden and GRP methods,” says
Nick, who has taken Zambra back to bare wood, installed a new engine and
revised propshaft, replaced much rot and repainted ready for completion.GREENWICH, LONDON
Atalanta restoration nearly fi nishedC/O THE OWNERWOODEN PASSENGER FERRY
FISHING BOAT
IPPLEPEN, DEVON
Devon Wooden Boats works on two 'oldest' craft
Left: the 1860 yacht Cleone.
Top: Britain’s oldest operational wooden
passenger ferry. Above: Southern Angler