Fairey marine
Encyclopedia
Fairey Marine Ltd was a boat building company based on the River Hamble
, Southampton
, England
. The company was created in the late 1940s by Sir Charles Richard Fairey
and Fairey Aviation
's Managing Director, Mr. Chichester-Smith. Both were avid sailing enthusiasts along with Chichester-Smith's good friend and former Olympic yachtsman, Charles Currey
(obituary).
enthusiast. Fairey came to own Shamrock V built in 1930 for Sir Thomas Lipton
’s fifth and last America’s Cup challenge. Designed by Charles Nicholson
, she was the first British yacht to be built to the new J Class rule and is the only remaining J built in wood. Sir T.O.M. Sopwith had considerable knowledge of yacht racing and purchased Shamrock V in 1932 to gain experience in J Class racing. He challenged in 1933 and using his experience from Shamrock V went onto build “Endeavour” Shamrock V was then sold to Sir Richard Fairey.
In the pre war years, Fairey had commissioned yacht designer Charles Nicholson
to build him a 12 Metre class racing yacht. To support this endeavour Sir Richard utilised the designers and engineers at the Fairey Aviation company’s design office to undertake research, design and development work. Hydrodynamic research was augmented by construction of the world’s first experimental low speed wind tunnel for racing yacht design at the Hayes factory. Although the primary use of the wind tunnel
was for sails research, Fairey engineers also developed a method of experiment for measuring the component known as skin friction in naval architecture which was used in both the hull and sails research work. The resulting craft was known as Flica (see the_Flica_Project), in this craft Fairey won 35 flags in 39 races in 1932 and in the following year 49 flags in 55 races.
was recruited to help run the company when he came out of the Royal Navy
. The world air speed record holder Peter Twiss
joined Fairey Marine Ltd from Fairey Aviation
in 1960 and was responsible for development and sales of day-cruisers. In 1969, commanding the Huntsman 707 Fordsport, he took part in the Round Britain Powerboat Race, and included among his crew members, Rally
champion Roger Clark
. Boats were primarily designed by Alan Burnard.
In the early years, thousands of dinghies were produced by Fairey Marine including the Firefly, Albacore, Falcon, Swordfish, Jollyboat, Flying Fifteen, 505 and International 14's along with the much smaller Dinky and Duckling. Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard's wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27 feet (8.2 m) Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15 Cinderella (outboard runabout) and the 16'6" Faun (outboard powered family cruiser).
In the 1960s Fairey designed and built a range of wooden-hulled speedboats and motor launches designed by Alan Burnand.
These became well-known in boating circles for their speed, stability and good rough-water handling. Craft were sold to both wealthy and famous individuals, including Deborah Kerr
, Prince Albert of Belgium and Billy Butlin
. The craft also starred in the James Bond
film From Russia with Love
. Sean Connery
as James Bond
can be seen driving a white Fairey Huntress and the being chased by a Fairey Huntman 28s and Fairey Huntress.
Types such as the Dagger and Spearfish were used as police launches and as pinnace
s by the Royal Navy
. In the early 1970s Fairey switched to glass reinforced plastic hulls of the same design. The range was expanded to include cabin cruiser types (such as the Swordfish) which could still put in an impressive turn of speed and won several cruiser-class long distances races, such as the London
-Monte Carlo
race.
Today, Swordsman Marine (swordsmanmarine) builds motorboats based on Fairey designs. These include 30 feet (9.1 m) speedboats based on the Spearfish, using the same hull with a modified cabin and modern engine and controls, and larger cabin cruisers based on a modified version of the Dagger design. Fairey Marine absorbed the East Cowes firm of Groves and Gutteridge Ltd., established since 1899. One of the main products of the Company has been lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
along with other companies in the Fairey Group in 1975 when the parent company went into liquidation. The business was subsequently absorbed into what is now the marine division of Babcock International Group
.
When the main Fairey company went into receivership the work force and the management did not want to be taken over by Trafalgar House
or Rank International because they expected that those companies would shut the firm and adapt the site for use as a marina. The workforce wanted to stay in boat building and were keen that the National Enterprise Board
should take them over (As reported in Hansard in 1979). Since then the company developed and expanded its range of products as well as acquiring a number of other companies including Cheverton Workboats, Brooke Marine
and what became Fairey Marinteknik, the company was also known as Fairey Allday, all companies absorbed into Fairey produced the Waveney class lifeboat
for the RNLI; see also Attacker class patrol boat
, produced in the early 1980s before emerging as FBM Marine in 1988. In March 2000, FBM Marine was acquired by Babcock International Group
PLC, a major UK based support services, facilities management and engineering company specialising in the support of defence forces worldwide, and renamed FBM Babcock Marine Ltd.
s in the 1930′s for “stressed skin” wooden aircraft production, using layers of thin birch
plywood
sandwiched together with glue over a male mould and “cooked” in a large oven called an “autoclave
” By using true mass-production techniques, Fairey Marine were able to turn out vast numbers of identical boats at an unprecedented quality and price.
