Uncertainty in any market is a boon to the buyer and with as much as we have right now there has probably never been a better time to buy a boat. Read our guide to some of the best glassfibre and wooden boats on sale right now.
With so many GRP bargains wooden boats are great value right now if you find one which has a sound hull. We cover a SCOD (South Coast One Design) which was bought for £1500 and then made to look smart again in a month or so of graft and paint.
This month we are also cruising an Enterprise (yes really!), looking at trailers (for your sailer), motoring via the canals to the Baltic and at sea on the replica of HMS Pickle – the 18th century schooner which carried the news of Trafalgar. After some work she’s back at sea looking better than ever.
We’re racing with the Brixham trawlers in Lyme Bay and joining the Brits at Brest and on a raid of the Venice lagoon. We’re at Cowes classics where Dragons were making their first appearance and shipping aboard the schooner Mariette as crew.
Schooner Pickle sailing from Portsmouth in 2015
Here’s the issue contents in full:
Editorial: After Brest can we still be calling for a new British festival of the sea?
Signals: Charming Contessas; Fire damage to Altricia; Round the Island sinking; ‘Not Yogaff’ a success; Two Round Britain challenges
Around the yards: A new Thames sailing barge, and a new Riva-style launch, as well as a kayak and a Contessa 32
Cowes classics: Dragons finally make it to the Classics
Association news: Enterprises, Westerlys and Aldeburgh Lapwings
Classic Coast: The Deben Bar
Smylie’s boats: Clovelly Picarooner
The Post – Letters: The boat before Jolie Brise, and other matters
Andrew Bray: Food, glorious (maybe) food
Nardi’s nods (GRP Classics No11) : The Kim Holman-designed Centurion 32
Brest is best: Hotfoot from the greatest maritime festival in the world, we bring you the flavours, the feel, the Gaffers, the people…
Best time to buy: Prices for well-built GRP and wood yachts have never been keener, and with winter coming on, now’s the time to strike a good deal
Cruising an Enterprise: They’re really racers, but a few mods give a great dinghy cruiser
Vigilance: Sailing in the Brixham heritage Regatta
Mariette: Racing a 101-year-old schooner
Swallows and Amazons on screen: It’s the most talked-about film this summer. We review it, and meet the people who made it
Venice Lagoon Raid: Around the backwaters of the historic city by sail and oar
HMS Pickle returns from Trafalgar: The replica of Nelson’s ‘fast, clever schooner’ is sailing again
This cruising life: by canals to the Baltic – Helen Lewis and the Skipper ‘go foreign’ for their first time
Tow and go – all you need to know – Part2 of our complete guide to trailer sailing
On and Off Watch: Kit list – tools, clothes, a cool deck bike, books, Shoreside and more gin
Practical: SCOD restored: Rescuing a ‘yard orphan’ from the flames can be a rewarding task
Practical: the mitred joint: A step-by-step guide to making one
Events for the coming months and what’s in our next issue
The last word: Cheese dreams at Brest: Mike Smylie’s surreal experience starts in the Kipperhouse
Buy this issue directly from us: (£3.95 +p&p): click here