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Hard life
It's not a hard life - it's a wonderful life. The title of this blog refers to the fact that, as a yacht surveyor, occasional boatbuilder, magazine contributor and book editor, I spend a LOT more time with boats on the hard than I do afloat! It's a reflection of that life in all its variety, from super yachts in the Med to less-than-super yachts in the mud.
Ten prettiest sailing yachts ever. Eight: the Rustler 33
Your humble correspondent and (at the tiller), Adrian Jones of Rustler Yachts (no relation to Stephen Jones, the boat's designer). Off...
1 day ago1 min read
Diesel checks
A marvel of 20th-century engineering? Or an oily horror lurking below the companionway steps? I spoke to two men with more than 120 years...
Sep 41 min read
Ten prettiest sailing yachts ever, in no particular order. Nine: the Folkboat
Nordic Folkboat Lorema at Antigua Classic in 2015: Leo Goolden, now better known for his restoration of Tally Ho , found Lorema in a...
Aug 244 min read
Ten prettiest sailing yachts ever, in no particular order. Ten: Stormy Weather
Dorade , photo captured by James Robinson Taylor in 2001. The sharp-eyed may note the neat, triangular bumpking that gives lie to the...
Aug 163 min read
Preparing your boat for survey
Amid the excitement of buying or selling a boat, the survey might just seem like a dull, necessary overture to the big day… but it’s...
Aug 45 min read
Two harbour launches, 50 years apart
The Parkstone Bay 21 I surveyed recently, and the new Westons Point 27 built nearby at Traditional Shipwright Servies in Poole are two...
Aug 12 min read
Survey on a 21ft wooden launch
Pecheur, a wooden Parkstone Bay 21, in need of love... and for sale. Survey coming soon My latest survey is on Pecheur , a Parkstone Bay...
Jul 162 min read
Cutting a hole in a new teak deck
Usually, my work at Dennetts, if I'm not surveying boats that have just arrived for restoration, is of the 'lowest of the low' sort:...
Jul 32 min read
Learning from 120 years of diesel experience. What were the two takeaways?
I was lucky enough to spend a few hours learning from the wisdom of two men who, between them, have well over 120 years of experience in...
Jun 111 min read
North of the QE2 bridge: six yard visits in a month. And sailing on Pioneer
April was a busy month, with more surveyor training, under the brilliant leadership of Aidan Tuckett and Martin Evans, and no fewer than...
Jun 102 min read
The glass ceiling... the growing GRP refit scene, exemplified by Norseman
Twenty years ago, the idea of taking 'glassics' seriously just didn't exist. The classic yacht scene was indelibly linked to the big...
Jun 102 min read
Tiny Rivas and small superyachts
I'm currently writing an article on the classic steel motor sailer Atlantide , for the July issue of Classic Boat magazine. She's over...
May 262 min read
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