DRIAC by Charles Nicholson

[Wiley Baggins]

I was poking around on yachtworld.com and apropos of the thread on CRESSET, was struck by this boat. I have copy of Uffa Fox's Sailing, Seamanship and Yacht Construction, in which she is discussed, and her lines show a very substantial hull that looks comparatively svelte in the photos linked below. She seems a lovely combination of trim appearance, a capacious hull, and good performance in the form of a US$40,000 project.

Listing: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1930/Camper-%26-Nicholsons-cutter-1994215/Dartmouth/United-Kingdom

Photos: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/photoGallery.jsp?slim=quick&currency=USD&units=Feet&seo=0&checked_boats=1994215&boat_id=1994215&back=/core/boats/1930/Camper-&-Nicholsons-cutter-1994215/Dartmouth/United-Kingdom&boat_id=1994215

Edit: NB - The listing no longer comes up, but the photo gallery continues to be available. Odd.

[Yggdrasil]

I can explain that; I bought her. The gallery does seem to still be available which I put down to inexpert website management.
She is indeed a lovely craft; I've spent 2 months working on her out of the water, replacing seacocks, drawing keelbolts for checking, cleaning up and rust-treating iron floors, replacing rudder heel-fitting, completely rebuilding the cockpit, (altered in 1982 using poor softwood which had dry-rot in it) scarfing in a couple of deck beams where rot had spread from recent timber and a lot of other work like stripping and varnishing mast and spars, painting/antifouling hull etc. What was particularly pleasing was that in almost every case, when I got back to original material, whether oak, teak or bronze, it was sound.
Last week I sailed her the 300 odd miles round Land's End to her new home in Milford Haven. She sails herself on most points of sail; we were pretty cautious with newly set up rigging and so on but very pleased. A lot of work is needed inside and most pressing the deck needs completely recaulking but she is seaworthy and was entered for the 2009 Three Peaks Yacht Race the day after I bought her!

[Hwyl]

Good luck with your new boat, and good luck with the race --- what is your strategy for the Swellies?

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/1/9/9/4/2/1994215_1.jpg

[tprice]

She is beautiful and it looks like mostly original. A great find! Look at the sheerline! Perfection.
TP

[Wiley Baggins]

I can explain that; I bought her. The gallery does seem to still be available which I put down to inexpert website management.
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She is indeed a lovely craft
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What was particularly pleasing was that in almost every case, when I got back to original material, whether oak, teak or bronze, it was sound.

Here's to inexpert website management! I can't imagine you'll get any (sane) argument as to her beauty, and it's good to hear her performance and behavior mirror her aesthetics. Of course, her design provenance is excellent and I wasn't inclined to doubt what I'd already read in Fox's book. :) It's good to hear your work has been complemented by finding much good in her. Congratulations on a lovely yacht.

[Wiley Baggins]

...she is seaworthy and was entered for the 2009 Three Peaks Yacht Race the day after I bought her!

Three Peaks Race - http://www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk/index.php3

Sounds like fun!

[Yggdrasil]

If you are interested to know how the race went, visit http://www.justgiving.com/driac/
We had a fantastic time.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Bravo!

(what was the aggregate age - and the mean?)

(Yggdrasil is too modest to mention the excellent article on DRIAC that he published in "Classic Boat" recently) ;)

[Yggdrasil]

Actually I don't know all our ages; 59, 55, 49 and 2 others.

The article you mention was about Driac and some of my work on her, but it was written by Sara Stirling, not by me.

Driac has just spent 3 weeks gently cruising the Western Isles. From Corpach she visited Oban, Tobermory, Loch Kentra, Arisaig, Mallaig, Rum, Staffa, Ulva, Islay, Jura, Crinan, Tarbert and Loch Long. Despite her ageing sails she goes well off the wind and we had over 9 knots out of her a few times. She is sea-kindly and steers herself on most points of sailing.
Her 1980 iroko deck had been sealed with sikkaflex with no caulking below and leaked like a sieve; I have now re-caulked most of it; no small job... The sikkaflex was raked out back to fairly clean wood, caulking cotton driven in hard and jeffries marine glue poured in smoking hot. Where this has been completed leaks have stopped almost entirely for the time being. Her Dickinson stove runs all the time which keeps her wonderfully warm and helps to dry things out; baked potatoes are a speciality.
There is no shortage of further work to do.

[MaizieDerrick]

aloha, discovered your beautiful boat and found out it is the same designer as ours. we are in the woodenboat forum under kauriwood boat 1955 check it out mahalo derrick