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Discussion Topic: Charles Greene Cruiser Kits
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Japonica |
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Hi,
bit of a longshot, does anyone have any information about the cruiser kits which Charles Greene produced many years ago at Bungay?
Found a fascinating little book about his clever designed boats and, apart from two small article in magazines plus an ad for a plywood yacht I've never seen or read much about him.
cheers
Mat
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Strowager |
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Mardles sometimes
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I remember sending for the catalogue "Cruiser Kits of Bungay", back in the 60s, together with a number of A1 sheet drawings.
I wonder how many were built and have survived.
If memory serves me correct, the designs covered craft from dinghies to 100ft trimarans, sail and power.
I also seem to remember that all of the plans were for construction with 8x4 plywood sheets, rather than plank and frame. 
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colfair |
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I remember that my dad bought a set of plans for a boat from Bungay in the late 60's it was a cabin cruiser type which consisted of a 6ft fibreglass bow section onto which you added the remainder of the hull in marine ply sheeting to whatever length you wanted, so, effectively the craft could be from about a 16ft powerboat to a 30ft+ narrowboat !! My father got the hull completed to about 25ft length before family problems (me) forced him to stop work on it. I do recollect that the proportions of the bow would lend itself more to a shorter hull though
This message was edited by colfair on Feb-6-11 @ 2:00 PM
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temple3000 |
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Charles Greene sadly died in 2007 - I hope you may be
interested in the following information about him.
Affectionately known as "Ginger" at age 16 he went to
the Isle of Wight to learn boat building, thus becoming
fully conversant with the traditional method of boat
construction. He later went to Walton Yacht Works
until he could join the forces at the beginning of
WWII. In 1949 he moved to Weybridge where he made a
dinghy from an old plywood landing craft and realised
what good material it was. He obtained more such craft
and from them built one of if not the first ever
plywood cruiser, 30ft long and named it "Shelley" after
his daughter. Great interest was shown in the press
and some plans and kits were sold.
He later moved to Bungay Staithe and sold a range of
over 50 boats up to 60ft in length which were exported
to many countries, the catalogue appearing in three
different languages.
He also designed and built a 44ft trimaran,
"Hesperides", which he sailed with his family to the
South of France. This was moored at the then new port
of Menton where the family lived with a view to semi-
retirement. However, semi or otherwise "retirement" was
not in Ginger's vocabulary.
Ginger spent the rest of his years writing, designing
and inventing up to the last. He was a "one off" who
can hardly be replaced and will be much missed by us
all.
I realise this is possibly more information than you
may have expected but I have been trying for some time
to upload information kindly supplied to me by the
family of Charles Greene and have just found this site
and which seemed to give me the ideal place to start.
Kind regards
Temps
This message was edited by temple3000 on Dec-13-11 @ 8:08 PM
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zacthedog |
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Mardles sometimes
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wow, sounds like a fascinating charector, we lost one in suffolk not long ago, motor bikes was his passion and he had somehow a merlin/spitfire engine in his shed ??? Why? Why not.
Gary
1hr 30mins 60mls away
forum girly swot 19/3/2010 (IP3)
OFFICIAL QUIZ TEDDY THROWER 2011
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JennyMorgan |
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A Charles Green catamaran was built at the Waveney River Centre back in the 1970's. Photo shows her being launched and named. She was going to be sailed to the Caribbean but alas she got no further than Canvey Island where, over time, both husband and wife died. A tragic end to a dream.
Then, as now, the EDP didn't quite get it right, she was not a fibre glass boat, she was plywood with g.r.p. sheathing.
Jenny Morgan,
A vane, a boat, but not a bird.
The Broads is NOT a National Park, but it is a National Treasure!
This message was edited by JennyMorgan on Dec-14-11 @ 5:32 PM
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Japonica |
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Thank you everyone for your replies, I've since found some more info on this very inventive man. In an old PBO I found a piece where a kit for one of his 36' yachts was delivered and within six weeks it was nearly finished!! by the two man team building her.
cheers
Mat
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Gordon |
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Reading about the large cat seems to have stirred something in my little grey cells. I have recollection of a very large, and dare I say ugly cat moored in the main river at Burgh. Best I can remember that would have been about 1982, Could that have been her?. I am pretty sure I might have taken a photo which I will post on here if I can find it.
Gordon
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" Ratty in Wind in the Willows
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JennyMorgan |
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Mudplug Juggler
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That was probably her last year at Burgh, Gordon.
Agreed, she was no looker. The kit, especially the accomodation, was very much personalised to suit the Petersens, most notably Mrs Petersen. Down below she was extremely well thought out indeed. The tragedy was that Mrs. Petersen never saw her completed.
She left Burgh before being completed, rising rents hastened her departure. When Henry & Iris first came to Burgh I was site manager, and a bit of a softy when it came to setting a rent for both caravan & building space on the river bank, I rather took to the Petersen's and their dream. After the WRC was sold I had no control & the rent rose quite sharply, even more so when the cat was launched. I always felt that the cat being rather less than attractive encouraged a price hike as a means of hastening her on her way.
The harsh fact was that Henry & Iris started building at Bungay they had no idea of where they would finish building her. Purely by chance they arrived at Burgh searching for a building site. In reality probably the only place in Broadland that they could go, certainly in bringing the half completed hulls by road from Bungay. Could hardly have held then to ransom, and to a degree I shared their dream.
Jenny Morgan,
A vane, a boat, but not a bird.
The Broads is NOT a National Park, but it is a National Treasure!
This message was edited by JennyMorgan on Dec-18-11 @ 6:57 PM
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CaptBryan |
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You struck a cord with me Peter.
In the 60's and 70's it was very easy to have a dream.
Hundreds of designs were available for construction in marine ply, Colvic were producing GRP hulls and superstructures of every size, type, and style (probably the tooling sent them under, what happened to all those moulds?)and ferro cement hulls were all the rage, except they were so cheap people just built too big and could not afford to fit out.
I do not expect that many actually did live the dream but at least the possibility was there.
Captain Howe.
The Broads are:-
Not a Theme Park.
The Broads need the winter to recover, the numbers are becoming too great and the grey water too damaging.
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Feb-06-2011 @ 11:45 AM
