Butler Boats getting prepared for the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show
by Andy Yates, Butler Boats 3 Feb 2015 04:26 NZDT
Stand C56, 28 February - 1 March 2015
Miracle Association stand at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show © Butler Boats
Well thank goodness January is over, that leaves just 26 days until... The Dinghy Show! Arrgghh!
We've been working incredibly hard this past month, winter services have come and gone with others on the waiting list, new orders taken and fulfilled and of course the obligatory preparations for the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show.
We had a very positive meeting with members of the Miracle Association Technical Committee in early January and are happy to announce that there will be a shake-up of the Rules to bring them up to date and easier to follow.
Pending approval at this year's AGM, we can now supply all wooden Miracles' with the 'thick' floor, meaning we can omit the floor battens and bring the wooden Miracle in line with the FRP and Composite versions.
The Miracle Association will be celebrating its own 40th Anniversary this year which is certainly a great way to see in 2015!
We have, over the past couple of years, received a gentle flow of new Heron orders throughout the season, the Heron as everyone I'm sure can testify, is a great little dinghy with a strong history, but, as with a great deal of older design dinghies, unfortunately it has seen a steady decline in numbers over the past few years, this can be put down to any number of reasons, new technology, better and more popular designs etc.
The Butler Boats Team is delighted to announce there is to be a Northern Series incorporating Huddersfield Sailing Club, Yeadon Sailing Club and our very own Welton Sailing Club, where the Heron National event will take place. We have been working hard to ensure that members from all clubs will be attending the Open events at Huddersfield and Yeadon respectively and that all will travel over to Welton for the Nationals.
We are proud to say that we have even gone as far as to organise a training day at Huddersfield on 'How to tie down and secure your boat safely for towing', slightly long winded I must confess but we have been speaking with the clubs and have found that many members would travel that bit further if they had the confidence to tow their boats safely and efficiently. We are happy to volunteer our time and expert advice in this area to ensure attendances are at their optimum at the 3 events we will be involved in. Please do get in touch for more information regarding the Nationals, open events and Heron Dinghy.
The Heron Nationals will take place on Sunday 6th September 2015 and the Yeadon/Huddersfield Open on Saturday 26th September (Yeadon) and Sunday 27th September (Huddersfield).
The Farr 3.7 mouldings are well under way and we expect to announce the addition of Composite hulls in the near future, the timber infrastructure which supports the false floor within the Farr is under construction and our own ideas and innovations with respect to the Farr remain on going, it's presence at the Dinghy Show again this year shows our faith and commitment to this great dinghy and we look forward to discussing matters further over the coming months.
The FRP Streaker has continued to wow audiences over the winter months and an almost over excited committee are chomping at the bit to make this year's 40th Anniversary celebrations at the Dinghy Show as special as they can, look out for prizes, open event updates and some lovely looking FRP and Composite Butler Streakers on Stand C66 and C56 respectively!
February promises to be another busy month with plans to open up the workshop to our local primary school who are learning about boats (albeit the Viking types!), they will be spending a few hours with us to look at modern boat building as a contrast to that of hundreds of years ago, we will also be taking a boat to the school, fully rigged and presented for the children to learn about. You never know, any future boat builders or sailors would be welcome!
We're delighted to be involved in our local community and hope these arrangements with the local school can lead to more exposure into the world of boat building, sailing and all things dinghy!
Now we're off to sharpen our chisels, shape some timber and make a list of 'Things to Do – Before the Boat Show!'.
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