I always fancied a Twister, but such a beauty was not mine
to have. When I started sailing on the
River Crouch in 1973 I saw the lovely wooden twister, ‘Oliva’. She used to be
kept on a Fambridge mooring.
Twisters were designed by Kim Holman, and the original, the all
wooden ‘Twister of Mersea’ was launched in 1963. Her lines were very similar to
the legendary clinker Stella, also designed by Kim Holman. Unlike the Stella,
Kim designed her bigger sister with a carvel hull. Many of the early Twisters
were built by Uphams of Brixham.
With the emergence of GRP in the early sixties, the first
composite Twister with a fibreglass hull, wooden deck and coachroof was built
in 1969. This paved the way for the all GRP Twister moulded by Tylers from the
mid 70s until the late 90s when Tylers ceased trading. A good many of these
fibreglass mouldings were fitted out and completed by amateur builders.
Links
Twister Class Association
Twisters for Sale (Eleven of them at the time of posting)
Stella Class Association
Twister (yacht)
Yachtsnet Archive – Twister
Sailboatdata.com – Twister 28
C. R. Holman and the Twister
Twister 28 Forum
Yachts Designed by Kim Holman
Tyler Boat Co. Ltd.
Apollo Duck Twisters for Sale
Twister 28 for Sale Video (2012)
3 comments:
Kim Holman, one of the greats alongside Alan Buchanan, Laurent Giles, Arthur Robb, Maurice Griffiths (the list goes on and on!)
This Twister seems to have a doghouse - most of the Twisters I remember seeing in photographs didn't - but maybe I'm thinking only of the GRP Twisters built by Tylers and much advertised in the yachting press.
Yes, I think you are right about the doghouse which would have been unusual for an early wooden Twister.
The best boat. I've sailed brimble all over the place and she's never let me down.
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