I chanced on the vmyg website, and hope
that it is OK to contact you. I attach a pic. of a model yacht that
has been in my family for a very long time. I suspect that it was my
late father's when he was a boy, circa 1920-25, but it could be earlier.
He rigged it again in the early 1950's and I sailed it at around 10
yrs. of age then. I am 61 now !
The boat is 20.75 in. long and about 6 in. draught. The spars are the
originals, but the top of the mast is broken off, and the gaff is missing.
It was originally gaff rigged, but whether as a cutter or a sloop I
cannot be sure. I only sailed it as a sloop. It certainly had a bowsprit,
but this is now missing. The hull is constructed from one carved piece
of pine, and the keel is lead-tipped and screwed into the hull. The
rudder never had any connection to a tiller. The deck is 3/16 in. and
is one piece of softwood. The hull is nicely hollowed inside, with the
exception of the last 4 in. of the stern area, which is partially hollowed.
The mast was stayed with 3 shrouds per side, and a forestay. The faded
colours are black topsides to the waterline and what I gues was natural
varnish elsewhere. There are no sails now.
I would be interested in any opinion you might have about the age/origin
of this model. I would like to restore it carefully to sailing condition,
and wonder whether you have any hints/tips on this.
vmyg comment
The colour scheme
is very much like that used by Sugg, but the hull form is not quite
the standard Sugg form. Have a look at the Sugg page in our Toy boat
pages and see if other elements match up RP
Owners comment Thanks very much indeed for taking
the time and trouble to answer my queries about the boat, and for
entering it on the website "What is it" list. Looking at
the boats on that list, I am 99.9% sure that my boat is identical
to the two depicted under "Gaff Cutter"....3 items above
mine in the list. There are 2 boats depicted there. An 18 in waterline
one that has been restored, and a rather over-canvassed one that is
slightly larger. The (original) hull finish on the larger one, and
the configuration of hull, keel, lead weight, rudder shape, deck type
and standing rigging hull fittings on both boats are identical to
mine. I think all three were made by the same maker
vmyg (Anthony Warren)
Difficult to tell from the photos provided, but the give away is the
rudder of the lower cutter under 'Gaff Cutter' with its characteristic
narrow profile and protruding rudder stock with the metal tiller just
discernable against the planking background. Typical Sugg (see also
correspondence under 'Family Yacht'); and the colour scheme is a giveaway
though the profile is unusual for Sugg in my experience.
|