Please find attached some photos of my current project. This boat was given to me in the late 1960's by the chap who made her, a Mr Langford who lived near Timperly, South of Manchester. I was quite young, but recall he had a house full of various models he had made, from yacts to ocean liners. Over the years the boat has fallen into disrepair, and I am currently restoring her. I have the original boom and jib spar, and have made a new mast. The sails have been lost. The rig was Bermudan sloop, with a Braine gear steering system. Dimensions are length 36.5 inches, beam 7.5 inches and bottom of keel to deck 9 inches, overall weight without spars and sails a tad under 10lbs. Keel is lead. She was originally painted green undersides with cream topsides, and a varnished deck. It looks to me as though she has been carved out of a single pice of wood, at least I cannot find any obvious evidence of layering.

I thought she might be some kind of 36 class, but I've checked the length and it is a little over 36 inches- I don't know if this matters. The mast is rigged such that the positon can be altered fore and aft, so I suspect she was designed for racing. Any help you can offer on sail dimensions would be helpful, I can take a reasonable estimate of the foot length for both the main and jib from the original spars I this helps. If possible could you point me towards someone who could make these for me?

 

 

VMYG reply:

I don't think this is a 36 R. Too long, too shallow, too narrow and too light. Date looks like the 1930s in design terms, but could of course be built later from an old design. Sail dimensions are going to be a question of trial and error, but you should aim to keep the rig within the length of the boat and go for a fore triangle about 80% of the height of the main. Mast height not more that 40-45 inches. Try a quick and dirty suit of sails in plastic bin liner and sticky tape before you spend time making decent sails. Try it an d cut the sails about until she balances.RP