NYANZA - a case history
‘Nyanza’, a bilge-keeled Pirate from the Express Boating Company, sail number K183, was built from a Ryplas kit costing £1350 in August 1978 .
The kit, complete with trailer, was purchased by a certain RAF serviceman, who took it to Germany, where he had been posted. He and his mates spent the next few weeks of their spare time building her. She was named after a town on Lake Victoria in Uganda, where the serviceman had previously been posted. On the owner’s return from Germany, the owner brought her to Gosport, where she was sailed in the company of the Civil Service Sailing Association until about 1994.
Nyanza then spent many years languishing ashore in Wales until a new owner bought her in August 2004 and restored her and her trailer to full working order. Most of the fittings were still original including the sails. She was regularly sailed on Lake Clywedog (see www.clywedogsailing.org.uk).
In June 2006 Nyanza took part in the celebrated Milford Haven Sea Fair, having been classified as a ‘Classic Bermudan’.
The new owner made modifications to the trailer to make trailer-sailing easier, including sturdy docking bars, trailer depth indicators, and wooden stops to positively locate the keels to get the correct nose weight. A winch on the trailer connected with a keel U-bolt so that the boat could be pulled on to the trailer. A pneumatic jockey wheel made manoeuvring easier.
A simple arrangement consisting of a spar, halyards, etc, was devised to make raising and lowering the mast a simple one-person job (see Practical Boat Owner No 455 November 2004 page 75 Notes C D E G and H).
In June 2007, Nyanza was sold to another owner, who intended to sail her on Rutland water and other, saltier, places.
Nyanza’s trailer
Nyanza Photos
Nyanza Photos 2
