Gyles Marine – 8M
Refurbishing classic wooden boats has been a long-standing partnership with Gyles Marine in Thornbury, Ontario. Many of these vessels from the 1920’s have been shown various amount of love and neglect over the years and need significant attention. With modern sails and hydraulics putting more stress on the hull, rigging, and chainplates there is often the need for redesign and engineering.
Projects include:
Gefion 2015 – (Modern 8M) Refit with mast details, forestay, running backstay reinforcement, rating optimization.
Bangalore 2014 – Cockpit modification, chainplate rebuild, interior redesign, rating optimization.
Raven 2008 – (photo at left) Major cockpit rework, mast and boom, chainplate, forestay fitting, rating optimization, hull fairing, running backstay support, main winch pods, and hull graphics. After her refit Raven has won the 8M Sera Cup World Championship for 5 consecutive years.
Quest – 8M
Quest was designed by William Fife III in 1929 as design number 777. Over the years various modifications have taken her away from the original form. The goal of this project was to return the cabin to a more traditional shape, enlarge the cockpit, return the keel to her launch profile, optimize the rating and reinforce many structural areas. The work was performed at French and Webb in Belfast, Maine and included new chainplates, many new planks, reinforced traveller and running backstays, and a new mast. The result is a stunningly beautiful and functional yacht.
“To Life” 50′
This is the second boat designed for John Daniells of Midland, Ontario. John is a keen racer, but also a metal fabricator, so aluminum was the only choice for construction. Built in the back of his shop over a period of 8 years, the workmanship is superb. Interior details are primarily aluminum with a circular theme – including a round-ended galley, nav table and head. The boat is raced on the Great Lakes, Ontario.
Nemeskeri 38′ Schooner 1997
This schooner is a custom wooden boat built by Covey Island Boatworks in Nova Scotia. The owner wanted to have significant input into the design and I was accommodating. He sails the boat singlehanded much of the time so systems were set up to streamline the sail handling. Having many smaller sails was a plus for shorthanded sailing. Many of the systems on the boat are duplicated as well – two engines, and backup navigation systems helped to focus the emphasis on safety at sea.
Robbins 35 1990
John Robbins was the owner, builder and inspiration for this boat. Always an inventor and tinkerer of sorts, John had built a smaller boat in wood and was keen to create a larger cruising/racing boat with the emphasis on cruising. He built his own computer controlled plotter/cutter before it was the fashion and plotted out the full size sections on plywood to build the female mold – the cedar strip construction was done inside those stations. His machine could also control a hot-wire to cut foam patterns. The final product is a wonderful boat.
Reliance 12M 1984
The Reliance 12M is indeed 12 metres long, but not a 12M in the America’s Cup sense. Pierre Meunier, the owner, builder and inspiration for Reliance Sailcraft had been building the Reliance 44, a cruising boat, for a number of years, but was enamoured with the long low sleek lines of the America’s Cup boats of the era. And so the design brief was simple – let’s get those same visuals in a smaller boat with a simple interior and slim hull.
Chariot 1982
A custom aluminum 40 footer designed for owner and builder Mr. John Daniells, Midland Ontario. Targeted for light air and raced competitively.
Phantom 1980
A custom 37 footer built for Mr. Bill Wilson of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club and built by Goman Boat, Midland, Ontario.
Express 20,30,35 (1979-1986)
My first commisions after leaving C&C Yachts in 1979 were for Express Yachts (then Goman Boat) and included the Express 20, 30 and 35 designed in conjunction with builder Bill Goman. The 20 (Shown to the right) was a nice little pocket racer/cruiser that excelled in light air. The 30 (shown at left) worked well for daysailing and week long cruises and had great success as a club racer. Ten of the low freeboard racing version, the 30M, were built.
The Express 35 has long been one of my favourite cruising/racing boats. Big enough for comfort for a family of four, but easy enough to handle with two.