Boatyard Dreams
Old boats may allow you to travel around the globe, but there’s nothing like an old boatyard to take you places that you’ve never been…
Author: Martin Smith
William Fife 1912 Schooner Elise
It was husband and wife, father and mother, now grandfather and grandmother, Ted and Bridget that started it all off for the Merediths when the couple bought the distinctive and elegant schooner back in 1992.
William Fife III Schooner Elise: A Brief History
Elise was built on the Clyde in 1912 by William Fife III as an auxiliary gaff schooner with a Gardner two-cylinder paraffin engine. She was constructed for a WA Young of Paisley of mahogany and pitch pine on oak frames, copper fastened and the hull […]
Fife’s “Ultimate” 8-Metre: Ierne
Every now and again a restoration comes along that redefines what can be expected in terms of the resurrection of classic yachts. The relaunch of the Fife III, First Rule 8-Metre, Ierne, in 2008, went a long way towards establishing what levels of authenticity, purity and craftsmanship could be effected, and this was achieved far way from the big-name restoration yards.
The Great Designers: Charles Sibbick (1849-1912)
When Charles Sibbick’s body was found at the mouth of the Medina River on the Isle of Wight in February of 1912, it marked the sad and mysterious end of possibly the most forward-thinking yacht designer of his time. But what is perhaps even more […]
