Dawn

An Invited Friend of The Harrison Butler Association
The Gaff Yawl built in 1905 to a design by GU Laws

Photograph by Martin Hansen, July 2012

Dawn : A 'New' Old Boat
I came across Dawn, a most attractive looking boat, whilst on holiday in Dartmouth in July 2012. She's a canoe yawl, although bigger than most. This was a style of design championed by Albert Strange who developed further the earlier work of George Holmes. Dawn was designed by a pupil of Strange, Tynemouth born Gilbert Umvreville Laws. Her lines were published in the July 1905 edition of Yachting Monthly,
When I looked at her she'd had a major refurbishment although it transpired that there were several major jobs including a rotted stem and adjacent planking still to be sorted. This was all 'taken on the chin' by Julian Reid who's the author of a book celebrating the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Yacht Squadron, on the Isle of Wight. In fact, when Julian employed the team lead by Andrew Massey at the Gweek boatyard to 'sort the boat out' his main concern was that Dawn be ready in time to join in those 200th anniversary celebrations, Summer 2015. It was tight but she was completed on time and indeed the whole escapade made good copy for Classic Boat, June 2016.
Dawn has just (December 2017) gone on the market for £60,000 with the Wooden Ships Brokerage. As they point out, “Dawn is virtually a new boat, strengthened beyond her original specifications, but retaining the feel of a Victorian period yacht”.

Dawn Statistics
Built : 1905 by WE Thomas in Falmouth, Cornwall, England
LOA : 31' 6"
LWL : 27' 4"
Beam : 8' 5"
Draught : 5' 11"
Displacement : 9 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 120206
OGA Boat N° : 916
National Historic Ships : N° 2361
Sail N° 1905
Signal Letters : HNMF, MCXJ

Dawn Custodians & Home Ports
Julian Reid (2014-2017...) Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Owner (c1985-c2014) West Country, England
Noel Lockhart Peck LLB (1980-1985) Dartmouth, Devon, England
B Wynyates Smith (1969-1979) Dartmouth, Devon, England
John WA Griffith (1966-1968) Dartmouth, Devon, England
Cdr LG Turner RN (1962-1965) Falmouth, Cornwall, England
Name Withheld (1960-1961) Dartmouth, Devon, England
RA Parker (1959) Dartmouth, Devon, England
TAB Murray (1955-1958) Falmouth, Cornwall, England
Major JR Gregory (1924-1954) Falmouth, Cornwall, England
HA Lawton (?-1923) Falmouth, Cornwall, England
Lt Albert John Gush RN & GD Stanford (1909-1911-?) Falmouth, Cornwall, England
HS Algar (1906-1909) Falmouth, Cornwall, England

Dawn Links
• Dawn is For Sale with Wooden Ships Brokerage (December 2017)

Page last updated : December 2017

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