TOPIC:

Hi I'm looking to revive an Albacore from the long grass. It is in a fair condition. Loads of paint on the inside. And no varnish on the decks. It has had a new transom. Which leads me to wonder where the boat number is carved? No builders plaque.
Assuming I cannot find the number is it possible to get a certificate. The boat is an all wood.
Hopefully on the water by the spring..
Richard

Hi Richard,
The location of the boat number varies and is often not present at all. On the Fairey Marine hulls the boat number is often carved into the hog. A word of caution though, as the Fairey boats often have the Hull number stamped into the hog in the same area. The Hull number is not the same as the boat (sail) number.
Other places to look are on the thwart or if present a builders plaque.
Post some pictures and we can see if we can help identify her - identifying the builder would be a start and the deck and internal layout may help with the age.
Any sails with the boat, the numbers may not belong to the boat, but I can check against the RYA list.

John

Thank you for your quick response. I have just been down to the dinghy park to take some pictures.

Picture 1.. Not sure how to reduce the file size. The boat has full length side tanks and a half height bow tank. No sails.Probaly used for racing as the shroud have adjustment under both side decks. lead aft to helm. the platecase top has been repaired along with the center section of the thwart.
Richard

Hi Richard
Something went wrong with your picture. Can you try again or email to
webmaster@albacore.org.uk and I can update the thread.
Updated:

Intriguing... I suspect that we'll probably never know which boat this is, but it seems evident to me that it has an interesting history.
There's not much to go on and what there is would all be speculation. I suspect that at some stage it has been re-decked but can't be sure. My guess would be that it's a Fairey hull finished by a privateer which would place it late '60's or so for construction, but there's no real evidence that I can see.
The interesting thing is that prior to being left on it's own in the boat park it was well looked after. Also as you say it was almost certainly raced (and probably at quite a reasonable level) - it has all the signs of being "pimped" - although using equipment and systems which would have been available in the late '70s/early '80s.
I would expect to see a number carved into the hog between the back of the centreboard case and the helm's toe strap anchor point. As John said that's not actually the boat number, but it would give us another clue.
Where abouts are you? That might provide a clue, and also an external shot or two might help.
Meanwhile is there anyone out there who recognises it? That curve from the side decks into the transom is something I haven't noticed before so it might just be a unique identifier?

Thanks Norman.
Richard advises that the boat used to have sails with sail number 1022 which would seem to fit. This photo of 1022 from 1965 shows a stern deck, but I agree the boat has most likely be re-decked and updated at some time in its life after that date.

www.facebook.com/groups/UKAlbacoreAssoci...osts/734821520270623

Hi I live in Somerset. I have sent some pictures to the administration to post for me. The boat has a sailing club boat park sticker on the mast. Very faded and covered in grime and green mould. When I get time I will take the mast out and have a look. The mast is from a manufacturer I have not seen before. The makers etched logo is also covered in grime.
I have striped back 18inches of the hog. Removing the paint and epoxy. No number. I assume if the boat had a rear deck the number would not have been that far back.
Hopefully the next set of pictures might be of interest.
Looking forward to reading replies.
I would like to establish the correct number so I can obtain a certificate. To enable the boat to be raced again.

More Pics:

The external shot is a bit telling. A year or two ago (in a previous existence) I was the proud owner of 1308, a boat that in profile looked almost identical - especially around the bow lines and the way that the foredeck is designed and built.
1308 was an all Fairey boat which (until I fettled it) had internal side seats with bouyancy bags under, and a full stern deck with another bag under that. The work I did put built-in bouyancy instead and re-decked it. The stern deck was very much the size and shape of the very complex rig-out used to support the boom on your pictures!
It seems very likely that your boat is a very similar era, although at the time Fairey were producing a lot of boats!
Let us know if you come across a name - you never know it might help. If it is 1022 it is well travelled because it used to be in Scotland somewhere and used to carry the name "Shetland" which might put it even further away!

Just to let you know I am still looking into this. The boat was at Thorney Island sailing club at for sometime.
I have been told that the previous owner before it was abandoned bought the boat from the Swindon area where it was sailed.
Richard
A????

The above mentioned boat is infact 1035 and not 1022. Called " Noggin" by a previous owner. Although I belive it has been changed from "Marbella" in a previous time.
So that is the end of the mystery.
A1035