Moulds were constructed from spruce
, built up on a steel base plate. Seven by three inches planks cut to the waterplane sections provided the starting point. Working from the shearline, the planks were built up in a series of steps, arriving quickly at a close representation of the designed shape. Subsequent fairing yielded finished dimensions. Rebates for the keel
, stem
and transom
completed the mould building process.
Although the veneers used to produce Fairey boats may appear to be parallel sided, every one was in fact profiled. Rather than shaping each veneer to fit on the mould, as in traditional boat building, Faireys saved an enormous amount of time by sawing complete sets of veneers to precision patterns. Veneers were produced in stacks of six. Boat were then typically built in batches of 24 or 36. Early boats used 1/8″ spruce ply, surplus to the War Department’s de Havilland Mosquito
aircraft programme. When this material became unavailable it was replaced by 2.5 mm agba
veneers.
Chosen for its high gum content, agba formed easily without splitting and glued well. All the dinghy classes used just three agba veneers while some of the bigger boats used up to six. Initially all the veneers were laid at 45° while later boats changed to fore and aft outer planking for aesthetic reasons.
With the keel, stem and transom in place, veneers were applied starting on the centreline and working out towards the shear. Each veneer was held in place by just three staples at the keel, bilge and shearline. Roller-application of Borden
One-Shot waterproof glue preceded each veneer except the first. With all veneers in place a vacuum bag was drawn over the moulding and secured in place using a clamp plate and G-clamps.
Early vacuum bags were made from war surplus barrage balloon
fabric. After about 1950, individual rubber bags were prepared on the moulds using uncured rubber sheets which were subsequently vulcanized in the autoclaves used for production. Moulding process and hull repairs
Placed in the autoclave, the vacuum was drawn down to 27/28 inches water-gauge and steam at a pressure of some 50 pounds per square inch introduced. Processing took about 45 minutes at 100°C. Curing at elevated temperatures under vacuum not only ensured that all the veneers were firmly consolidated – a process requiring many thousands of staples using the conventional cold-moulding process – but allowed for the use of a truly waterproof, single part, high-temperature curing glue. During the curing process the glue impregnated the wood resulting in a virtually rot-proof finished shell.
Components such as side-decks were also hot moulded while other parts required for assembly were cut to patterns in the same way as the skin veneers. For one of the more complex boats, the International 14, the time for final construction from bare hull to finished boat was set at 230 man-hours compared to 400–500 hours associated with traditional construction.
) about using the designs that were proving so successful in races such as the Miami-Nassau. Fairey Marine motor cruisers began with boats being built to Hunt designs. The exclusive concessionary rights for the sale of Fairey craft were acquired by businessman Bruce Campbell. He went off to the South of France with the first four hot-moulded Fairey boats on a sales trip, naming the design Christina. The 23 ft (7m) design may have suited Hunt's local waters - or perhaps not - but being fully open boats and incorporating leaky retractable centre-boards, they were not well received. Before long Campbell returned with all four boats still in tow. Richard Fairey then employed British designer Alan Burnard to adapt Hunt's ideas and come up with more suitable designs, while Bruce Campbell severed his close ties with the company.
Burnard's first designs, included the Huntress and were far more appropriate, Fairey went on to build hundreds of boats to Burnard designs. In addition to producing its own craft, Fairey also supplied bare hulls suitable for fitting out, and Campbell, still looking to fulfil his own ideas for a luxury powerboat, acquired Huntress hulls, with the blessing of Fairey, fitting them out to his own specifications and calling them, once again, Christinas; the later models were laid up in GRP by Halmatic as is the case with this boat. Campbell's boats proved successful in British racing both in Round Britain races and the Cowes-Torquay. Tommy Sopwith won the inaugural 1961 Cowes Torquay race (powerboat-race 50th aniversary) in a Christina 25.
The most common Fairey Marine Motor Cruisers are detailed as below:
Other craft produced by Fairey Marine were a total of 88 hulls for Dell Quay Productions Ltd which were used to produce the Dell Quay Ranger dell quay ranger and Christinas. The company was perhaps most renowned for producing exclusive powerboats and cruisers based on an extensive racing pedigree. Fairey Marine cruisers won 148 racing awards between the years 1961 and 1973, including the prestigious Monte-Carlo and Cowes-Torquay races. 1969 was a particularly successful year, with a tally of 54 awards.
was asked by Chichester-Smith, together with Stewart Morris, to design a one-design twelve foot dinghy. Uffa Fox dusted off his pre war Sea Swallow design renaming it Firefly in order to name it after Fairey aircraft.
Another dinghy, the 15 ft Albacore
, is also built by other manufacturers and raced at many sailing clubs in the UK and other countries.
