Yachting World Scow

Rod · Post by **Rod** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 3:51 pm

For those of you with voluminous archives on everything to do with British yotting, what can you tell me about the Yachting World scow?... size, weight, sail area. Was it designed to be home built? How many were made? I stumbled across an index of UK classes (was it put together by a CVRDA member?) and this index did have the YW scow and a photo of it being sailed three up with two on trapezes. Maybe someone can cite the exact issue of YW that the scow was introduced.

Yachting World sponsored two plywood designs that I know of; the other one was the Jack Holt plywood keelboat that found some popularity in Australia. Were there other YW sponsored designs?

Rod

Post by **neil** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:05 pm

As it happens I was looking into this a few days ago - in the 1964 Dinghy Yearbook there's a great advert (with a big picture of the YW Scow) for the Yachting World classes that lists the following as part of the Yachting World range:
<ul>
<li>International Cadet</li>
<li>GP14</li>
<li>Catamaran (presumably the Yachting World Catamaran)</li>
<li>Lazy E</li>
</ul>

There's also the sail insignias for
<ul>
<li>Yachting World Dayboat</li>
<li>Solo</li>
<li>Hornet</li>
<li>Heron</li>
</ul>

All these classes were originally for home building or "Build-her-yourself" as YW puts it.

I can scan the advert if required.

And the Jack Holt keel boat was probably YW Rambler.

and there goes another quiz question into the bin........

regards

Neil

Post by **neil** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:09 pm

There's one at Burnham on Crouch. There used to be some stuff on the web about it. I can't find it at the moment but there's some pictures here http://www.creeksea.org.uk/Photos.htm

I think it was a Mcalpine-Downie design, but unless I start digging I can't be for sure. I'm sure the collective wisdom will be along to advise soon

davidh · Post by **davidh** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:07 pm

Rod,

It was indeed a Rod MaCalpine-Downie design. I've got some detail on it somewhere, I'll dig it out, make some notes and let you know. I know for a factthat I've a picture of it being rigged at Burnham.

It had quite a bit of sail, was well over 20ft long, nearer 25 ft I'd say - oh, and it was built just along the coast by Mike Tremlett (ofthe Tremlett clan - big FD sailors (and I think builders at one time).

Based on the American Lakes Scows I believe

David

alan williams · Post by **alan williams** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:43 pm

Here used to be a YW Scow at Fowey in the sixties.
Al

Big-C · Post by **Big-C** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:31 pm

alan williams · Post by **alan williams** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:41 pm

Hi the Keel boat was the Diamond 30ft planning keelboat Aussies have claimed speeds in excess of 20knots for them. The Rambler, my father once had one when I was a kid, was like a 17ft twin chine cruising dinghy (py about the same as a racing GP) which could either be built as small lifting centreboard minicruiser with weekend accomodation including a bucket and chuck it and small primus stove or a three quatered decked dinghy. We had the cabin boat in which my father, myself and my sister in the early 60's explored the creeks of Essex as it would float in 6 inches of water. She had a Prout 7ft 6" folding boat as her tender which enabled us to get ashore for food and to go to the pub. We would often sail to Pin Mill or around to Maldon from Burnham of a weekend. This was the family boat as against his racing boat a Dragon and my racing boat a Cadet.
Cheers Al going into work tomorrow.

Chris 249 · Post by **Chris 249** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:21 am

YW Scow was 24ft overall, 18ft lwl, 7ft beam, 300 sq ft SA. At least two made in the UK, others were to be built in France, Italy, etc. Plans were in Jan '63 YW if you have access to them; a follow-up piece was in Jan '64.

There was also the Hurricane; a Peter Milne giant Fireball, but with an inverted Vee bow, seen in Seacraft (Aus) magazine Jul '63.

LOA 21ft; weight 450lb all up; SA 188 sq ft plus 190 sq ft spinnaker; two crew.

Were any built?

It would be good to see scows coming back. Okay, in some ways they look a bit strange (I used to have a scow Moth on top of an Int Canoe on a trailer; it looked like one boat ended up with two pointy ends and the other had none) but when scow Moths were at boat shows here they always got a very good reception from young adults and teens. Stability and pace; perfect for the masss market.

alan williams · Post by **alan williams** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:05 pm

There was also a 19ft rip off of the Fireball called a Calypso.
Cheers al

markj · Post by **markj** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:15 am

There was a YW Diamond at Lymington 15 years ago, I did quite a few races on it and she was extreaamly fast, 3 crew 2 trapezes. Great fun to sail and about half the weight of a Soling. There was also one in Plymouth that had had a cabin fitted, I belive she used to do some of the offshore races.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:01 pm

Voodoo The Beast Of Burnham from Creeksea is owned by a syndicate who were hoping last year to pass the boat on to the right person or group of people. They had fitted a massive asymetric spinnaker.

Rod · Post by **Rod** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:57 pm

Rod MacAlpine-Downie seems best known for his C-class cat designs. Funny enough his dinghy designs were made in the U.S, in fiberglass, by the Chrysler Marine corporation (now defunct). The three that I know of are the Buccaneer, the Mutineer and the Sidewinder. Because they were designed for glass production, they are heavy by the standards of wooden dinghy design of the 60's. The Buccaneer (which resembles a shorter wider Flying Dutchman) remains popular with around 30 or so competing in this years nationals in the Midwest.

Rod MacAlpine-Downie doesn't receive the press of the big three UK dinghy designers of the 60's (Holt, Proctor, Milne) but he seems to have a diverse portfolio (as the YW scow shows). Can anyone flesh out more historic details on Rod MacAlpine-Downie? Number of designs? Any UK built dinghy designs?

Rod M
Annapolis MD

Nigel · Post by **Nigel** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:13 pm

Hi Rod,

I am sure some of the others have libraries on the subject but here is a bit I had bookmarked on the Buc:

http://www.buccaneer18.org/articles/BirthOfBucc.txt

I occasionally see the odd cat of his for sale. The last was an unusual design with two mono bermudan rigs mounted in parallel, one on each hull. I was very tempted but the width would have made it very difficult to get home. A cheap boat becomes expensive if you have to pay for the police to escort the wide load

.

Best Regards,

Nigel

alan williams · Post by **alan williams** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:43 pm

Add Man of War to dinghies, YW cat, Thai MK4, Shark, Phoenix, + the C cats, Challenger TRi to list along with British Oxygen and a wide range of cruiser /racer cats.
Cheers Al

Post by **Rupert** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:17 am

And the Tonic.