Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

BOATSBOATS

Class associations

Peter K Poland praises the unsung heroes of the yachting world

Since there is no marine equivalent of an

MOT to warn of imminent problems, it is

up to the owner to keep an eye on all

aspects of his yacht. Anyone looking to

buy on the second-hand market should

engage a surveyor to make sure he’s not

buying a pup and get a professional

opinion on the condition of all the

important parts. But after signing the

cheque he’s on his own – especially if the

original builder no longer exists.

Well... almost on his own. Some foreign

builders have survived for many decades

so can still supply technical advice and

spare parts for older models, albeit with

varying degrees of efficiency and

occasionally at steep prices.

But sadly for the owners of thousands of

British cruising yachts produced from the

1960s to the 1990s, most of their builders

are no longer around.

But all is not lost. Owners and new

buyers will find that virtually every type of

production yacht has a class association.

And these associations are the unsung

heroes of the modern sailing world. Aided

and abetted by modern IT and social

media, they provide a lively and effective

‘hub’ through which association members

can pick up news, share queries, seek

solutions to problems and learn about

class events and social gatherings.

What’s more, by visiting an association

website, prospective buyers of second-

hand boats can form a thorough picture of

almost any model afloat – old or new,

warts and all. And if he likes what he sees,

many association websites have listings of

second-hand yachts for sale.

Creating a virtuous circle

At Hunter Boats, I soon wised up to the

value of these associations. There are two

main types: class associations set up for

One Design keelboats or cruiser-racers,

and owners’ associations catering for

family cruising models.

The association handling the National

Squib keelboat that we moulded for

designer Oliver Lee was already up and

running in the late 1960s. So we used this

as a template for the Hunter 19/Europa

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter K Poland crossed the

Atlantic in a 7.6m (25ft) Wind

Elf in 1968 and later spent

30 years as co-owner

of Hunter Boats. He

is now a freelance

journalist and

PR consultant

W

hen I was a boatbuilder,
people often asked me
how long a fibreglass
hull would last. My
somewhat flippant reply
was ‘provided it doesn’t sink like a stone
or burn to a cinder it will probably outlive
its original builder and its current owner.’
Of course a yacht needs regular
maintenance, occasional repairs and
sooner or later its engine and elements of
the rig will need replacing. And anything
that moves – especially parts that live in
salt water such as lifting keel mechanisms

• are likely to need extra attention.