I am speaking to the converted, by and large, when I say that we all think old wooden boats are special. OK, there may be some who take the magazine out of nostalgia for a long gone era; not only owners of Gib’ Seas and Beneteaus, but also RIBs and Sunseekers and even hovercraft or jetskis perhaps? And why not. Classic Boat is a broad church, and perhaps the sight of so much varnished mahogany might one day persuade you to mend your ways.
More likely you will have formed an unshakeable aversion to jetskis, a prejudice that unites us all. Mostly you will already have formed an attachment with something built in wood when wood was good, and an apprentice might knock you up a clinker dinghy in their tea break, and the yard owner charge £8-7s-6d on top of the £400 for the little 5-tonner.
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The Need For Speed
Saving lives at sea has always been bound to the speed of rescue, from the first rowing boats to the 60-knot, all-weather motorboats of today
ROW YOUR BOAT
There has been a steady rise in recreational rowing over the past few years, and the choice can be bewildering. What’s the right boat for you?
Traditional Tool
JOINER’S NAME STAMP
Classic misuse of a word
Real classic ownership involves rot, rust and reward
SCUD MISSILE
Herreshoff’s newly-restored Bar Harbor 31 Scud lit up the classic racing scene in the Med in 2020 with a double win at Cannes and Saint-Tropez
BOSUN'S BAG
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATER
DOUG LEEN - Tugboat man
Vietnam vet, park ranger, dentist, small-craft conservator and tugboat skipper.... meet Ranger Doug!
CHANCE TO SAVE AN Albert Strange yawl
Chances at Albert Strange ownership don’t come up often, and Sheila II is the quintessential Strange – and one with a great history, too
AFFORDABLE CLASSIC Salcombe Yawls
A friend and I once decided that walking might make a change from sailing. So we set forth to walk from Branscombe to Bigbury, a 100-mile stretch of the south-west coastal path marked by knackering climbs and knee-wrenching descents.
Cardiff, Wales - Save The Elena Maria Barbara!
A rare, 18th-century schooner replica, restored to the tune of around £1 million, could be abandoned if a buyer is not found soon.
