Flying Dutchman K298

[neil]

Graham has forwarded an email to me about this FD which states.....

"Just in case anyone knows of someone who wants to purchase the rebuilt wooden Flying Dutchman, K298, Hoare-Mellows hull, now with a Mader deck and tank layout with clear epoxy & 2 pack varnish, may I suggest they make contact pretty quick, since the village bonfire night looms and the chainsaw is very sharp.

It would be nice to recover the material costs. The hull that you see is what you get, together with the photographic audit of the rebuild. Since I am so very bored with the advertising costs and the resulting time wasters from Nigeria, this is positively the last opportunity for this FD."



Graham and Alan have seen the boat and it's it great condition and Graham knows where a mast, rudder and centreboard can be acquired.

So if anyones interested the owner can be contacted at

nick.bosdet*remove_spam*@btinternet.com without the *remove_spam* bit.

I have phone numbers for the owner which I won't post on a public forum but if you are interested drop me a line

[alan williams]

This boat is super the seller has really made a fanastic job of her. If I was allowed and had the cash I would buy it.

Alan

[Brookesy]

As Alan has said the condition of this boat, and the workmanship is superb. I checked over the whole hull and it has been completed to take the loadings expected of a modern FD, there are no dirty jobs required to recondition it, it's as if you have just bought a new hull from the builder to fit out.
Come on someone, come and give Alan and I a run for our money next season.

[Rich]

Certainly looks a nice hull from the photos. Out of curiousity what sort of budget would a buyer need to complete the boat with a basic fit out using second hand parts ( i.e spars, sails, foils , blocks)?

[Brookesy]

The price can vary depending on what standard of fittings you would use, as the money is usually eaten up in the fittings and lines.
On the FD website currently there is a brand new mast for £500, these are still competitive, a boom and spinny pole with spiro system can also be negotiated from the vendor. Nick who is selling the hull I know also has numerous sails, along with a rudder and c/board. Also the traveller system has been prefitted and comes with the boat.
But if I was to hazard a guess I would say you could put the boat on the water in a competitive state of tune for about £2500 on top of the buying price, or much less depending on what you have accesss to and your negotiating skills.It should also be said that the class is keen to get boats on the water and will help, there are spares out there which whilst not top line will get you going until the right bits come along.
If you check out the German, Dutch and Italian wings of the FD Assoc you will see there are lots of spares up for grabs, as the class is very well supported in Europe.
It is also worth looking at the revival which is underway in the USA on the sailing anarchy website where there are a lot of restorations of old FD's being undertaken.
Its a lot of boat for the money.

[davidh]

and there lays the heart of the problem - at least, here in the UK.

You've spent something in the region of, say, £3,000 and you have a wonderful, fast, competitive boat that will turn heads whenever it goes afloat. Funnily enough, I was down at Studland this summer and there was a guy launching a restored FD there: I wish now I'd gotten his details as his boat was very much on a par with this.

505s are having sonething of the same debate, in France there is quite a move towards the restoration of the classic five 0s...... maybe we should invite them along some time!

Fds or 505s (or, for that matter, Ospreys...or the Ghost......or even a 14) are by definition fitting hungry, a boat like this can swallow £500 of harken, almost 'per side' if you want good rig control.

But, you've spent your money, got your boat, now go to find somewhere to play with it! As has been said, abroad these classes (FD, 505, Contender even) are still huge with a great following. It is only here, in the land of the SMOD, that your investment will look shaky.

It this a bit of a rant against today's dinghy scene in the UK....maybe!
D

[Trevor C]

David, in your list, you seemed to have forgotten the JollyBoat.

Better value than the FD? Without a doubt.

[davidh]

Forget the Jollyboat - only at one's peril! Ditto the Javelin!

But... the issue that I was trying to raise is just slightly to one side of these boats. Of course, for value for money, the Jollyboat would be hard to beat BUT...... it does rather lack that certain cachet of being a fully blooded international class.

In that respect, K298 is a bargain. Lessthan 5000 euros and you have a boat that you could, if you so wished, sail in most European locations.

Or - you could spend the same and sail a white plastic boat in the UK - or at a limited choice of European sites, against a fleet of other holidaying brits (and still have it called the Europeans!!).

But if you want a fun blasting machine then you're right - unless, of course, you want to includethe 505 in your calculations too.......

or.....

the Spearhead????

D

[alan williams]

But you don't under take a classic boat to make money the opposite normally happens. I sail classic boats A because it's cheap ,because I do n't change boats every 5 years and sails every year like I used to do. B because I do not want to be one of the herd that sail, shall we say boats that are only capable of sailing specific courses and where the parties/ p.....ups better than the racing. The big plus is sailing with in the main like minded people.
Recently some one said that I was talking to that they had come 6th in their European Champs (SMOD) I thought that was good until I read in Y&Y that only 8 boats entered them. I feel that the old boats are things that you love and cherish not thrash to death and chuck in the bin. But it's Horse for Courses and alot of these new SMOD's are more of a life style statement than a way of life.
Thats my rant for the day.
Al Finn424 Shark41 Nacra1879, and the dolphins