Mike de St Paer has been busy finishing the renovation of an 1890’s (ish) 20 rater. According to VMYG, this class pre-dated the 10 tonner Class, replicas of which are still made by Grove Pond Yachts
Before completing this renovation, the boat was sailed at the informal VMYG day organised by Club Captain Andrew Peter and Mike was pleased to see that she didn’t sink. Even though there aren’t many original boats from this era still surviving, it’s good to know that model yacht racing goes back this far. Mike provided the following additional information:
The hull, which is the only part I got, is made from a single block of wood – possibly some kind of cedar – but quite lightweight.
The rig, sails and fittings were long gone and the deck was sadly too damaged to recover. The hull had longitudinal cracks, probably from being stored under something heavy but, as it was recovered from a small IOW boatyard, who knows.
All if these boat types, including the later 10 tonners, were notorious for sailing on their beam ends. This also applied to the full size yachts on which they were modelled.
I’ve compromised by building in a casing so that she can be sailed with a fin keel but still look correct for display. Ballast has been adjusted to maintain the displacement and trim fore and aft.
This also makes it much easier to transport and handle. I don’t think the VMYG hierarchy approve, but the mod is easily reversible and enables the boat to sail well.
Mike is also happy to answer any queries on the boat.