The Firefly was one of the first production dinghies ever built in large numbers, the initial cost of a boat was £65. The first four were bought by Sir Geoffrey Loules, commodore of Itchenor Sailing Club, which he named Fe, Fi, Fo and Fum. The boat was also considered to be sufficiently competitive enough to be selected for the single handed class in the 1948 Olympics, although it was replaced in 1952 by the Finn. Early boats were built from laminates of birch ply, left over from the stocks used to build Horsa
gliders. The mast, built by Reynolds
, was aluminium alloy with the top section made from spruce. A number of modifications have been made to the class over the years including construction in GRP
from 1968, and the introduction of a one piece rotating mast by Proctors in 1970. Despite the introduction of plastics to replace ply moulded boats, it is a testament to their build quality that there are still many wooden boats racing regularly.
Production Sailing Dinghies
Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard's wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27' Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15 Cinderella (outboard runabout) and the 16'6" Faun (outboard powered family cruiser).
Between 1956 and 1968 Fairey Marine produced some 291 Atalanta class sailing yachts, designed by Uffa Fox
: The Atalanta was conceived in 1955 by Alan Vines, a senior executive at Fairey, with the expertise of Uffa Fox who was their Design Consultant. It was envisaged as a trailable shallow draft performance cruiser with the sea keeping capabilities and safety of a fin keel yacht. Over the succeeding decades the distinctive centre cockpit design with its rolled decks and generous accommodation has more than fulfilled expectations, offering a respectable turn of speed in light airs while her retractable cast iron keels give outstanding heavy weather performance in a seaway. Robust enough to carry its full sail in winds up to force five, the Atalanta retains many of the handling characteristics of a classic dinghy.
Fairey Marine went on to produce three variants of the Atalanta, another 26 ft (8.1m) hull with a slightly shorter cockpit and more headroom called the Titania (named after another Fairey flying boat), a larger version the Atalanta 31 (9.45m) and the Fulmar a 20 ft(6.1m) version with a single lifting keel. Small Dinghies were built using similar techniques as tenders for the larger boats
Also produced using the same technique of hot-moulded veneers were the Dinky and Duckling dinghies, mainly used as tenders although the Duckling was also sold as a sailing dinghy, also the Pixie a two-part symmetrical dinghy/canoe.
It is mentioned in the Fairey Review that between 1946 and 1963 the Hamble factory produced over 11,000 boats.
In 1974, Fairey Marine was awarded the contract to build a new floating bridge between East and West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight
. The bridge (or ferry) travels along two heavy chains anchored on either side of the River Medina
. The chains pass through slots beneath the cardeck of the ferry, and the winch machinery inside pulls along the chain, taking it from one shore to the other. The chains are kept loose so that they sink to the river bed, allowing other vessels to use the river and sail above the chains. The use of chains means that it is impossible for the ferry to go off course or become lost in fog. The bridge is diesel powered, took 16 months to build and cost £280,000. It carries up to 19 cars, Since 1982, the bridge has been the only floating bridge on the route and since 1992 foot passengers have travelled free of charge.
Combat Support Boat
One of the last designs to come from Fairey Marine before being absorbed into FBM Babcock Marine Limited was a craft based on a requirement issued by the UK Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment at Christchurch, the Fairey company started development of the 8m Combat Support Boat
(CSB) in the Autumn of 1975, with the first prototype being delivered to the British Army for trials early in 1977. As a result of extensive trials the boat was accepted for service with the British Army in February 1979 and an order placed for 56 boats. The Ministry of Defence ordered a further 12 CSBs to replace those lost during the Falklands War. After evaluation by the US Army, with over 700 boats delivered, more than half of these having been license-produced in the US. (Janes Military Vehicles and Logistics)CSB Youtube video
Associated companies
Fairey-sponsored sailing competitions
The Schools Championships was started in 1953 under the name of The Public Schools Firefly Invitation Championships. Its aim was to promote inter-schools sailing competition and the encouragement of young sailors. The winning school won a prize of a Fairey Firefly 12 ft dinghy. This scheme was the idea of Colin Chichester-Smith and Charles Currey both of Fairey Marine. They both sailed International 14 footers at that time and asked the Itchenor Sailing Club
to run the event which have became a prestigious UK competition. Fairey Marine presented a complete Firefly for some 19 years. To reduce their financial commitment in later years Ratsey & Lapthorn, the sail makers, presented the sails. The Firefly first prize was replaced in 1972 by today’s engraved plate "The Sir Richard Fairey Challenge Trophy".
Preservation groups and associations
The Fairey Enthusiasts Club is for those who share an appreciation of the boats built by Fairey Marine exclusively. Its main objective is to offer a freely available exchange for information and comments for those with an interest in Fairey Marine or for those restoring a Fairey boat from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
Fairey Owners' Club
Although Fairey boats were built from the '50s to the early '80s, it was not until 1986 that the Fairey Owners Club was founded by Justin Birt. Their basic idea, which still remains the principal objective of the club, is to preserve the marque of Fairey boats especially powerboats. Latterly the club has admitted owners of modern interpretations and copies of the original boats. These boats use identical hull moulds or have been designed by Fairey's chief designer, Alan Burnard.
