Wooden Ships Comments on this International Six Meter GBR31

International 6 meter racing yacht SILVERVINGEN built to Rule 3. Designed by Tore Holm and built by Hagerstens Batvarv, Sweden in 1939.

At the outbreak of WWII, Silvervingen was laid up and not sailed until after the war.

Wooden Ships Comments on this International Six Meter GBR31

International 6 meter racing yacht SILVERVINGEN built to Rule 3. Designed by Tore Holm and built by Hagerstens Batvarv, Sweden in 1939.

At the outbreak of WWII, Silvervingen was laid up and not sailed until after the war. Tore Holm designed a cruising interior and small coachroof for her, but she went on to race successfully throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s under various different names.

Purchased in 2004 by the previous owner, Silvervingen was in a sorry state and needing a thorough rebuild. Over a 9 year period the deck was removed and the hull slowly put back into shape to reinstate the original sheer line. The wooden keel was replaced and new ballast keel bolts fitted. Over 70 frames were replaced in streamed oak and all the galvanised plate floors were renewed. A new deck was fitted with 12mm plywood overlaid with Oregon pine.

She was then sold into UK ownership and a major period of upgrading commenced to optimise the yacht for racing in the 6m series. The basic boat was in excellent condition and needed little structural repair, but the rig was renewed entirely, the deck hardware layout professionally re-designed and all new electronic systems fitted.

Top professionals have been engaged at all stages of the design and build to ensure the hull, rig and systems are as good as they could possibly be.

Now under UK flag, this 6mR yacht is sailing under the sail number GBR31. The boat was raced in the 2023 6m Worlds and finished 3rd overall in the Classic Division. This is a yacht at the top of her game, in superb condition and fitted out to a supremely high level.

Length on Deck: 37’1”

Length Waterline: 23’7″

Beam: 6’

Draft: 5’5”

Displacement: 4.2 tons

Carvel planked in mahogany.

Laminated oak frames fastened with bronze screws. 2 intermediate steamed oak timbers fastened with copper rivets.

Galvanised steel plate floors fastened with stainless steel bolts which are insulated from the floors. Some stainless steel plate floors midships.

Cast iron ballast keel fastened with stainless steel keel bolts.

Titanium ring frame and new mahogany mast step recently fitted to spread the loads of the rig evenly and stiffen the hull. Full CAD drawings of this installation are available.

Pine beamshelf with new mahogany deck beams.

Deck made from 2 layers of 6mm marine plywood. Overlaid with a swept Oregon pine deck with mahogany king plank and covering boards. Small mahogany toe rail set just inboard from the deck edge.

2 separate cockpits with mahogany coamings and margin boards. Helm cockpit aft and crew forward.

The rig design was completed with the help of Tim Dean Consultancy Ltd to produce a high performance efficient rig.

The complete rig was delivered in 2022 and first sailed in September 2022.

Critical load data from the rig fed into the onboard system with various read out screens around the boat to give the crew real time information while racing. Data relayed via wifi to chase boat.

Fractional Bermudan sloop rig. Alloy mast and boom by Allspars, 2022. Full spec of spars available on request.

Stainless steel rod standing rigging. All rigging 2022, forestay new 2023.

2 x Harken Performa 50 and 2 x Harken Performa 46 2 speed self tailing winches below decks for line controls, set on newly fitted plywood structures especially designed for supreme crew ergonomics.

Single Harken Performa 50 mainsheet winch set on a central pedestal.

All fittings and hardware designed, supplied and installed by Marine Rigging Services Ltd of Gosport to race specification.

Cyclops Marine Gateway unit to collate and distribute data from load cells.

Smartlink load cells for mainsheet, running backstays and forestay.

• B&G H5000 CPU Hercules
• 4 x B&G Triton 2 digital display
• 2 x B&G H5000 Graphic display at the mast
• B&G wind sensor
• B&G rudder indicator
• B&G log
• Tracer 22ah Li-Po battery for systems
• Whale gusher manual bilge pump
• Auto electric bilge pump 150 litres/min
• 12 volt battery for bilge pumps
• 3 x fender pads
• Mooring warps
• Padded boom crutch
• All over mast up covers
• Deck covers fitted around the cockpits

All sails by One Sails and Europ’ Sails, made from a Glued Vantage1 membrane and a film outer surface:

2 x Harken Performa 50 2 speed self tailing winches

2 x Harken Performa 46 2 speed self tailing winches

Harken Performa 50 self tailing mainsheet winch

Spinlock clutches