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New lid for HalcyonMAINE, USA
Fish Class
rebuildYard News
C/O WHITTLE MARINEJANE KURKO, C/O ARTISAN BOATWORKSC/O COCKWELLSMore like this at classicboat.co.uk/category/yard-newsYARMOUTH, IOWNew XOD to start build
A new, timber XOD yacht is already
lofted out and will start taking
shape this spring. When launched,
she will be the fi rst professionally
built, class-approved X boat built
since Princess Jalina, launched
from Lallows (IoW) in 1989. In fact,
Princess Jalina, undergoing some
remedial work, is sitting next to the
pencilled lines of the new X.
At the centre of it all is Nick
Whittle (Whittle Marine) who, with
his team of three, has been looking
after the X fl eet for a decade,
carrying out all jobs from bottom
scrubbing to serious rebuilds.
These days, Whittle Marine
looks after around 30 of the boats,
and a new one has been Nick’s
dream for some time. She would be
(give or take – it’s a long story!) hull
number 200, and Nick’s hope is
that she could be taken to boat
shows to act as a class
ambassador, reinvigorating it for
the next century.Man with a plan:
Nick WhittleDespite the class’s popularity
(the XODs are not only a symbol of
the Solent but the most enduringly
popular class at Cowes Week) andthe strong secondhand market,
Nick has received serious interest in
the new boat already – despite its
inevitably high price tag in the
£50,000-£60,000 region. Nick is
holding off any pre-completion
purchase, however, to retain
complete control of the build
process – the boat will, after all, act
as his calling card.
Nick is hoping not only for
new-build orders, but orders for
hulls (at about half the price of the
complete boat) from owners with
tired hulls but good rigs.
The new boat will be carvel
mahogany on steamed oak
timbers, with an iroko keelson and
deadwood (the originals were elm),
and copper riveted.
The X One Design, drawn by
Alfred Westmacott more than a
century ago, is a 20ft 8in (6.3m)
three-man racing keelboat,
originally gaff , but these days with
a bermudan sloop rig.Cockwells in Cornwall has continued with wooden boat
restoration, despite its more recent activity in the luxury
motor yacht and superyacht tender market. This is the
28ft (6m) gaff cutter Halcyon built in St Ives in 1905, one
of three the same. She's seen here ready to receive a
new deck. A new keel will follow.Observe the dishy shape of NG
Herreshoff 's popular 20ft 9in
(6.3m) Fish Class gaff sloop. This
one, Sculpin, is hull number 816,
which gives a clue to the class's
popularity. Sculpin was built in
1916 which makes her a century
old this year; what better way to
celebrate than a deep restoration?
A centennial re-launch is planned
for this spring at Bristol RI. This
makes Artisan Boatworks a yard
in a hurry. “The Fish is a husky
boat – like a larger 12^1 / 2 ," says
Artisan’s Alec Brainerd. Her
eventual destination is Nantucket.