Atalanta Owners Association:
The Atalanta Owners Association (AOA) was started in 1958 by Fairey Marine with the object of maintaining a register of the Atalanta class sailing craft. With the demise of the company, many of the records and drawings of these craft were passed to the AOA and are still available to members.
River Hamble
The River Hamble is a river in Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for some 7.5 miles through Botley, Bursledon and Swanwick before entering Southampton Water near Hamble-le-Rice and Warsash....
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The company was created in the late 1940s by Sir Charles Richard Fairey
Charles Richard Fairey
Sir Charles Richard Fairey MBE, FRAeS was a British aircraft manufacturer.-Early life:Charles Fairey was born was born on 5 May 1887 in Hendon, Middlesex and educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and later as an apprentice at the Finsbury Technical College where he studied City &...
and Fairey Aviation
Fairey Aviation
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester...
's Managing Director, Mr. Chichester-Smith. Both were avid sailing enthusiasts along with Chichester-Smith's good friend and former Olympic yachtsman, Charles Currey
Charles Currey
Charles Currey was a British sailor. He participated at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki where he won a silver medal in Finn class.-References:...
(obituary).
C.R. Fairey
Fairey was also a keen J-class yachtJ-class yacht
The J-Class serves as a rating for large sailing yachts designed between 1930 and 1937. Reserved for a wealthy elite of yachtsmen, these boats were used to compete with the best sailing talents in three races of the America's Cup.-The 1930s:...
enthusiast. Fairey came to own Shamrock V built in 1930 for Sir Thomas Lipton
Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, merchant, and yachtsman. He created the Lipton tea brand and was the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup.-Parentage and childhood:Lipton was born in Glasgow...
’s fifth and last America’s Cup challenge. Designed by Charles Nicholson
Charles Nicholson
Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet was a British-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist...
, she was the first British yacht to be built to the new J Class rule and is the only remaining J built in wood. Sir T.O.M. Sopwith had considerable knowledge of yacht racing and purchased Shamrock V in 1932 to gain experience in J Class racing. He challenged in 1933 and using his experience from Shamrock V went onto build “Endeavour” Shamrock V was then sold to Sir Richard Fairey.
In the pre war years, Fairey had commissioned yacht designer Charles Nicholson
Charles Nicholson
Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet was a British-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist...
to build him a 12 Metre class racing yacht. To support this endeavour Sir Richard utilised the designers and engineers at the Fairey Aviation company’s design office to undertake research, design and development work. Hydrodynamic research was augmented by construction of the world’s first experimental low speed wind tunnel for racing yacht design at the Hayes factory. Although the primary use of the wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
was for sails research, Fairey engineers also developed a method of experiment for measuring the component known as skin friction in naval architecture which was used in both the hull and sails research work. The resulting craft was known as Flica (see the_Flica_Project), in this craft Fairey won 35 flags in 39 races in 1932 and in the following year 49 flags in 55 races.
Post war work
As the war drew to a close Fairey and Chichester-Smith both decided that they should produce sailing dinghies utilising techniques that had been employed in the construction of aircraft. Charles CurreyCharles Currey
Charles Currey was a British sailor. He participated at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki where he won a silver medal in Finn class.-References:...
was recruited to help run the company when he came out of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. The world air speed record holder Peter Twiss
Peter Twiss
Lionel Peter Twiss, OBE, DSC and Bar was a British test pilot who held the World Air Speed Record as the first man to fly at a speed greater than 1,000 mph.-Early life:...
joined Fairey Marine Ltd from Fairey Aviation
Fairey Aviation
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester...
in 1960 and was responsible for development and sales of day-cruisers. In 1969, commanding the Huntsman 707 Fordsport, he took part in the Round Britain Powerboat Race, and included among his crew members, Rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
champion Roger Clark
Roger Clark
Roger Albert Clark, MBE, was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally.-Biography:...
. Boats were primarily designed by Alan Burnard.
In the early years, thousands of dinghies were produced by Fairey Marine including the Firefly, Albacore, Falcon, Swordfish, Jollyboat, Flying Fifteen, 505 and International 14's along with the much smaller Dinky and Duckling. Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard's wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27 feet (8.2 m) Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15 Cinderella (outboard runabout) and the 16'6" Faun (outboard powered family cruiser).
In the 1960s Fairey designed and built a range of wooden-hulled speedboats and motor launches designed by Alan Burnand.
These became well-known in boating circles for their speed, stability and good rough-water handling. Craft were sold to both wealthy and famous individuals, including Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
, Prince Albert of Belgium and Billy Butlin
Billy Butlin
Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin, , was a British, South Africa-born entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.American Heritage Dictionary 2004, p. 135.Scott 2001, p. 5...
