Auction of historic dinghies |
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Rupert ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: 12 Jul 17 at 8:07pm |
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There are quite a few boats in the auction I restored nearly 25 years ago. Very sad to see what is happening now.
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Paramedic ![]() Really should get out more ![]() Joined: 27 Jan 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 929 |
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The trouble is that the majority of these have no value as sailing dinghies, they are, or will be, ornaments. They should definitely be preserved by someone, but that someone is not going to be a private individual it wants a charity setting up or the RYA to get involved.
But the first hurdle is a realistic price for the collection, i don't think any of those are worth thousands and most not even hundreds!
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Chris 249 ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 10 May 04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2041 |
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What we are is actually much LESS worried about our history than other sports. Look at car racing and you'll see that a historic racing car can sell for 20 million pounds. Look at road cycling, a growing sport, and you'll see museums and even chapels dedicated to the history of the sport. Edited by Chris 249 - 13 Jul 17 at 8:44am |
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sailcraftblog.wordpress.com
The history and design of the racing dinghy. |
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Chris 249 ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 10 May 04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2041 |
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Commiserations, and many thanks for your work in the past.
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sailcraftblog.wordpress.com
The history and design of the racing dinghy. |
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fab100 ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
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funny that, in contrast, if someone put up a cache of pre-war F1 cars, the valuations would be stratospheric. Those 14s, whether you understand so or not, are the dinghy equivalent of a Bugatti found rusting in a barn. Equally useless in utility terms of course, but collecting is a bit (totally?) mad; look at the values of some Beanie Babies (sadly not those abandoned by my daughter) or original Spiderman comics like those my mother threw away without consulting me. It all relies on a bigger-fool splashing more when the collector wants to cash in. And i think you'll find 80% of dinghies sailed/raced these days are plastic. Even your beloved Merlins now acknowledge the foam-core FRP ones are miles faster.
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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That is precisely the point, in all other walks of life time has moved on, so people do look back nostalgicly to what went before. Dinghy sailing has sadly for the most part, not moved on. Solo's, Merlins, Streakers, GP's, Enterprises, Larks.. They're all still current and even the modern latter day equivalents from RS are just GRP versions of an old class, or you have elite extremes open to no-one without years of practise, with a cursory patronising polyethylene dumpster offered to anyone new... Edited by iGRF - 13 Jul 17 at 9:49am |
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fab100 ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
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If you could show Uffa Fox (equivalent to Fangio and Enzo Ferrari combined) the man behind some of those 1930s (made with wood planks riveted onto wood ribs, metal plate plus cotton sails on wooden spars) a modern 14 or even Merlin, built in carbon or foam-sandwich FRP with carbon spars, modern sails, with adjustable everything, he'd violently disagree. In performance terms it'd be interesting to be able to compare the performance gains around the track of F1 cars and an Int14 since the 1930s. I'd guess in straight line speed gain the boats would have advanced most by far, but the cars will have benefited from tyre advances and downforce in their corners. On the Ents and GPs, yes, superficially, they look the pretty much the same, but more to the point, if you could wipe them all out, what would your ideal replacement look like? Probably, superficially, pretty much the same thing. And an Ent or GP is equivalent to an Austin A40, not an F1 car. How different, in these terms is an A40 to a Fiesta. Engine at front, 2 doors at sides, 4 seats, big door at back. Same ol' same ol'.
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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OK lets' take the Austin A40, I once drove one to Germany in 1970 it took lots of petrol and 2 gallons of oil, I had a transistor radio scooting about the dashboard trying to stay tuned to radio luxemburg and I had to frequently stop to check my map or wind down the window to ask someone the way. Meanwhile Jack Holt was what?Just moving from his Solo into a Streaker and a Laser was about to be launched costing about the same price as my A40 if I bought a newer model.
So now I drive down the lake with fourwheel drive, abs, acr, gps, dab radio, internet access, a/c, electric sunroof, electric windows, google maps telling me the traffic's a bit busy and my journey will be 14 mins one way or I could try another and it will take 13minutes, then when I get there I ask what boat I should be sailing and they tell me Streaker, if I choose to go to Hythe&Stupid SC they'll tell me Laser, so what were you saying about the sport moving on? Edited by iGRF - 13 Jul 17 at 11:44am |
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JimC ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6660 |
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I met someone who'd sailed with Uffa back in the 20s at the Dinghy Exhibition (Sailboat) many years ago. He was complaining that the boats were far too heavy. Fortunately I was on the Cherub stand.
Things have moved on, and the list of most popular classes has changed. At least we're not in the the ridiculous situation we were in, I think it was late 80s or early 90s, when the GP14 was the biggest *racing* class in the country. I used to say at the time, if you'd said to Jack Holt in 1949 "the boat you design today will be the biggest racing class in the country in 40 years time" it would have looked very different. To be honest the thing that worries me most about present boats is that so many classes seem to me unnecessarily expensive. That seems to me a dangerous trend. |
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iGRF ![]() Really should get out more ![]() ![]() Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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Boats are far too heavy and only Martin Wadhams appears to be listening. Those dunderheads in the Contender class, when are they going to get it?
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