The John Westell Centenary, Part 5: FiveOs, fast multi-hulls and faster cars!

The John Westell Centenary, Part 5 © Dougal Henshall

This fifth and final programme in the series celebrating the centenary of John Westell kicks off with the 5o5, but now with John not so much as the designer but as the first volume builder of GRP FiveOs in the UK.

The programme then looks at John's work in the new field of GRP, which took him out of his comfort zone of small boats and into such diverse fields as racing cars to 50ft yachts.

At heart though John was a designer, with many, though not all of his boats featured here. Also featured are some of John's many offshore multi-hulls, with mention of his competition in the Round Britain and Ireland races in the 1970s.

The programme closes out by taking us back to the 5o5 because if you are going to leave a legacy for the sport, then the most complete all-round boat is certainly something to be remembered for - 100 years on.

Links to the rest of the series:

• The John Westell Centenary, Part 1: The early years
• The John Westell Centenary, Part 2: An eye for design
• The John Westell Centenary, Part 3: A crown made for sailing
• The John Westell Centenary, Part 4: Happy One Hundred to John Westell