. The craft also starred in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
. Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
can be seen driving a white Fairey Huntress and the being chased by a Fairey Huntman 28s and Fairey Huntress.
Types such as the Dagger and Spearfish were used as police launches and as pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. In the early 1970s Fairey switched to glass reinforced plastic hulls of the same design. The range was expanded to include cabin cruiser types (such as the Swordfish) which could still put in an impressive turn of speed and won several cruiser-class long distances races, such as the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
race.
Today, Swordsman Marine (swordsmanmarine) builds motorboats based on Fairey designs. These include 30 feet (9.1 m) speedboats based on the Spearfish, using the same hull with a modified cabin and modern engine and controls, and larger cabin cruisers based on a modified version of the Dagger design. Fairey Marine absorbed the East Cowes firm of Groves and Gutteridge Ltd., established since 1899. One of the main products of the Company has been lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Collapse of Fairey Marine
Fairey Marine was taken into ReceivershipReceivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
along with other companies in the Fairey Group in 1975 when the parent company went into liquidation. The business was subsequently absorbed into what is now the marine division of Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...
.
When the main Fairey company went into receivership the work force and the management did not want to be taken over by Trafalgar House
Trafalgar House (company)
Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
or Rank International because they expected that those companies would shut the firm and adapt the site for use as a marina. The workforce wanted to stay in boat building and were keen that the National Enterprise Board
National Enterprise Board
-History:The National Enterprise Board was set up in the United Kingdom in 1975 to implement the Wilson Labour government's objective of extending public ownership of industry...
should take them over (As reported in Hansard in 1979). Since then the company developed and expanded its range of products as well as acquiring a number of other companies including Cheverton Workboats, Brooke Marine
Brooke Marine
Brooke Marine was a Lowestoft-based shipbuilding firm. The company constructed boats and small ships for civilian and commercial use, as well as minor warships for the Royal Navy, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Australian Navy, Kenya Navy and United States Navy.The company was founded in 1874 as a...
and what became Fairey Marinteknik, the company was also known as Fairey Allday, all companies absorbed into Fairey produced the Waveney class lifeboat
Waveney class lifeboat
The Waveney class lifeboat was the first class of lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution capable of operating at speeds in excess of . Based on an American hull design, 22 were in operation between 1964 and 1999 at the RNLI's stations around the coast of the United Kingdom...
for the RNLI; see also Attacker class patrol boat
Attacker class patrol boat
The Attacker class is a class of patrol boats. Formerly operated by the Royal Navy and the HM Customs, seven of the class are currently operated by the Lebanese Navy and two by Lebanese Customs...
, produced in the early 1980s before emerging as FBM Marine in 1988. In March 2000, FBM Marine was acquired by Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...
PLC, a major UK based support services, facilities management and engineering company specialising in the support of defence forces worldwide, and renamed FBM Babcock Marine Ltd.
Construction methods
The hot moulding process was an adaptation to post war boat building of the method originally developed by de HavillandDe Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
s in the 1930′s for “stressed skin” wooden aircraft production, using layers of thin birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
sandwiched together with glue over a male mould and “cooked” in a large oven called an “autoclave
Autoclave
An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...
” By using true mass-production techniques, Fairey Marine were able to turn out vast numbers of identical boats at an unprecedented quality and price.
Moulds were constructed from spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, built up on a steel base plate. Seven by three inches planks cut to the waterplane sections provided the starting point. Working from the shearline, the planks were built up in a series of steps, arriving quickly at a close representation of the designed shape. Subsequent fairing yielded finished dimensions. Rebates for the keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
, stem
Stem (ship)
The stem is the very most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself and curves up to the wale of the boat. The stem is more often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively...
and transom
Transom (nautical)
In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward, also known as a retroussé or reverse transom, angling forward from the waterline to the deck, or raked aft, often simply called "raked", angling...
completed the mould building process.
Although the veneers used to produce Fairey boats may appear to be parallel sided, every one was in fact profiled. Rather than shaping each veneer to fit on the mould, as in traditional boat building, Faireys saved an enormous amount of time by sawing complete sets of veneers to precision patterns. Veneers were produced in stacks of six. Boat were then typically built in batches of 24 or 36. Early boats used 1/8″ spruce ply, surplus to the War Department’s de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
aircraft programme. When this material became unavailable it was replaced by 2.5 mm agba
Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum
Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum is a tall forest tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to lowland tropical rainforest in west Africa, from Nigeria southwards to the Congo basin in Angola, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, scattered or...
veneers.
Chosen for its high gum content, agba formed easily without splitting and glued well. All the dinghy classes used just three agba veneers while some of the bigger boats used up to six. Initially all the veneers were laid at 45° while later boats changed to fore and aft outer planking for aesthetic reasons.
With the keel, stem and transom in place, veneers were applied starting on the centreline and working out towards the shear. Each veneer was held in place by just three staples at the keel, bilge and shearline. Roller-application of Borden
Borden (company)
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and...
