CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016 39M
atthew and Pip Gordon have always had
a connection to the river. Living close to
the Thames at Henley their interest had
mainly been rowing, but they had always
wanted a larger boat, that could be enjoyed by the whole
family and their friends. When Pip’s father, John, died, he
left them a small legacy and they decided to use it to
create something he would have appreciated.
But it had to be something special. Something with
classic style and looks, that they fell in love with. They
looked at traditional day boats and modern Chris Craft,
but none of them seemed to fit the bill.
Then chance took them to Dennett Boatbuilders on
Laleham Reach. Mike and his son Steve have always
looked out for potential restoration projects, and their
yard is an elephant’s graveyard of slumbering wooden
hulls, waiting to stir the imagination of the right owner.By coincidence they had the hull of a 1930s Chris
Craft outside. It had been found abandoned on the
Sharpness Canal at Saul by Daniel Bristow, about to be
cut up by the Environment Agency. Daniel thought the
Dennetts might be interested and, never wanting to let a
potential classic die, they bought it, sight unseen.
When it arrived on a lorry, it was indeed a disaster,
without a single sound plank. But under the homemade
plywood cabin was a hull that was totally 1930s
American. The bluff stem, high foredeck and sweeping
destroyer sheerline looked unmistakeable – a cross
between a Prohibition-era rum-runner, and a decadent
Twenties party boat.
Chris Craft was the predominant builder of the time,
and a search through its records produced a perfect
match. The overall length, sheerline, and positioning of
the portholes identified this as a 29ft Semi EnclosedCasino Royale is a 1930s Chris Craft
now restored with an electric engine
STIRRED BUT
NOT SHAKEN
Facing page:
With the original
engine replaced
by an electric
motor under the
floor, the whole
of the cockpit
can now be used
for seatingALL PHOTOS: EMRHYS BARRELL (YARD SHOTS: DENNETTS)