Cherub Builders over the Years

[JimC]

Might be useful to have some kind of record noting Tim's "builder unknown" against his Forman 4

Significant Numbers of boats

Name: Casson
Location: IOW
People Associated:
Active: Early 60s,
Designs Built: Spencer 2 and variants
Construction Materials: wood

McCutcheon
IOW
60s
Mk 2 variants and own design
Wood

Barton (?)
?
60s/early 70s
Spencer 7 (kits only?)
Wood

Watling Joinery??
St Albans?
60s/early 70s
Gregs various?
Wood and glass fibre

Spithead Boats
Warsash
Chris Forman/Simon Robinson
mid 70s to early 80s
Forman 4s various, Spithead Special, F6/8s etc,
wood and glass

Seaflite Boats
Harwich
? Vincent?? (associated with Dolphin Sails)
late 70s
Jennifer Julian,
glass

Dick Jarret
Essex somewhere
early to mid 80s
Murray, Ellway 4 etc
wood

Omega Boats
?
early to mid 80s?
Forman 8
foam sandwich

Bloodaxe Boats
IOW
Andy Paterson
80s-present
All Paterson designs, Italian Bistro, Ellway 5 others
Wood, ply sandwich, foam sandwich

Aardvark Technologies
Bristol
Mike Cook
21stC
Loco Perro, Daemon (mod Slug), Banshee, Ellway 6
Foam Sandwich


Ones and twos
============


Wiz Boats
Bristol
Wiz Deas
1988/9
Italian Bistro (2!)
Foam Sandwich

Biffa Boats
Plymouth
Simon Baker
early 90s?
Italian Bistro, maybe others
Foam Sandwich


Hartley Laminates
Derby
2006
Daemon (mod Slug) (1?)
Foam Sandwich

Carbonology
Woodbridge, Suffolk
2006
Bieker 1 (1)
Foam Sandwich

Who to include is an interesting call: there are "amateur" builders who've built many more boats than some of the companies listed here - I don't recall Simon Roberts ever being listed as a Class builder for instance, and there are several I can think of who built one or two and were't anxious (or didn't get orders) to repeat the experience...

[Graham Bridle]

Nice record there Jim, I had a couple of these so can add a bit of info (If I had a memory I'd be able to add more !)

Seaflite boats certainly were in Harwich, they produced a glass (not foam) shell of a Jennifer Julian for completion at home (I cant vouch for wether they also provided completed boats) - a couple of us in Brightlingsea did this c1977 producing 2521 (definately now deceased) and 2527 (possibly not deceased as was well made). Seaflite most definatley was connected to Dolphin Sails (who at the time had a good hold on the Cherub market) - I dont know where Seaflite made the JJ shells, but it was Mr Dolphin (name escapes me now) selling them.

Dick Jarrett may have been Essex, may have been Sussex, I favour the latter but could be wrong - my friend Ozzie bought a brand new Murray from him c1980 so he will remember where he was if you want me to find out. Dick built truly beautiful boats in sapele ply with inlays - merlin good - typically they were varnished decks, sides and a painted colour bottom. I bought Ozzies (2602) off him c1981 and Paul Smith had one too, sparking a couple of years where brightlingsea had 4 cherubs racing.

So both these are way too late for Tims 2303, maybe someones memory goes back further.

By the way, those of you with records, I'd love to know what you have on 2521, 2527 and especially 2602

G

[phil_kirk]

It would be worth setting this list in the technical area of the web site.  We could then add the recent banshees buit by Ardvark Boats
Home builders could potentially put their own names against certain creations.

The DOGs were Simon Roberts built as I'm sure a few other boats of that era were.

[ross_burkin]

I'm chiming in for the president hear. Can't forget Hartley Laminates for the Badger!

I love these little spontanious glimpses of history you get on this forum and in the class.

[MikeBz]

Dick Jarrett may have been Essex, may have been Sussex, I favour the latter but could be wrong - my friend Ozzie bought a brand new Murray from him c1980 so he will remember where he was if you want me to find out.

Definitely Essex, somewhere over towards Ardleigh or possibly Gr. Bromely - I drove Ozzie over there a few times to view the build, that was in the days when he didn't yet have a driving licence!

Mike

[stafford1977]

If anyone's still watching this thread...

I owned 2602 in the mid 90s. I found her for sale on the hard at West Mersea where there was a healthy fleet back in the day. She had lost all her varnish and has some stress cracks on the foredeck, and had a bright blue paint job with go faster stripe in gold. The paint had bubbled so it all came off and got repainted lilac. The rig was a pretty shagged needlespar with spreaders that looked like they'd been bent around a lamp post. Sails were the classic set of Dolphins. I replaced all the lines and kept it in conventional kite format - I could never really get it to go and it leaked like a sieve even after several attempts at sealing the bailers and transom flaps. I might have some old photos somewhere. Funnily enough the association at the time thought it was a Foreman 8.

Eventually I managed to get my hands on a Bistro (2640 - another boat that seems to have been lost to the mists of time) so 2602 was sold to a young kid who took it to Chew Valley where there was quite a burgeoning fleet if I remember rightly. I've heard nothing of its whereabouts since.

