Description

Hull - Firebrand was built by Roger Wilkinson of Kittiwake Boats, Macclesfield in 1989/90. She was professionally rebuilt for the Antiques Road Show silver expert, Brand Ingles, by Roger in 1995, when he added two built in buoyancy tanks beneath the side benches in addition to the original aft buoyancy chamber. Brand took her down to Provence and sailed her there until 2010, when I bought her from him. The hull was designed by Morgan Giles in 1920 as the Trearddur Bay Sailing Club One Design Myth Class racing dinghy. The hull form was adapted by Roger into the Kittiwake 14, which despite being a fibreglass hull features a great deal of mahogany trimming, often mistaken for wooden boats they has always been welcomed at Classic Boat Shows as they look so traditional. They are sturdy boats: Roger's original prototype won the Kittiwake Challenge Cup in Falmouth in 2024.

Firebrand is a gaff-rigged yawl of 14' 3" on deck, 21' (6.4-m) LOA and 14' (4.3-m) LWL with a beam of 5' (1.5-m); draft 9" with the plate up and 3' with plate down. She has a GRP simulated clinker hull with cream gelcoat topsides and blue underwater paint coating. The mahogany gunwales, fitted for rowlocks, main thwart, side and stern benches were all varnished or re-coated with Deks Olje for the 2024 season. Beneath the laid and payed Iroko foredeck and hatch is a forward buoyancy chamber. The strengthened transom is fitted for mounting the Yamaha 4 outboard that has always run well. The slatted sole boards are scrubbed pine.

Rig - The masts and spars are Canadian pine and were all re-coated with Deks Olje for the 2024 season; the standing rigging is stainless steel with cod line lanyards; the outer jib is fitted with Wykeham-Martin roller furling gear, the inner jib with spring-hanks. The foresails, main and mizzen [total sail area 135 sq ft] are all tan coloured, in fair condition and have been professionally washed and maintained every season since 2010; a topsail with yard and a blooper have occasionally been set and are included. The blooper was set on a carbon fibre topmast that has since been cut down to form the topsail yard. All blocks are Tufnol with Davey's bronze cleats, fittings and belaying pins. The traditional looking running rigging [laid not braided] is in good condition. The heavy galvanised drop plate is raised and lowered with a block and tackle secured to a bronze cleat on the mahogany ply centreboard case.

Equipment - launching trolley and Snipe road trailer - the latter is in running condition but has been repaired with square section doubler tubes; trail board; the original winter boat cover is still in use but needs replacing; there is a drop plate rudder; a pair of 8' ash oars with bronze rowlocks; a Yamaha 4 outboard; 12-L Yamaha fuel tank, pipe and hand pump; manual bilge pump; CQR and grapnel anchors and warps; mooring warps; several hand bailers; sail bag; collapsable rubber bucket; trailer wheel lock.

General - In my ownership since 2010, Firebrand has been dry-sailed from the Bosham Sailing Club [BSC] dinghy park and may be inspected there by prior arrangement. She has been great fun for family sailing around Chichester Harbour and the Solent. She has regularly competed in the BSC Classic Day Boat and Masters Series and also in two English Raids. I am reluctantly selling her now, because advancing age, diminishing agility and loss of grandchildren crew who have moved onto bigger keel boats mean I can no longer race her single-handed and must seek something more suitable.

Specifications

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