Ten prettiest sailing yacht ever. Number 5: the West Solent OD

The history of yachting, whether under press of the wind or turn of the screw, is frequently punctuated by stand-out designs that were originally hashed together by a committee (the Folkboat), designed by completely forgotten or one-hit-wonder yacht designers (Grayling, Partridge and countless more) or conceived to be affordable. It seems hard to believe now, when we look at something like a West Solent Restricted One-Design (the name is not the catchiest), that it was one of those early inter-war yachts that were built relatively cheaply in series, to appeal to those of limited means. In the case of the WSOD, there is nothing whatsoever that suggests economy in the way we came to understand it after the war (plywood, slab sides, chines, building a Mirror in the garage and so on). Everything about the appearance of the WSOD – the swoopy curves, the cockpit coaming and so on – shouts luxury, hand-building and quality solid timber. And while a new WSOD today would cost the earth at least once, the price tag at the time from the Berthon Boat Company was just £600 (about £32,000 today according to the Bank of England). That sort of expenditure on a boat isn't for everyone – but neither is it an outlandish figure from faraway Planet Billionaire – as my next boat on this list will be! It's thought that 36 WSODs were built by the Berthon Boat Company to the design of their own Harry G May, who was also behind the pretty double-ender Gauntlet yachts that came in various tonnages. About half still exist, and restorations of them have been coming thick and fast over the last few years, including Toba last year (pitured below) in Argentina (five of the original WSODs were sent there) and Suvretta before that (pictured above).

Restoring Toba

Winnie Marie for sale

The restoration of Suvretta