Dear David
John Davies suggested I get in touch with you to try and discover what my late father's boat is. I hope that it isn't an imposition. I have had a look at the VYMG website and seen some models that are similar in parts, and a technical drawing that had a similar keel but I am no expert. John Davies felt she might be a 36R. She is 36" long. I have attached a few photos. She is very lightly built above the keel. The photos include sails, the masted one is probably from another model boat, a Norfolk clinker built one that was given to my father in the 30s.

She has languished in my parents loft and my grandparents loft prior to that. The damaged deck was the result of my brother and I attempting to do some enthusiastically ignorant renovating 35 yrs ago...

My father was very fond of her, having built and sailed her himself back in the late 30s early 40s probably in Sheffield, Lincoln and Cheltenham. I don't know if she was a kit or built solely from drawings. My father did talk of a self steering mechanism and John referred to a Braine set up.
She is going to be restored albeit not by me. Any thoughts on what she is and how she should be rigged would be most helpful.

Many thanks for any help you can give.
Cheers
Will

Hi Will
Thanks for the sight of this one. She may well be a 36R. The general style looks about right for a boat from the 1930s. The class was created in 1930 and before 1939 most boats had overhangs like yours. Only later did they develop into snub ended maximum lwl beasts. The hull has to fit inside a box 36 x 9 x 11 inches and the complete boat must not weigh more than 12 pounds. The layout suggests that she had a Braine gear originally, though it's not clear whether there is still a rudder post exiting above the deck for it to be mounted on.

The use of individual planks for the deck is unusual. It must have been almost impossible to keep her watertight, even when she was new. The sails look about right for a modestly rigged boat. There is no sail area restriction in the Rule, so competitive boats developed a very wide range of alternative rigs to suit all wind strengths. I think that if restored, a suit based on the dimensions of the sails you  have ought to allow her to be sailed on most days without embarrassment.

Russell Potts