Historical multihulls

1959. The left pic is of my uncles sailing their Jim Young designed and built 16 foot cat. This had a single central dagger. Later they sold this and bought one of Jims 'Kitty' 12' cats, which they owned until it pitch-poled big time, under spinnaker in the surf off Stanmore Bay, doing quite a lot of damage. It was fixed and then sold.

Photo of Kitty No.1 (not my uncles boat referred to above) from yachtyakka website - some good stuff on there.
http://yachtyakka.co.nz/2008/07/forever-young/

 

Does Gary B or anyone else remember a 30' Piver tri named "Edward Bear"
built in Auckland about 1964-65. Skippered by Jack Astley and went on some expedition up to Rodrigues island and other remote places in the Indian ocean. I think they were doing radio transmission experiments.
regards ray

 

Waka Toru

This was published in Afloat a while ago. Interesting reading on a sad piece of history.

http://www.afloat.com.au/afloat-mag...heWakaTorubyBeverleyEarnshaw.htm#.UQB797-oivM

 

"Trimaran Against the Trades" by Jean Cole is a successful account of the building and sailing of a 40' Piver Tri starting construction in 1962. They needed to relocate from Kenya in Africa . They built the hulls there then sent them by rail to Mombasa for completion. They sailed against the prevailing winds to Australia and on to New Zealand with no problems. On board were the Cole's, their twenty something son and daughter and not to be left behind- 92 year old Granny Cole who spent most of the trip knitting in a deck chair fair weather and foul. No problems, just good construction, no overloading, and good seamanship.

 

According to Jim Young, Edward Bear was larger, a Piver that travelled extensively without problems, similar to the Cole's Piver trimaran. Properly set up and handled Pivers did the job. Another was the Glennie brothers' Vagabond.

 

Nobby Clark (D.H.) and production Piver builder Cox Marine in England came up with a larger butt block to reinforce the panels. Piver was supposed to change the plans but who knows what was built before the revision. Round the World racer Teinmouth Electron left without them and had problems after being pushed very hard.

 

An interesting article from proafile on the proas of John Pizzey this is part 1 the rest is yet to be published.

http://proafile.com/magazine/article/the-proas-of-john-pizzey

 

Probably you mean Nigel Tetley's Music for Pleasure

Teignmouth Electron had other problems....

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

That race didn't have a happy ending for a couple of people.....

 

Teignmouth Electron, a pretty good looking Piver imo, didn't have any boards, dagger or centre, just relied on the veed floats for anti-leeway, which of course were next to useless.
Have always thought that if Donald Crowhurst had fitted a central daggerboard the boat would have given decent windward performance ... and might have saved his descent into madness and saved his life. Probably would have won the race too.

 

I've reviewed the race and of course Gary is right, Teinmouth Electron was sailed by Donald Crowhurst who went mad while spending the 1968 Sunday Times Solo Race Around the World faking his progress and hanging out waiting to sail back in triumphant. Nigel Tetley's Piver was Victress the first 40' tri launched in England a few years before the race. Both boats had the weak butt straps. Victress lost the bow of her port ama and the majority of the leading edge of the port wing. She had been damaged though, before the race and stove in that bow after engine failure. Because the shipwrights were busy she was repaired by a local coffin maker! Teinmouth Electron split her starboard float on the outside by the chainplates. D.H. Clark had seen both boats before the race but not after so didn't know for sure the problems were the butt straps, his group had changed the design though after the first Piver Nimble voyage from England to New Zealand made by sailor Alex Grimes where the problem showed up in rough seas while heavily loaded.

And Richard I've never heard of 'Music for Pleasure". While Victress broke up before the finish he did cross his outward track making Tetley the first person to sail around the world solo in a trimaran. His second boat was Miss Vicky. He was found a few years after the race dead, hanging from a tree dressed in lingerie with his hands tied behind his back which resulted in a open verdict as he hadn't been depressed.....getting those knickers in a bunch is always bad.....

 

MFP was Tetleys sponsor

Miss Vicky was a Kelsall design, flush decked with a small doghouse. For years it was moored near my office in Cornwall

Richard Woods

 

Sounds like a sour note in there somewhere.....a flat among the sharps.

 

Um....its called dark humor Richard, regarding Nigel's end and the name of his sponsor....Most likely in poor taste so I apologize if anyone is offended. It is a mystery however, such things do cause people to wonder....

Is Miss Vicky still sailing? Many of the Kelsall's have held up well.

 

No real mystery in Tetleys death. But this is a family forum, not 18+

Its 25 years since I last saw Miss Vicky and it was 15 years old then. So it may have "ceased to be". As I recall Tetleys widow lived on board for a while then it was sold to another woman

Last time I saw it it was motoring out into the English Channel. No idea where it went after that, sorry

Richard Woods