Thread: Gwen 12

Originally Posted by Still Smilin'

Hi All,

I've been following this thread with great interest - let's keep it rolling. It would be great to get some feedback from that forthcoming reunion - anyone we know attending?

One thing on the timeline of all this - aluminium spars. When di they make their appearance. Perhaps at the same time as the Spinniker size was increased??

The older I get the better I was
Greetings All
The reunion will be held at St George Motor Boat Club Sans Souci 2219 on Friday 13 November 2009 at 730 pm.The last one was held 2 years ago and 90 gwenners attended mainly from NSW , and some from QLD and VIC.Notices have been sent to all affiliated clubs in Australia, we also had some of the "first fleeters" that started them off in Sydney.Eric Tanko who was an official from early 70s thru till mid 80s will be there .Eric will be 94 about the time of the reunion.
Anyone wanting info on the reunion can email [email protected]
Re the aluminium masts, they first appeared as untapered sections , and I think Kevin Shepherd was one one of the first to use that type with a wooden taper top
The first of the tapered one was designed by Bob Miller (Ben Lexen) and Craig Whitworth and made by De havilland, one went onto a flying dutchman sailed by miller and whitworth,which lasted 1 day and broke.The second was fitted the legend Gwen Mary Jane built and sailed by Ian Outhred ,which won the nats at Rochingham (1963 Ithink).It was sold to Graham Lillingston from WA ,who came second at Grange in 1964.
I purchased Mary Jane after that series and sailed it regularly at Oak Flats and St George Sailing club till the mid 80s,even at the end it was a brilliant boat to sail, and didnt leak, which was remarkable as it was held together without fasteners .At the end I gave it away to a sea scouts group
Good sailing
Mary Jane

Here's another one advertised on eBay

Item number: 160362792824

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_500wt_1182

Argh. Can't believe that didn't get a bid.

Why are all the bargain boats down south ?

Hi all,

Just got word of a Gwen on the side of the road at the Morningside tip here in Hobart. I went and had a look before it got dark (sorry, no camera).

From what I could see it's just a bare wooden hull. The timber boom has the mainsail wrapped around it and is sitting in the boat. There are absolutely no fittings or anything else on the hull except a For Sale sign at $250.

If anyone is even remotely interested I'll go back and ask questions and get photos. It may just be that it was the start of a restoration project and every thing else is stored elsewhere. From the little I could see through a chain mesh fence it looks like the top of the hull and transom has been sanded which makes the "start of restoration" theory barely plausible.

More on the Gwen hull at the dump.

Sail number is M41. That's not any number I recognise. Sail is by Rolly Tasker and Sailmaker's label is printed with "1965". Not a full battern main and "G" emblem is stitched on. Sail has been wrapped around boom for a long time.

Nobody knows any more about it and there is nothing else with it. It definitly looks like a repair/restoration was started....but got too hard?? And then she must have got seperated from the rest of her rig, bowsprit, rudder etc........and then dumped

What a shame. As well as the damage to the bow there's a decent crack in the RHF gunwale which looks to have broken the chine log as well. I had a good look over her, gave her a pat and saved her sail and boom for posterity. It's way too much of a project in my eyes unless her other bits come to light. If anyone wants to save her I'll happily hand over the sail and boom.

Can anyone shed light on her name??

Looks like the condition is not too shabby at all.

MIK

You're right Mik - you are a "Deeply Flawed Human Being"

OK, in a positive light what I can see - and I had a good enough look at her innards - there doesn't seem to be any rot. The problem areas are as a result of impact damage. The deck may have been veneered - there seems to be some sort of marking out lines on the foredeck???

The big hurdle I think is the fact that so much of her is missing. The rational decision (mine) is to let this one go and keep looking for one that is complete. But...............

I wonder how she'd go ith an OzPDR rig & foils....
Obviously, she'd no longer be a Gwen. But she might be a serviceable little day-dailer.
AJ

Originally Posted by gmoore2611

Thanks for the photos,great to see the inside of the old girls

I use to sail against gwens in a thorpe 12. It is a two person has a cat rig and single luff spinker.

I have followed the information about Gwen 12s with great interest. I used to own four Gwens The first one was Argo 1520 This was Valiant IV owned originally by Kevin Shepherd then I owned Alarm II 2052 this was originally Miss Jillora from WA and the I had Jepi V which won the nationals in Adelaide in 1969 I also had a glass boat in 1974 for about 12 months I bought from Ian Hayden.
Peter richo

Hi Peter,
Great to hear from another Gwen owner. I see your address is Canberra, did you sail from there or were you in NSW when you had the Gwens ?
Pity the class couldn't be re-surrected like the historic 18 's as there must be plenty still about and enthusiastic former owners to play with them.
Back to the re-build.
Regards Graeme

I learnt to sail when I lived in Sydney. My father owned the first boat and sailed at St George Sailing Club before we moved to Canberra in 1966. I then sailed Gwens in Canberra till 1974. My father also was editor of the Gwen 12 Magazine in the early 1960's. I sailed them till 1974 and then sailed Sharpies and 505s. Any information you need drop me an email between my father and myself we can piece all the history back to 1958.

Hi Peter, Any chance that there are plans available in some form? Just dreaming, but I enjoy that

I will make enquiries as I know a few people who made timber Gwens in the early 1970s
Regards
Peter Richards