One-Shot waterproof glue preceded each veneer except the first. With all veneers in place a vacuum bag was drawn over the moulding and secured in place using a clamp plate and G-clamps.
Early vacuum bags were made from war surplus barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
fabric. After about 1950, individual rubber bags were prepared on the moulds using uncured rubber sheets which were subsequently vulcanized in the autoclaves used for production. Moulding process and hull repairs
Placed in the autoclave, the vacuum was drawn down to 27/28 inches water-gauge and steam at a pressure of some 50 pounds per square inch introduced. Processing took about 45 minutes at 100°C. Curing at elevated temperatures under vacuum not only ensured that all the veneers were firmly consolidated – a process requiring many thousands of staples using the conventional cold-moulding process – but allowed for the use of a truly waterproof, single part, high-temperature curing glue. During the curing process the glue impregnated the wood resulting in a virtually rot-proof finished shell.
Components such as side-decks were also hot moulded while other parts required for assembly were cut to patterns in the same way as the skin veneers. For one of the more complex boats, the International 14, the time for final construction from bare hull to finished boat was set at 230 man-hours compared to 400–500 hours associated with traditional construction.
Power boats
When Richard Fairey son of Sir Richard started the powerboat business, he had contacted US designer C Raymond Hunt (designer of the International 110International 110
The International 110, often just called the 110 is a one-design racing sailboat designed in 1939 by C. Raymond Hunt. The 110 was revolutionary for its time, and it is still raced, and has a competitive Portsmouth yardstick number of 89.3.-Design:...
) about using the designs that were proving so successful in races such as the Miami-Nassau. Fairey Marine motor cruisers began with boats being built to Hunt designs. The exclusive concessionary rights for the sale of Fairey craft were acquired by businessman Bruce Campbell. He went off to the South of France with the first four hot-moulded Fairey boats on a sales trip, naming the design Christina. The 23 ft (7m) design may have suited Hunt's local waters - or perhaps not - but being fully open boats and incorporating leaky retractable centre-boards, they were not well received. Before long Campbell returned with all four boats still in tow. Richard Fairey then employed British designer Alan Burnard to adapt Hunt's ideas and come up with more suitable designs, while Bruce Campbell severed his close ties with the company.
Burnard's first designs, included the Huntress and were far more appropriate, Fairey went on to build hundreds of boats to Burnard designs. In addition to producing its own craft, Fairey also supplied bare hulls suitable for fitting out, and Campbell, still looking to fulfil his own ideas for a luxury powerboat, acquired Huntress hulls, with the blessing of Fairey, fitting them out to his own specifications and calling them, once again, Christinas; the later models were laid up in GRP by Halmatic as is the case with this boat. Campbell's boats proved successful in British racing both in Round Britain races and the Cowes-Torquay. Tommy Sopwith won the inaugural 1961 Cowes Torquay race (powerboat-race 50th aniversary) in a Christina 25.
The most common Fairey Marine Motor Cruisers are detailed as below:
- Fairey Huntress
- Fairey Huntsman / Fairey Huntsman 28 / Fairey Huntsman 31: The design of the Huntsman and its smaller sister, the Huntress were the inspiration of Ray Hunt and designed by Alan Burnard. These boats enjoyed considerable success in 1960s power boat racing, and came to represent the classic type of the period. The planing hull design has been copied in various guises since. The hull is a relatively deep V with single chine and spray rails. The construction was of laminated mahogany, Once laminated the hulls were cooked in an autoclave to cure the glue. The engines (Twin Perkins T6354 145 hp 5.95 litre turbo diesel) were placed midships under a sloping deck to the cock-pit.
- Fairey Fantome
- Fairey Swordsman: 61 Swordsman boats were built between 1964 and 1974 at the Hamble Point factory around 40 are still in service today. Initially 33' long and with a beam of 11' 5", they came in either an aft cabin or open cockpit version. Like the Huntress and Huntsman 28 they were also available in kit form or as a hull only if required - they were the largest of the production boats built by Fairey Marine. In the middle of the production Faireys introduced an upgraded version called the Super Swordsman.
- Fairey Spearfish and Spear
Other craft produced by Fairey Marine were a total of 88 hulls for Dell Quay Productions Ltd which were used to produce the Dell Quay Ranger dell quay ranger and Christinas. The company was perhaps most renowned for producing exclusive powerboats and cruisers based on an extensive racing pedigree. Fairey Marine cruisers won 148 racing awards between the years 1961 and 1973, including the prestigious Monte-Carlo and Cowes-Torquay races. 1969 was a particularly successful year, with a tally of 54 awards.
