Classic Boat — February 2018

Craftsmanship

CLASSIC BOAT FEBRUARY 2018 85

C/O ASHLEY BUTLER

Edited by Steffan Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758

Email: [email protected]

Yard News

Ex-Meissner sales rep and Classic Boat contributor Ron Valent has set up a new winch factory alongside British

engineer Harry Cowley and German engineer Ede Neufeld. Classic winches made by Meissner, and later

Holmatro, grace the decks of among many others Dorade, Hallowe’en, Mariquita and Lulworth.

Ron's new venture, The Classic Winch Company, will be available for service, repair and upgrade of these

winches. Holmatro ceased producing its classic range some years ago.

“Harry and Ede are highly skilled engineers with years of experience in wind turbine motors and custom parts

for racing car engines,” said Ron. “They have come up with many improvements in a series of new classic

winches and can also upgrade originals with better gearing and fully sealed bearings and gears.

“Many classic yachts have winches from forgotten makers that are part of the history and charm of the yacht.

We can give them a new lease of life.”

The new company is busy with winter maintenance on some huge winches from the schooners Germania

Nova and Mariette. It is also building the first new winches for some 6-Ms and 8-Ms and a 57ft (17.4m) S&S yawl.

The fledgling company will move to a new, 2,000m^2 (21,500sq ft) facility in Bielefeld this January.

BIELEFELD, GERMANY

Launch of a one-stop shop for classic winches

RON VALENT

CORNWALL

Yachts, ferries, dinghies and more at Butler & Co

Things are busy at the Butler & Co yard on the Fal

estuary, with a good number of projects on the go.

Firstly, there is a 38ft (11.6m) Norman Dallimore-

designed cruising yacht of 1938, Bandor. She’s

having a new stem section, deck recaulk, and

replacement keelson and floors. The owners will do

the paint and varnish themselves, and she’ll be out

sailing again in spring.

The second big project is a new, wooden 41ft

(12.5m) passenger ferry for the Thomas family of

Tenby in Wales. It’s Butler & Co’s second such vessel

for the Tenby fleet, having built Foam a decade ago.

She’s to a Nigel Irens design, built of iroko planks on

an oak basket and work on her centreline has just

begun. She’s also due to be operational by spring or

early summer.

A big job to a small boat has been carried out on

Martlet, a much-loved RNSA 14 dinghy, the type

used by the Royal Navy for sail training, and which

featured in the recent Swallows and Amazons film.

Butler & Co is rebuilding the hull while keeping as

much of the original, including fittings, as possible.

“This has literally involved removing and

renovating all fittings, thwarts, centreboard case,

stem, transom, then building a new [clinker] hull

incorporating some of the original planks,” said

the yard’s Holly Latham.

Add to that a bit of TLC to Wizard and Captain

Nat, the two tenders belonging to the schooner

Mariette (now undergoing the fourth stage of a refit

at nearby Pendennis Shipyard), and a couple of

other jobs, and it’s still “all go at Butler & Co”.

Clockwise from top: Martlet’s jig and old hull removed; the dinghy Tribute

refinished; Bandor’s new keelson and replaced ballast keel