When Did The First Grp Boats Arrive?.

[Turnoar]

The Mediterranean whilst at first glance ugly (if I’m thinking the right boott) was big enough to land a helicopter on? Did they go by the name adventuress or ing. I like the one that always used to turn up at Barton Regatta, Hermes? The green top focused the eye on just how much room there was up there to lay fishing rods, a sailing dinghy, 12 place settings etc. A practical regatta pontoon if ever I saw.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 hour ago, Pulsedc30 said:

Re the Dawncraft query mine was fitted out in 1969 by Herbert Woods "D703" 

have also seen around the broads D700 to D704 still around in various conditions.

 

Gary Pulse..

Hi Pulse,

We hired D700 twice in 89. She was then operated by Maffett Cruisers and named "MANDARIN".  She was pretty quick, and revved low for her speed (i think 7 mph at around 1,650 rpm), but rev out at over 2,000. We had fun on her.  The second time we hired her was in October that year, and came in to moor up on an ebbing spring tide at Gt Yarmouth YS. We really struggled against the tide then with over 2,000 pm, and only just making way. Watching the river flow, it looked like rapids when flowing over some rocks on the far bank.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

On 19/07/2018 at 18:10, trambo said:

Much of this needs substantiating(marked *)  but I believe the first composite fibreglass hire cruiser was Conway Bridge from Bridge Craft at Acle which dated to1958 (*) and was similar in design to their Clifton Bridge. The first fibreglass hulled cruisers from a Blakes yard were the Ambassadors from the NBYC at Wroxham in 1961, which was also the year Windboats launched the Tradewinds with their Seacrete hull. By 1964 there were a number of Seamsters in a number of  fleets including Easticks and Sabberton Marine. The big breakthrough would also seem to be 1964 with the introduction of the Elysian 27 which was marketed on the Broads by Percival Boats and was  bought in large numbers by Richardsons, the Jenners group and many others over the next couple of years. 1965(*) was the first year of the Bourne 35 hull. The first examples in hire being Golden Emblem from Ernest Collins and Regal Safari from Hampton Boats. 

Without detracting from the revolutionary Wild's designs I consider them to be just modern versions of  Leo Robinson (and others) classes that dated back to the 1920s. What he did was to bring all the modern developments together in one boat with great success. I think it fair to say that some of his wooden fleet also had some unique design features.

I've uploaded a scan of the Bridge Craft boats.

Fred

 

Hi Fred, 

I think these two were custom tops on Freeman hulls, I may be wrong though.  I seem to remember only a few years back, maybe 5 or 6, seeing the Conway Bridge version in a very poor state on the hard at Hippersons yard. It may still be there?.

[ChrisB]

9 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

That early stuff was certainly more brittle than later products. Strangely enough I have a Swedish ABU fly-fishing rod from the same period. ABU maintained that their products had been tested to destruction and they forecast a forty year life.  Mine is still going strong, is as sweet as ever and certainly not gone brittle. 

I also have a fibreglass fly rod from the 60s but mine is Canadian. Were they all that dull orange? They seemed to be back then. Mine is a 1965 vintage so 53 years old and I still use it.

[Malanka]

JM mentioned Duponts patent. My maternal grandfather would have been a fine contributor to that topic. My mums “plastic” building bricks were the only thing stolen in a break in at his house in 1934 in Billingham. Perspex by ICI was the product name eventually but he was one of the loons that was experimenting with polymerisation in the late twenties early thirties. His name is on the original patent for Perspex. Long story over a beer maybe.

Funny how quickly DuPont advanced in the thirties eh ? 

m