CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016 27HATHOR
work very well, especially with a strong following wind,
although once you get the wind tighter than abeam it can
end up blowing you sideways.”
The concluding phase of internal restoration work
took place during the following winter with the aid of
copies of the original drawings held by the Norfolk
Record Office. A year after Hathor officially joined
WYC’s fleet, the Broads Authority sponsored a
recreation of her original launching ceremony at
Reedham on 6 April 1989. The descendants of the
people who attended the 1905 event were invited
together with all of the people involved in her
restoration. The Broads Authority’s financial support
proved to be the beginning of a mutually beneficial
relationship between the two organisations. Under the
leadership of the late Professor Aitken Clark, the Broads
Authority saw the wherries as important assets that
could be used in support of its work to promote boating
on the Broads and the area’s rich heritage. They
effectively became the region’s flagships and were
routinely used by the Authority to introduce influential
visitors to the wonders of the Broads. The Authority also
helped introduce the wherries to a wider audience byAbove: Hathor
takes the Bishop
of Norwich
towards St
Benet’s Abbey for
the annual
open-air service.
Left: This travel
case once
belonged to Ethel
Colman and was
presented to
WYCCT for
Hathor’s
rededication
service in 2015Yacht Charter (WYC). Peter had tried to buy Hathor 11
years earlier, but his offer was firmly rejected by Jimmy
Brown who said that she was not for sale at any price, so
Peter bought Olive instead. The intrepid duo reached a
deal with Martham Boats in November 1985 and within
a month had towed her alongside Olive to Wroxham.
The passage of eight decades had taken its toll, especially
amidships, where the majority of the frames had
disintegrated within the vicinity of the hog. The interior
also required attention, not least, because the cabins and
corridor had been painted with blue paint which had to
be removed with gallons of paint stripper. Sadly, the
lower halves of the sycamore panels in the cabins
required replacement because they had succumbed to an
inevitable combination of warping, rot and woodworm.
On completion of the structural work, Hathor sailed
for the first time in over decade on 28 July 1987.
Describing the experience, Peter Bower explained, “She
is a dream in a light air and a beast in a breeze. Hathor
gets headed up quickly on open water. This is probably
because she is extremely light compared to a fully laden
trading wherry. To counter this problem, the wherrymen
had someone ready with a quant to help their wherry
through the wind – a technique I have always relied on.
In a breeze she has a lot of weather helm and you end up
with a sore back. Due to the prevailing weather patterns
of recent years, I usually sail with at least one reef and
cannot remember when I last used the bonnet, which can
be attached to the foot of the mail sail to increase its sail
area on days with just a flicker of wind.”
Peter continued, “In contrast, the use of the storm sail
has become a more frequent occurrence. Barney and I
thought it would be a rather useful to have one on board
each of our wherries. Therefore, we approached Jimmy
Lawrence of Brightlingsea to make three bermudan sails
with high up clews to prevent the mainsheet blocks
hitting people on the head in gusty conditions. They