Hi Will, Your father's Soling looks really nice, that cabin top is, in my opinion, an improvement, particularly if he isn't engaged in serious class racing.

Cheers, Nerys

Hi Nerys,

Funny you should mention the Soling, my Father has one currently. He bought it about 10 years ago as a project and did her up.
She's a bit different, because this one has been converted from an open boat, to have a cabin roof added (was like that when my Dad bought it). She sails really well and I think my Dad likes it because it reminds him of his old Swallow.

Great to hear that you used to sail on a Dragon and that you rescued one too. There were more Swallows herein Pembrokeshire than there were Dragons.

Will

Hi Will, nice to know your uncle owned a Dragon, I have always liked them, the club on the Medway where I sailed in the '50's had a big fleet of them and I sometimes sailed on one, 'Hai Lung' her sail number was 19 and was a pre war import to the UK. Some years later, I found her lying derelict in a mud berth in Faversham, bought her and restored her, but I'm sure the purists wouldn't like this, raised her topsides a foot, put a cabin top on her and re-rigged her as a gaff cutter so that I could enter Old Gaffer races.
The Swallows never became as popular as they should have done. I don't think I ever saw one outside the Solent and even there they had so much competition from other small keel boats like, the Seaview Mermaids, the 'XOD's'. the Victorys, the Solent Sunbeams and of course the Bembridge Redwings which had a very similar hull to the Swallow but a variable sail plan, any rig as long as it was 200sq.ft. I have often thought that the advent of the Flying Fifteen didn't help the Swallow, and then she was followed by the 5.5 metre and the Soling, which of course became an Olympic Class for a while.
However, I must say I very much regret the passing of many of the keel boat classes, but it was good to see that the Dragons and some of the local classes still had a start at the 2019 Cowes Regatta

Cheers, Nerys

Nice job Ron. Keeping water out is one of our biggest concerns.
Rick

Your comments bring warmth to my heart ❤️, thank you.

Your Dragon is coming on well, I think that DF65, rig suits her well. I think in covering the whole of the cockpit, you've done the most sensible thing. Hang the accuracy of design, stay afloat.

Nerys

3 Cheers for Alice! 🤗🤗🤗🇬🇧

I bought a DF65 RTR complete kit which had to be assembled. The rig was not that difficult, just fiddly, in fact too fiddly for my arthritic fingers. So, how did you guess, Alice put it together without much trouble, she's the technical part of the family, she just followed the instructions and it worked out fine. So, don't worry, you'll manage.

Cheers Nerys

"Looking forward to seeing her under sail."
Me 2 Nerys 👍
But I think I would have preferred to have the tiller as one with the rudder and the control linkage under deck. With the Canadian cousin of Graham's rowing Bionic Bill up top with his hand on the tiller.
😎

I do like the way you have linked the servo to the tiller, Nice build all round . Looking forward to seeing her under sail.

Nerys