Wooden Ships Comments on this Itchen Ferry Gaff Cutter Yacht Itchen Ferry built as a yacht by Berthon of Lymington in 1926. It was quite common for private individuals to commission a new yacht based on the proven design of local working boats.
She underwent a major professional rebuild in the 1990’s which included many new frames and planks, a complete new deck, rig and interior.
Wooden Ships Comments on this Itchen Ferry Gaff Cutter Yacht Itchen Ferry built as a yacht by Berthon of Lymington in 1926. It was quite common for private individuals to commission a new yacht based on the proven design of local working boats.
She underwent a major professional rebuild in the 1990’s which included many new frames and planks, a complete new deck, rig and interior. Since that time she has evidently been very well maintained and updated as necessary including a new engine in 2009. The last survey from 2013 is available, since which time no expense has been spared on her maintenance.
Her dimensions show she has a very generous beam at over 9’ for a 25’ yacht, this helps open up the interior volume but also gives her a healthy waterline length, meaning she is no slouch in favourable conditions, regularly clocking 7 knots if allowed. Her Thames Tonnage of 7TM shows just how voluminous she is for a boat of her length.
She has been cruised by the current owners mainly in the Solent, easily sailed by a husband and wife crew and welcomed at all the traditional yachting events.
This is an exceptionally nice yacht, superbly well maintained and with a great history and pedigree.
Mooring for the 2022 season already paid and available to a purchaser if required.
Length on Deck 25’
Length Overall 34’
Length Waterline 24’
Beam 9’2”
Draft 4’2”
Thames Tonnage 7TM
Construction
Carvel planked in Pitch Pine of approximately 7/8” thickness. Fastened with copper nails to sawn oak frames, 2” x 2” at 10” centres. Intermediate CRE steamed timbers fastened with copper rivets.
Oak keel, stem and stern post
Bronze strap floors across the centreline with bronze bolts.
External lead ballast keel of 3 tons fastened with bronze keel bolts.
Yacht laid teak deck screwed and glued to a marine plywood subdeck, joggled to a varnished teak king plank.
Full length varnished teak covering boards and toe rails.
Bronze stem head fitting with chain rollers. Recessed bronze fairleads in the toe rails.
Varnished teak coachroof coamings with round bronze portholes in the coamings. Teak on ply coachroof deck with scrubbed teak handrails and companion hatch garage.
Varnished teak forehatch forward of the mast.
Deep non-self draining cockpit in varnished teak with laid scrubbed teak thwarts. Thwarts lift for access to lockers beneath.
Bridge deck at forward end. Scrubbed teak cockpit sole grating.
Substantial transom hung oak rudder with ornate varnished teak tiller. Spare tiller of similar design.
Rig
Gaff cutter rig on a keel stepped varnished hollow spruce mast with an oak mast step.
Varnished spruce slab reefing boom, gaff yard and bowsprit. All bronze mast fittings.
Stainless steel standing rigging with spliced eyes to internal bronze chain plates. Pair of lower shrouds each side with a cap shroud over spreaders. Running backstays on bronze Highfield levers.
Bronze and varnished teak boom gallows aft of the cockpit.
Pair of bronze Lewmar 40 self tailing cockpit sheet winches.
Running rigging all new in 2018. All varnished ash blocks. Halyard falls come to a pin rail at the base of the mast.
Double tailed mainsheet to a bronze horse across the transom with varnished wooden blocks.
Jib sheets make off to sheet winches, staysail sheets pass through bronze sheaves in the cockpit coamings to teak cleats on the inside face.
Staysail hanks on to the inner forestay. Jib sets on a Wyckham Martin bronze roller furling gear.
Large wardrobe of sails all in good or fair condition. Full list of sails in the equipment list below.
Machinery
Vetus M2.06 16hp twin cylinder marine diesel installed new in 2009.
ZF mechanical gearbox to a centreline Darglow feathering 3 blade propeller gives 4 knots cruising speed.
Engine and propeller serviced annually. New heat exchanger in 2018.
2 x 45 litre stainless fuel tanks, one each side under the cockpit lockers.
2 x 40 litre plastic water tanks, one under each settee berth.
2 x 12 volt batteries under the companionway steps, charged from the engine alternator.
2 manual bilge pumps
Accommodation
The interior was completely refitted in the 1990’s at the time of the major rebuild and is beautifully fitted out in varnished teak.
3 single berths with 5’8” headroom in the saloon.
Steps down from the bridge deck into the main cabin. Galley stove to port, a gimballed Taylors 043 2 burner gas stove with oven and grill. To starboard is a galley sink with manually pumped fresh water. Sink is emptied directly overboard with a manual pump.
Over the sink is a removable chart desk.
Single saloon settee berth either side with lockers behind under the deckhead. Trotter box at the forward end of the port berth.
Varnished saloon table swings into the middle on an alloy leg system.
Doorway to the starboard side of the mast through the bulkhead into the forecabin with a single pipecot berth to starboard and lockers under the berth.
Hanging locker to port plus lower level lockers and storage space.
Heads on the centreline in the bows facing aft. Simpson Lawrence SL400 manual sea toilet discharges directly overboard
