A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

an area to discuss dinghy developments
Post Reply
LASERTOURIST
Posts: 368
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:54 pm
Location: France

A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by LASERTOURIST »

Found this on Le Bon Coin.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/nautisme/1639600315.htm/
Seems to sail in île de Ré and Bassin d'Arcachon (known for the posh sort of dinghy sailing) .
Really nice and well kept boat
Ad says it comes with a Coventry Victor engine (OK, a very old Flat Twin sort of outboard) with a waterjet Hotchkiss conversion (seems to be a pre-war sort of marine jet engine) a finn wooden mast a wishbone and cotton and dacron sails (the windsurf like rig is said to come from a certain woolverstone boatyard).

Very exotic in France and may be even some kind of oddity in the UK, what did it look like before this rig was fitted and what was it exactly?
I know there were a few Laser 16 made with a bizarre furling una rig for the lazy, mackerel fishing style of sailor , this one seems something in the samle line , only earlier...any clues?
User avatar
PeterV
Posts: 1233
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:47 pm
Location: Locks Heath, Hampshire

Re: A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by PeterV »

That's some find! I'd guess it's based on a Swordfish hull but modified at the start of life to a day sailer with the daggeboard and weird rig. Fairey sold many bare hulls for home or professional finishing.
PeterV
Finn K197 & GBR564
Warsash
Michael4
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:25 pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by Michael4 »

WWSC on the transom. West Wittering SC where only locals can join.

I am something of a Coventry Victor afficionado, that is a small post war one (based on removable cylinder heads). I'd love to see the Hotchkiss water jet, they made some great cars (and trucks) and I am currently rebuilding a waterjet outboard just for the hell of it. If anyone buys the boat I'd be happy to take on this gubbins though I question the performance of the waterjet with the CV's low rpm range...
Tideway 206
11+
Sold the 'Something bigger and plastic', it never got used.
Michael4
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:25 pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by Michael4 »

Also noye Batt sail and Chichester Harbour sticker in first pic (East Head behind?). I'd suggest this hasn't n
been in France that long.
Tideway 206
11+
Sold the 'Something bigger and plastic', it never got used.
LASERTOURIST
Posts: 368
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:54 pm
Location: France

Re: A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by LASERTOURIST »

As i'm no collector just curious i wonn't be buying this boat.
The hotchkiss jet thing is apparently a kind of conical turbine fitted to a standard engine (found a reference about it on the web in a book about RNLI Lifeboats, it said this system was used for rescue boats operating from beaches just before WWII) Not sure if this particular Hotchkiss has anything to do with the french carmaker (went out of buisness somewhere in the 50's except for some military special vehicles , just lile Delahaye).
Outboard jet conversions were a short lived rage somewhere in the 80's:I remeber one particular salon nautique de Paris (boat show) with nearly 3/4 of the outboards on display fitted with a jet conversion lower unit looking like big contorted bit of whale bowel + nozzle.... a clever marketing trick trying to convey the message "propellors obsolete - delete them, waterjet is the shape of things to come"...on the next edition of the show all the whale bowel jets had just vanished...and the invasion of waterbikes was still a few years ahead.
Though the french in the ad is perfectly grammatical some turns in the style may point to a brit living in France.
LASERTOURIST
Posts: 368
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:54 pm
Location: France

Re: A Wotzit Fairey Marine 15 Ft converted into a fine oddity

Post by LASERTOURIST »

End of ad says thet there is a full documentation including original documents, invoices...etc and that the owner would gladly swap it for some smaller classic boat like an Nat'l12 or vintage car/motorcycle
Post Reply