Mylor Yacht Harbour is embarking on its latest project – building a Sunbeam to the specification of the 1920s originals but made of GRP, not wood.
The project comes 20 years after the master shipwrights of Mylor Yacht Harbour built a trio of classic wooden Falmouth Sunbeam yachts.
The hull of ‘Tilly’ has been moulded on the Isle of Wight from Alfred Westmacott’s original 100-year-old design.
“Mylor Yacht Harbour has had a long-term relationship with these beautiful boats – building three wooden ones, fully restoring several others and the ongoing maintenance of many of the original fleet,” says Ollie Graffy, whose project it is to bring her to Cornwall. “When the opportunity arose to get involved with building a modern version that has all the grace and style of the originals, performs the same, has a water-tight bulkhead and is much easier to maintain, we jumped at the chance.”
He added: “It’s such an exciting project for our expert teams to re-create a boat that has such great history.”
And he explained that the qualities a traditionally built vessel will be maintained, but the boat will benefit from easier maintenance and a lower cost of ownership.
The project is aimed at heling to secure the longevity of the class going forward.