Boat of the Show?

Wood is good.
You have to go to some fairly exotic composites before you can beat the engineering properties of wood.
It is renewable* easy to repair etc etc.
Sure it is not always the most robust material, but modern coating systems have done a huge amount to rectifty this.

Plus, whilst remembering that the purpose of the yacht (or windsurf board..) is to give pleasure to the yachtsman, there is little to match the warmth, uniquity and soul of a boat containing timber.

Obviously we now live in a world where we all have approximately 127 seconds of free time each week, so homebuilding kits, and legacy designs from back in the days of homebuilding kits are perhaps less applicable. However there will always be a market for new all wood boats, and there will always be enthusiasts who will enjoy the intoxicating thrill of moving across the water in a vessel that they have built.

And how about mixing the best of both worlds? Structural wood veneers in female moulded FRP products is crossing over from windsurf boards, giving the personality of the wooden boat, with the robustness and low maintenance of an FRP boat.

The (admittedly not quite finished) purple A Rater at the show that we built being a good example of this. Esoteric class, certainly, but thoroughly modern thinking, materials and techniques.

Originally posted by Guest#260 Originally posted by G.R.F. Personal taste.. Grumpfs; I'd have thought you more than most would be thankful for the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder

yes, I have now seen grumpf in real life

I'm totally familiar with the use of wood in modern construction, poplar
for snowboards, with ash sections to fit the binding to, veneers in surf
and windsurf boards, bamboo as I said before is the wonder green
material of the age, woven into cloth it even has anti bacteriological
properties which means you can make for example boardshorts that don't
give you jock itch if you wear them longer than you should. It can be
grown in volume quickly from an amazingly small footprint, very green
indeed.

But for the most part, 'they' don't do that do 'they'? When they're not totally
blocking the cause way with their doddery old trailer they build antiques
for reasons that are totally selfish..

Using wood materials that are not necessarily renewable that quick, but
whatever, each to 'is own, but should they be encouraged with trophies is
my point..


Edited by G.R.F.

Interesting readinga and Rick is right. It is in the eye of the beholder. Having wondered around looking at the build quality of various builders/fleets, felt that there were more classes making that extra effort (how many Scorpions). Pogie the Firefly looked fantastic but the outside of the hull has yet to be finished according to Jono Pank.

Nobody mention Glenn Truswell's I14 on the Hyde stand. Some great inovations and very well finished. Also liked Ben's as well.

Merlins, well always well presented and up there. Thats the standard the class maintain.

Other wooden boats, to many to list that looked really good but the Harlken Scorpion did it for me in wood if looking at modern and wood.

Good show and only downside was getting out of London

Originally posted by G.R.F. Seriously why would you waste a complete bit of your life hand riveting some clinker built replica fishing boat from 1732 together and fitting it with sails.

Seen lurking in the back of the RS factory - a 'one-off' RS100 Wood' - a
special for a Uk customer who plans to sail on the South Coast. Its almost
finished, they just had to pop into town for another bag of copper tingles
to rivet on the side wings ! Apparently the boys are really pleased with the
Sapele foredeck - they reckon the 20 coats of traditional yacht varnish
should be almost tack free by the time it gets to the Uk - but the animal
glue and caulking is going to need a bit of time to dry
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Edited by ChrisC