The 18 ft jolly boat was one of succession of sailing dinghies designed and built by the renowned Uffa Fox in the years running up to WWII. Wizard was designed and built by Uffa Fox for Wing Commander E. J. P. Burling in 1932 who was the officer in command of the flying boats at RAF Mountbatten.
It was built because Burling wanted a boat he could take across to his weekend cottage on the Isles of Scilly. Uffa fox designed Wizard to be carried under the wing of the flying boat. It was this boat that later became the inspiration for Fox’s parachuted airborne lifeboats which saved the lives of countless airmen who ditched in the sea during WWII. A notable feature of the hull construction is the early use of triple skin planking which made it both lightweight and very strong.
