108 Boating New Zealand
ABOVE All sorts of activities and projects
happen at the the Friendly Boating Society –
and not necessarily with boats.
RIGHT Mike Harris has a few diferent
restoration projects on the go.
FAR RIGHT Coracles can be – and are –
fashioned from just about anything.can wander through and see what’s going on. We get people
from all over the world – lots of yachties drop in for a look. But
it can be hard to get any work done,” he admits.
“We were going to call the club the Classic and Traditional
North Otago Boat Society – but realised the acronym
(CATNOBS) was a bit ambiguous. ‘Friendly Bay’ refers to the
sheltered arc of land that verges the small harbour. We’re on a
rocky and inhospitable bit of coast – so I suppose any little bit
of shelter seemed friendly.”
Outside is a most unusual but beautifully varnished plywood
P Class on a trailer. “Tese are great little boats to sail when you’re
getting on a bit,” says John. “See – I put an extension on top of
the mast so you can raise the boom – then you don’t have to crawl
under it to go about.
“I race against the kids from the North Otago Yacht and Power
Boat Club at weekends – great fun, but I hate being beaten by
kids, so I have to sail a bit harder. It’s an old man’s P – and old Ps
are cheap as chips.”
Another odd boat in the Friendly Bay feet is a plywood,
hard-chine Flying 15 built by John Heard in Invercargill many
years ago. Te designer, Ufa Fox, was contacted in the UK and
replied with a cheery note of encouragement.CORACLES
But curraghs (coracles) are the form of boat that really excites
him the most. “Tey’re the most stable, minimal boat you can
build,” he says. “Tey’re the perfect shape to displace the water
required to support a human.”