Wendy Rose-What its all about!
The on going series of films made by the Australian Wooden Boat Festival, called “Wooden Boat Folk” is into its second season. I enjoy them all, but the one released this week is special! It’s about a Hartley TS16.
In 1953 the first marine plywood trailable yacht designed for home construction, the Silhouette, emerged in the UK. The idea took off and by 1960 there were over a thousand sailing throughout the world. The concept was adopted by Richard Hartley in New Zealand who designed the Hartley TS16, and her big sisters the TS18 and TS21: a range of trailable multi-chined plywood yachts.
The TS16 was designed to be an affordable trailer sailor that could be built by an amateur with basic skills in their own garage. The original shape was based on a small New Zealand mullet fishing boat, adjusted in dimensions to fit a standard 1960s garage. Mullets were beamy boats that sailed well and were often raced. When Hartley saw the possibility of adapting mullet boat principles to a smaller, family boat, the wide-beamed, performance-oriented Hartley line of trailer sailers was born.
New Zealand mullet fishing boats were the original inspiration behind the Hartley TS16
This video tells the the story of WENDY ROSE owned by Saul Davidson who purchased her with his live savings when he was 12 years old, and slowly restored her in his spare time. The analogue, hands on, actual (not virtual) experience of owning a timber boat is rare for young people these days. But it’s an experience that we, much like the AWBF, should encourage at every opportunity. Enjoy!
