Boats

Little more than 100 years ago, herrings were so plentiful that, for a few months of the year, they were big business on the North Devon coast. The herring fishing season lasted through the autumn and winter, when the weather could be at its worst. Little boats no more than 16ft long, known as picarooners,…

Jonik is a 24ft (7.3m) motor launch built in Fowey in 1934. The builder, Percy Clemens, used the best quality timber available. She is built using silver spruce and teak and demonstrates excellent craftsmanship. There were no power tools used in her construction, and the shed she was built in had no electric lighting. She…

Surf life saving boats were first introduced into the UK from Australia in 1965. They have always been used primarily for competition and only occasionally for rescue. Today, the equipment for rescue has changed dramatically to include jetskis and paddleboards. Surf boats are now only used for competition. The Neville Glidden was built in Australia…

During the early part of the 20th century, post war Britain was pursuing high speed technology. Between 1922 and 1936, for example, Sir Malcolm Campbell broke no less than twelve land speed records in a series of increasingly powerful cars. In 1929 at the Miami Regatta Sir Henry Segrave became the first Englishman to beat…

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or Superdocious for short, was sailed by Rodney Pattisson and Iain Macdonald-Smith to Gold Medal victory in the 1968 Olympic Games. They won a record–breaking 6 out of 7 races, and used the trapeze, a device which had in earlier years been banned as unsporting. The Flying Dutchman Class was designed through a collaboration…

‘All the fun of messing about in boats. Build it yourself from the kit. Easiest on the pocket and the easiest job you’ve ever tackled. And remember she weighs less than most wives. The Mirror is a true car-top dinghy. Yours in kit form for just £63.11s cash!’ So ran an advert for the Mirror…

This is a typical example of a traditional outrigger canoe from Sri Lanka primarily used for fishing, both off the beach and further out to sea. The shallow dugout hull, carved from a single log, is raised with side strakes fixed on shaped inserted frames and sewn to the hull with coir. The two booms…

This Holmsbu pram is a working descendent from the same ancestor as many small yachts and dinghies in Britain today. This particular craft was used for herring fishing in the Oslo fjords of Norway. The aft part of the boat is closed off with a bulkhead and planked over to form a watertight compartment in…

This is one of several kayaks in the Museum’s collection from the pen of that prolific designer of small boats Percy Blandford. As well as his passion for designing small affordable boats, Percy Blandford was actively involved for many years in the Scouting movement, organising many waterborne activities for Scout groups, and his daughter reports…