YW Diamond Keelboat.

hey there are you the little grub saying my boat has third degree rot well you should have another look at this little bueaty yours sincerlyy rum smuggler

 

Yeah mate, top condition! The hull is held together by paint.

 

Dennis;

"half tonner pace" means the boat used to be about as fast around a triangle as an old half tonner, in mixed winds.

"Etchells pace" means it was said to now be about as fast as an Etchells, on average, around a course.

 

Back in the 70s or early 80s Tony lush sailed a modified yw diamond in the solo transatlantic race,it had the rather cool name of "one hand clapping".another interesting one was split down the middle from the stern and had a wedge shaped piece added in to make it more stable and used as an inexpensive platform to test out a windmill rig.it had a large air propellor driving a large prop in the water.this was done by an engineer in NZ,it showed excellent vmg directly upwind.
Steve.

 

cheap diamond!!

I have a diamond here in New Zealand which we are currently trying to sell she has a great race history from back in the day and a brand new set of sails, we only want 2k nzd for her as she has some rot in her ply and will need a full re-paint and alot of tlc so if anyone is keen let me know.


http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-M...sail-boats/Moored-boats/auction-202985428.htm

 

Still one of the best racing boats

I have been racing a yw diamond for 15 years, we have 15 boats regulary out racing. Diamond are fast above 20 knots of breeze - not many large keel boats can catch them. Find out more visit [B]www.ywdiamond.com.au[/B].

 

I raced 4 seasons on that Diamond you are trying to sell Diamond Dick and won a number of prizes in it (we looked at it recently with your very cheap price, but I have enough watercraft to look after, also there were problems with the different mast base) - it was called Rainbow then and Chris Bouzaid had it built, the second Rainbow after his father's famous first Logan? I think - then he had Rainbow 11 built, the S&S One Tonner that won the OTC back in ...... 1966? Too lazy to look it up. Anyway the Diamonds are rockets off wind but couldn't power up on the wind to beat Half Tonners and the like. Originally Jack Holt had the crew inside the deep cockpit but the Auckland fleet stacked out on the uncomfortable combings. There were around a dozen here and a number were sold to the Bay of Islands. They need better foils and larger rig and all the crew out to windward and a lifting bulb keel would make them even quicker offwind. There were a few cabin versions here but they couldn't compete with the originals - put extra weight into a Diamond and you kill the performance. They only displaced one ton with 50% ballast in a sort of bulb keel. All the appendages could be refined to make a very fast yacht.

 

Sorry but I think it was an Etchels It was later bought in Newport RI by a young Swiss couple Ivo and Fredrique and sailed back across the Atlantic. I raced him in the Semana de Mar Azores singlehanded race in '86 I think. Beat him in Alice Alakwe HEEERRRShoff leeboard ketch. Also the split down the middle one was a Spencer 30 ft and the chaps name was thinking.....it will come

 

Gary,our paths cross again. Down my backyard is one I modified a few years ago, nearly vertical bow and a small stern extension. Also had a shaped steel fin and a bulb plus a better rudder. Above the waterline had a self draining cockpit and a wedge shaped cabin. Rig came out of a Holland 25 Quarter tonner about 10% bigger than standard. Ended up 100Kg. heavier than normal but I took that out of the bulb, that didn't effect the boat as the bulb is 2feet deeper.
Only this week I started to clean the rubbish from around the boat in readiness to shift it up to the workshop and give it a onceover.
Peter

 

Great stuff Peter, I've always wanted to something similar to a Diamond - but other things came along, namely multihulls. Diamond Dick's one (Rainbow, renamed Gulf Cowboy, or Basher or something similar, had a lifted, self draining cockpit, an alteration done by one of Auckland's top builders. We almost bought it - but reality intruded - but someone should take this boat on and get some enjoyment at a really cheap price. Your deeper but lighter bulb keel would definitely help windward performance. The top boats here were Facet and Talaria; we won a couple of C division series. One bad point on Rainbow was the keel junction to the hull; Bouzaid hadn't bothered to curve the plate to follow the hull rocker but instead built up a pretty crude wooden packer - so there was a bluff leading edge there. All this could be easily changed ..... but no, I'm not touching it, get away.

 

We had our once a month 'Biscuit Eaters' meeting, where a bunch of guys get together drink tea and eat biscuits and talk boats! It was a YWD that Jim Bates split and widened to mount his propellor on.Folk recall how it went directly to windward at 5 knots in 8 of wind. The prop was huge and turned really slowly and Jim even added 100mm to each blade. The transmission gear was all Ford model A stuff.Later Tom, a yank down here, got all inspired and had Malcolm Tennant design a 60 ft version. Jim looked at it and said it wouldnt work-gyroscopic effect! He was right -it nearly tore the boat apart when just out of Whangarei harbour when it met some sea!!! Tom still has the boat, now with a aft bibod rig and mult furling jibs.For sle I believe.

 

I like the "Biscuit Eaters" meeting idea, should be more of it.
One of the fibreglass ones here was split with the idea to widen it with a wedge shaped insert. That fellow had no real idea of what was involved and the project died. It was later given to another dreamer who wanted to cut a wedge out and use it for a trimaran centre hull. Heard no more of it.
The wedge insert looked to have possibilities but it takes a committed person to finish a project like this. What you think is involved is about 10% of what the total job really is.
Peter

 

For anyone wanting info on YW Diamonds - they are still raced as a one design, competitively in Melbourne - see www.ywdiamond.com.au

 

Ah yes, Great boats Diamonds

Brought mine with a trolley for $2500 back around '92



Absolute rocketship and the best bang for buck ever IMHO.

One memorable ride was coming back with several mates after a day of frivolity in Southern Moreton Bay when a big southerly pumped in and when we gybed we broke the boom.

Dennis Connor was over racing Etchells at RQYS, and we blasted past him doing 14's with 6 beer swilling blokes onboard under headsail alone.

All good fun

 

At my Club - RYCV Williamstown, there are a number of Diamonds (over 8 currently and all sail in Class specs) and in Club races they actually have their own start, as they are planing hulls with crew on trapese, so sail very differently to the displacement yachts.

When the breeze is over 10-15kt, they are up on the plane and sailing fast up to winds over 25kt. Once planing they leave the rest of the fleet behind. Even in light wind they are still fast. However, they are wet boats for crew and you'll find there are self draining scuppers and bilge so you need to close the bilge drains when you stop. Only one has a motor (4HP outboard through cockpit floor), with the rest just sailed but as they are so light, is rarely a problem.

Those who sail them, love them. The GRP hulls are a better investment than the ply versions with rot and high mainenance. Keel with old shape and square profile lump of lead look a bit antiquated but bang for bucks, are a hard boat to beat. None have cabins so are day racers only and as already stated wet boats to sail and most sail with plenty of beer onboard to make them very wet boats!!!