I would be interested to know more about this model. It was given to me in the late 1950s in much the same state as it appears in the photograph and enjoyed a brief renaissance with sails made from parachute silk. This chapter came to an end when I discovered girls and the model has languished in a succession of lofts and garages since, losing its sails and breaking its mast. Before it was given to me I can remember seeing (and coveting) it at the back of a neighbours garage in West Hagley, Worcestershire and my understanding at the time was that the yacht had been in the garage when the neighbour bought the property some years previously.

The model is 57 inches long with a beam of 15 inches. Keel to masthead is 77 inches and it weighs around 25 pounds. Construction is planks of alternating woods and the hull is lined inside with a red fabric. The original fittings are brass except for the collars on the mast and the spreaders (now lost) which are aluminium castings.

Pure speculation on my part is that the unusual keel arrangement is an attempt to manipulate some rating rule, hence my guess that this might be an A class yacht built by an individual enthusiast.

 

Reply from Russell Potts:

This is a boat from the 1890-1910 period. Both the twin fin and the hull form, even the zebra planking, are all typical of the period.
It is almost certainly to the Length and Sail Area Rule, (see under history/rules on the web site), but the size suggests that she may possibly be a 15 rater, rather than a 10-r.
The lining is again a typical feature of planked models both then and later. The rig would almost certainly have been a simple high peaked gaff main and single jib, like the drawing in the LSA Rules piece.

 

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