Twister Yacht ‘Oliva’

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

http://twister.org.uk/index.html

Twisters for Sale (Eleven of them at the time of posting)

http://twister.org.uk/sales/index.php#sales

Stella Class Association

http://www.stellasail.org.uk/

Twister (yacht)

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(yacht) 

Yachtsnet Archive – Twister

http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/archives/twister/twister.htm

Sailboatdata.com – Twister 28

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?CLASS_ID=3186

C. R. Holman and the Twister

http://littleshipclub.co.uk/node/2388

Twister 28 Forum

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?214364-Twister-28

Yachts Designed by Kim Holman

http://sailboatdata.com/view_designer.asp?designer_id=115

Tyler Boat Co. Ltd.

http://sailboatdata.com/view_builder.asp?Builder_ID=174

Apollo Duck Twisters for Sale

http://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/boats.phtml?id=709

Twister 28 for Sale Video (2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QtOfhQUz4Y