Sailing craft
Fairey Marine's first volume production boat was the National Firefly, a 12 ft sailing dinghy which continues to be a popular racing dinghy today. In 1946 Uffa FoxUffa Fox
Uffa Fox CBE was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast.-Life:Uffa Fox was born on the Isle of Wight and was raised in East Cowes. He lived for a while in Puckaster on the Isle of Wight.-Work:...
was asked by Chichester-Smith, together with Stewart Morris, to design a one-design twelve foot dinghy. Uffa Fox dusted off his pre war Sea Swallow design renaming it Firefly in order to name it after Fairey aircraft.
Another dinghy, the 15 ft Albacore
Albacore (dinghy)
The Albacore is a 4.57 m two-sailed planing dinghy developed in 1954 from an Uffa Fox design. Hulls may be made of either wood or fibreglass....
, is also built by other manufacturers and raced at many sailing clubs in the UK and other countries.
The Firefly was one of the first production dinghies ever built in large numbers, the initial cost of a boat was £65. The first four were bought by Sir Geoffrey Loules, commodore of Itchenor Sailing Club, which he named Fe, Fi, Fo and Fum. The boat was also considered to be sufficiently competitive enough to be selected for the single handed class in the 1948 Olympics, although it was replaced in 1952 by the Finn. Early boats were built from laminates of birch ply, left over from the stocks used to build Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
gliders. The mast, built by Reynolds
Reynolds Cycle Technology
Reynolds Cycle Technology is a manufacturer of tubing for bicycle frames and other bicycle components based in Birmingham, England established in 1898.-History:...
, was aluminium alloy with the top section made from spruce. A number of modifications have been made to the class over the years including construction in GRP
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
from 1968, and the introduction of a one piece rotating mast by Proctors in 1970. Despite the introduction of plastics to replace ply moulded boats, it is a testament to their build quality that there are still many wooden boats racing regularly.
Production Sailing Dinghies
- National Firefly,
- Swordfish,
- AlbacoreAlbacore (dinghy)The Albacore is a 4.57 m two-sailed planing dinghy developed in 1954 from an Uffa Fox design. Hulls may be made of either wood or fibreglass....
, - Falcon,
- 505,
- Jollyboat,
- Flying Dutchman,
- International FinnFinn (dinghy)The Finn dinghy is the men's single-handed, cat-rigged Olympic class for sailing. It was designed by Swedish canoe designer, Rickard Sarby, in 1949 for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki...
, - International 14 - Mk1 to Mk5 Designed by Uffa FoxInternational 14The International 14 is 14-foot double-handed racing dinghy. The class originated in England in the early part of the 20th century. It is sailed and raced in many countries around the world and was one of the very first true international racing dinghy classes recognised by International Sailing...
, - Gannet,
- Dinky / Duckling.
Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard's wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27' Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15 Cinderella (outboard runabout) and the 16'6" Faun (outboard powered family cruiser).
Between 1956 and 1968 Fairey Marine produced some 291 Atalanta class sailing yachts, designed by Uffa Fox
Uffa Fox
Uffa Fox CBE was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast.-Life:Uffa Fox was born on the Isle of Wight and was raised in East Cowes. He lived for a while in Puckaster on the Isle of Wight.-Work:...
: The Atalanta was conceived in 1955 by Alan Vines, a senior executive at Fairey, with the expertise of Uffa Fox who was their Design Consultant. It was envisaged as a trailable shallow draft performance cruiser with the sea keeping capabilities and safety of a fin keel yacht. Over the succeeding decades the distinctive centre cockpit design with its rolled decks and generous accommodation has more than fulfilled expectations, offering a respectable turn of speed in light airs while her retractable cast iron keels give outstanding heavy weather performance in a seaway. Robust enough to carry its full sail in winds up to force five, the Atalanta retains many of the handling characteristics of a classic dinghy.
Fairey Marine went on to produce three variants of the Atalanta, another 26 ft (8.1m) hull with a slightly shorter cockpit and more headroom called the Titania (named after another Fairey flying boat), a larger version the Atalanta 31 (9.45m) and the Fulmar a 20 ft(6.1m) version with a single lifting keel. Small Dinghies were built using similar techniques as tenders for the larger boats
- Atalanta 26
- Atalanta 31
- Titania (also 26 ft but with greater cabin headroom)
- Fulmar
Also produced using the same technique of hot-moulded veneers were the Dinky and Duckling dinghies, mainly used as tenders although the Duckling was also sold as a sailing dinghy, also the Pixie a two-part symmetrical dinghy/canoe.
It is mentioned in the Fairey Review that between 1946 and 1963 the Hamble factory produced over 11,000 boats.
Other work
During the 1950s Fairey Marine decided to build a production folding boat, a cross between a canoe, a dinghy and a punt. Of plywood and waterproofed canvas construction, the boat was robust, with individual sections being bolted together and stiffened with removable bulkheads. Fore and aft shaped sections were added for better performance through the water. Additional sections were available so the boat could seat from one to four persons. There was even a rigid deck spray cover so it could be used for surf canoeing.In 1974, Fairey Marine was awarded the contract to build a new floating bridge between East and West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The bridge (or ferry) travels along two heavy chains anchored on either side of the River Medina
River Medina
The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, rising at St Catherine's Down in the south of the Island and through the capital Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newport northwards where it takes the form of a ria . The Medina is 17km long...