In the late 90s we did have 2 or 3 cherubs at Dabchicks SC and I even organised an open that some of the guys kindly came along to (Slippery When Wet, Fizzy Shark and Dave Roe in the all conquering Pasta). 2640 proved to be a bit of a lump so we eventually bought Slippery When Wet in which we proved to be very fast when not stuck ashore having to glue things back on.

Great memories of racing shopping trollies with Team Scotland and passing out on Dave Roe's floor after 10 pints in the Frog & Frigate...

[Neil C.]

When I was 10 years old I saw a picture of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Yachts and Yachting and I though to myself "one day when I'm older I'm going to race there."

About 15 years later the boyhood dream came true. We had been at the annual Cherub open meeting at Gurnard just along the coast, and most of the fleet were now in Cowes for a bit of a pub crawl. If I remember rightly, it all started going off when Ken went up to the bar to get a round of drinks in, but he couldn't remember what everybody wanted, so he just came back with a huge tray full of tequilas instead..... Many drinking games and possibly some singing later, we were making our way back to Gurnard when a few shopping trollies mysteriously appeared, and the race was on! My main (if slightly hazy) recollection is racing past the front of the Squadron in the dark, and Matt and Mike (Norwegian Blue) going so fast they were unable to take the bend just after the cannons. The trolley went off the side of the promenade. Luckily the tide was out or Mike would have been swimming for sure.

Staff G. of Brad and Staff right? Great to hear from you mate. Those were happy, happy days.     

[stafford1977]

Neil Cardno, as I live and breathe...

Yes it's me. It was Tom I used to sail with - though I did do one nationals with Brad in Old Pec.
That's pretty much how I remember the trolley derby. Wasn't Matt discovered draped over a rock by the Squadron? I also remember the police who came down to take an interest in the abandoned trollies by the club the next morning. The local kids were already setting about trying to get the pound coins out of them - in the end the club commodore managed to distract the rozzers as it turned out one of them used to sail a Cherub...

[Graham Bridle]

Thanks Staff, dont know whether to laugh or cry re your description of 2602, always hoped it was stuck in a barn somewhere in perfect nick ! For sure had a black needlespar and dolphins.

My search then progresses for a Dick Jarret cherub in good condition.

[stafford1977]

Graham - sorry to not have better news! Hope your search proves fruitful.
Neil - get in touch if you have time - would be great to hear how you are.
staff at colchesterartscentre dot com

[Tim Noyce]

When I was 10 years old I saw a picture of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Yachts and Yachting and I though to myself "one day when I'm older I'm going to race there."

About 15 years later the boyhood dream came true. We had been at the annual Cherub open meeting at Gurnard just along the coast, and most of the fleet were now in Cowes for a bit of a pub crawl. If I remember rightly, it all started going off when Ken went up to the bar to get a round of drinks in, but he couldn't remember what everybody wanted, so he just came back with a huge tray full of tequilas instead..... Many drinking games and possibly some singing later, we were making our way back to Gurnard when a few shopping trollies mysteriously appeared, and the race was on! My main (if slightly hazy) recollection is racing past the front of the Squadron in the dark, and Matt and Mike (Norwegian Blue) going so fast they were unable to take the bend just after the cannons. The trolley went off the side of the promenade. Luckily the tide was out or Mike would have been swimming for sure.

Staff G. of Brad and Staff right? Great to hear from you mate. Those were happy, happy days.     

This is my favourite post for a long while. Fair to say that the fleet is really dull in comparison these days. I put it down to the increased price of fuel and alcohol leaving everyone with less disposable income to get in the spirit of things!

[Princey]

Graham - If you are after a Dick Jarrett built Cherub then the one to find would be the boat owned in 88-89 by Will Perrett, either 2609 or 2611 I think. I'm sure JimC would know for sure. She was a beautifully built all varnished Murray.
At that time I owned 2610 another DJ built Murray hull that we struggled to get going well until she was converted to Assy for the 1990 Nats in Torquay.

[Graham Bridle]

Thanks Princey, i will await Jims wisdom !

This is my favourite post for a long while. Fair to say that the fleet is really dull in comparison these days. I put it down to the increased price of fuel and alcohol leaving everyone with less disposable income to get in the spirit of things!

I agree Tim, although not for the same reasons, i think in relative terms fuel and alcohol are not overly more expensive (indeed there are many cheap ways to get wasted that did'nt exist when I was a lad) - in this fleet the demographic has changed dramatically - you can discuss the factors elsewhere - and also for a large percentage of todays yoof, getting pissed is no longer big and clever, how wrong they are - I blame health scaremongering there, for some reason they still want to be alive at 100.

I wonder what age Neil was in this story? because another thing to have changed is that its easily possible that he or others were under age as noone cared then, now they do and if you're over age you probably have a student loan, or a car ... or some other responsibility dulling your urge to get in the trolley while some eejit pushes it into the sea.

[JimC]

I'm sure JimC would know for sure. She was a beautifully built all varnished Murray.

2606 as I recall. I went to check, but all the old Nationals reports seem to have vanished from the website.

Trouble is it doesn't take too many years of neglect full of water and worse still ice in the winter in a dinghy park for a beautiful all varnished boat to turn into a rotting heap of mush. I've been amazed by what's turned up in the past from the 60s though: you've just got to keep your eyes open.

Jim C

[Graham Bridle]

Actually having re-read Neils post i can see he was about 25, firework dampened on that argument !