Wooden Ships Comments on this 28′ GRP Falmouth Working Boat Gaff Cutter
Built by Cygnus Marine, Cornwall in 1979. The design is that of a traditional Cornish working boat with straight stem, long keel and transom stern. Known as the Cygnus Gaffer 29.
She has a heavily laid up GRP hull built to Whitefish standards with wooden decks and coachroof, to the untrained eye she looks like a traditional wooden working boat with very pretty lines. Her exceptional ballast ratio gives her good stability and stiffness.
The original owner commissioned naval architect Percy Dalton to take the lines from a selected Falmouth working boat. The lines were drawn and Cygnus Marine built the hull, a yard with a reputation for building exceptional fishing vessels. The rig, designed by Dalton, deck and interior fit out were built by the first owner in conjunction with a local shipwright.
She stayed in the first ownership until 2010 when a thorough refit was undertaken with new spars, upgraded and altered rigging, new systems and electrics. The current owner bought her in 2020 and carried out another period of refit. The decks were re-caulked, a new Beta engine fitted, standing rigging replaced and the boat generally brough back into commission.
She has since been used on the south coast and found to be a very well-mannered yacht as her heritage dictates, solid and safe but still rather spritely. She picks up compliments everywhere she goes and has been a great pleasure to her owner.
2021 survey available.
Length on Deck 28’6” / 8.6m
Length Overall 36’4″ / 11.1m
Length Waterline 27’4” / 8.3m
Beam 9’6” / 2.9m
Draft 5’4” / 1.6m
Displacement 7130kg
Sail area 158sqm
Work Completed Since October 2020
- Decks re-caulked
- New stainless steel 7×19 standing rigging
- New blocks
- Antifoul scraped back to bare hull
- New VHF radio
- AIS transponder and signal splitter installed
- New Beta 25 engine with new shaft and propeller
- New bowsprit by Noble Spars
- New flare pack
- New fire extinguishers
Construction
- GRP hull built to Whitefish standards. Moulded stringers and ribs.
- Integral ballast, believed to be 3 tons.
- Yacht laid teak deck screwed to a marine plywood subdeck. Decks re-caulked in 2021.
- Deck is laid over iroko deck beams fixed to a moulded GRP beamshelf which is part of the hull.
- Iroko capping rail over the top edge of the GRP hull.
- Coachroof of solid teak coamings with bronze Simpson Lawrence portlights. Sheathed plywood coachroof deck with new non-slip deck paint. Teak grab rails an sliding companion hatch.
- Self draining cockpit with laid teak thwarts and deep lockers beneath. Teak cockpit sole gratings with hatches below to access the aft bilge.
Rig
- Gaff cutter rig on a keel stepped Columbian pine mast (2011 by Collars).
- Gaff yard in Columbian pine, 2013 by Collars. Bowsprit 2024 by Noble Spars.
- All spars treated with Sikkens.
- Bowsprit can be easily run in and stows on deck.
- Standing rigging new in 2021 using 7×19 wire. Galvanised rigging screws to external galvanised chain plates.
- Mainsail, topsail, staysail and 2 x jibs.
- Staysail hanked to the forestay. Jibs set on Wyckham Martin furling with a traveller to the end of the bowsprit.
Machinery
- Beta Marine 25hp 3cyl diesel engine installed new in 2022.
- Hydraulic 2:1 gearbox with single lever controls. New shaft and propeller with new Deep Sea Seal stern gland in 2022.
- 40 litre fuel tank with water separator filter.
- 2 x 12 volt batteries (100ah and 68ah) charged from the engine alternator. Volt meter for each battery.
- Crewsaver 100 litre flexible water tank under the saloon sole
- Whale Gusher 25 manual bilge pump.
- Rule auto electric bilge pump.
Accommodation
- 4 berths with 6’ headroom.
- Companion steps into the cabin with chart desk to starboard and galley to port.
- Chart desk faces aft with a comfortable seat.
- Galley has a Plastimo 2 burner gas stove with grill and oven. Sealed gas locker in the cockpit. Single stainless sink with a bronze manual hand pump. Storage space around galley.
- Half height bulkheads separate off the main saloon.
- Settee berth either side with a starboard offset dropleaf saloon table. Port side settee has a trotter box forward.
- Port side door going forward with a large hanging locker to port under the side deck.
- Heads to starboard has a Jabsco manual sea toilet with a wooden seat. Stainless hand basin with manually pumped fresh water. Black waste tank installed for heads waste.
- Centreline door into the forecabin which has a large double V-berth across the whole space. Forehatch above. There is a small child size berth either side, currently used as storage shelves.
- Hatch into the anchor locker right in the bows.
Equipment
- Plastimo steering compass
- Standard Horizon Eclipse DSC VHF (2021)
- Tridata echo sounder with cockpit repeater
- Raymarine tiller autopilot
- Sestrel hand bearing compass
- Clock and barometer
- 2 x tide clocks
- Simpson Lawrence Hyspeed double action manual anchor windlass
- 35lb CQR
- 60m x 10mm chain
- 25lb Fishermans anchor
- 25lb Meon anchor
- 25m chain with 30m of warp
- Extra 30m x 10mm chain in cockpit locker
- 56lb angel weight with shackles
- Anchor warp
- Mooring warps (numerous)
- Fenders
- Fender board
- Boat hooks, long and short
- 6 x life jackets with harnesses
- Jackstay lifelines
- Emergency tiller
- 2 x fire extinguishers (2021)
- Auto engine space fire extinguisher (2021)
- Fire blanket (2021)
- Flare pack (2022)
- 2 x emergency VHF aerials
- Plastic spare fuel can
- ‘Not Under Command’ red battery lights
- Whale Gusher 25 manual bilge pump
- Rule auto electric bilge pump
- Bunk and berth cushions
- Jabsco sea toilet with Black water waste tank (new seacock 2024)
- Plastimo gas stove with oven and grill
- Gas locker with 1 x gas bottle
- Mainsail
- Topsail (not rigged)
- Staysail
- White jib
- Tan jib
- Storm jib
- 4 x Gibb non-self tailing cockpit sheet winches
- Mainsail cover
- Heavy all over winter cover (2008)
- Cream canvas cockpit cover/tent
- Wooden beaching legs
- Bosuns chair
- Tiller cover