. The chains pass through slots beneath the cardeck of the ferry, and the winch machinery inside pulls along the chain, taking it from one shore to the other. The chains are kept loose so that they sink to the river bed, allowing other vessels to use the river and sail above the chains. The use of chains means that it is impossible for the ferry to go off course or become lost in fog. The bridge is diesel powered, took 16 months to build and cost £280,000. It carries up to 19 cars, Since 1982, the bridge has been the only floating bridge on the route and since 1992 foot passengers have travelled free of charge.
Combat Support Boat
One of the last designs to come from Fairey Marine before being absorbed into FBM Babcock Marine Limited was a craft based on a requirement issued by the UK Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment at Christchurch, the Fairey company started development of the 8m Combat Support Boat
Combat Support Boat
The Combat Support Boat is a boat in use with the British Army. It is a powerful, versatile craft whose major role is to support both bridging and amphibious operations. Powered by Water jet propulsion it has a high thrust at shallow draught. It is also be used as a general-purpose working boat and...
(CSB) in the Autumn of 1975, with the first prototype being delivered to the British Army for trials early in 1977. As a result of extensive trials the boat was accepted for service with the British Army in February 1979 and an order placed for 56 boats. The Ministry of Defence ordered a further 12 CSBs to replace those lost during the Falklands War. After evaluation by the US Army, with over 700 boats delivered, more than half of these having been license-produced in the US. (Janes Military Vehicles and Logistics)CSB Youtube video
Associated companies
- Fairey Marine Holdings Ltd, Hamble, Management company;
- Fairey Marine (East Cowes) Ltd, East Cowes, Ship and boat building;
- Fairey Exhibitions Ltd, Hamble, Exhibition stand contractors;
- Fairey Marine Ltd, Hamble, Boat building and repair;
- Fairey Yacht Harbours Ltd, Hamble, Boat handling, berthing and storage;
Fairey-sponsored sailing competitions
The Schools Championships was started in 1953 under the name of The Public Schools Firefly Invitation Championships. Its aim was to promote inter-schools sailing competition and the encouragement of young sailors. The winning school won a prize of a Fairey Firefly 12 ft dinghy. This scheme was the idea of Colin Chichester-Smith and Charles Currey both of Fairey Marine. They both sailed International 14 footers at that time and asked the Itchenor Sailing Club
Itchenor Sailing Club
Itchenor Sailing Club is a sailing club located in Chichester Harbour which was founded in 1927.-Racing:The Sailing Club races every Saturday and Sunday from April to November with midweek racing for keel boats, as well as specific weeks for Class Regattas....
to run the event which have became a prestigious UK competition. Fairey Marine presented a complete Firefly for some 19 years. To reduce their financial commitment in later years Ratsey & Lapthorn, the sail makers, presented the sails. The Firefly first prize was replaced in 1972 by today’s engraved plate "The Sir Richard Fairey Challenge Trophy".
Preservation groups and associations
The Fairey Enthusiasts Club is for those who share an appreciation of the boats built by Fairey Marine exclusively. Its main objective is to offer a freely available exchange for information and comments for those with an interest in Fairey Marine or for those restoring a Fairey boat from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
Fairey Owners' Club
Although Fairey boats were built from the '50s to the early '80s, it was not until 1986 that the Fairey Owners Club was founded by Justin Birt. Their basic idea, which still remains the principal objective of the club, is to preserve the marque of Fairey boats especially powerboats. Latterly the club has admitted owners of modern interpretations and copies of the original boats. These boats use identical hull moulds or have been designed by Fairey's chief designer, Alan Burnard.
Atalanta Owners Association:
The Atalanta Owners Association (AOA) was started in 1958 by Fairey Marine with the object of maintaining a register of the Atalanta class sailing craft. With the demise of the company, many of the records and drawings of these craft were passed to the AOA and are still available to members.
See also
- airey Aviation Company|Fairey Aviation]
- Uffa Fox
- http://www.easternyachts.com/seaswordsman/Fairey%20Brochures1.pdf
External links
- http://www.faireyownersclub.co.uk/ Fairey Owners Club
- http://www.uffafox.com/ Uffa Fox
- http://www.revenuecutters.org.uk/past%20fleet%20trackers.html Revenue Cutters
- http://www.whiteswordsman.com/CB-231-Swordsman.pdf Fairey Swordsman
- http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=43122 Boats For All / British Pathe
- http://faireymarinechristina.info/ Christina profile
- http://www.hallmarkfraulo.co.uk/assets/pdf/One_Shot_Home_MSDS.pdf Borden One-Shot waterproof glue - data sheet